Skip to main content

Review of Rhythm Solitaire



Michiko Yurko has expanded Music Mind Games to new technological heights!  Rhythm Solitaire is exactly what you would expect: solitaire with musical rhythm cards instead of a standard deck.  In order to create stacks the notes and rests must be put in order from fastest to slowest.

The app itself looks very sleek.  Everything is responsive and the menu buttons intuitive.  I was impressed by the design and catchy little main menu tune.  It's obvious that quite a bit of work went into making the game look fun and engaging.  This is not your Windows '98 solitaire game, folks.

The play is quite challenging.  I had to start over the first few times I played after having worked myself into a stalemate.  While there are how-to instructions built in, young music students might need some initial help before they catch on.  The dotted rhythms were a little confusing.  The notes have dotted rhythm options while the rests do not.  I didn't realize this right away and was planning for a dotted quarter rest that never showed up! 

Despite the initial confusion, the play is very forgiving which I liked.  It's designed to reward rather than punish.  There's an easy-to-use "redo" button and no penalties are given for mistakes or amount of time spent figuring things out.  All in all a very positive experience that encourages learning and self-improvement.

I would highly recommend this app for music students of any age.  It's available in the iTunes store for iPhones or iPads.  iTunes store link here.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Like Brushing Your Teeth

One of my teacher trainers told me that practicing should be like brushing your teeth. There is never a day when your tooth brushing is affected by other events in your day. The process is completely emotionally detached. I mulled over her words of wisdom for quite some time after she said them to me. What struck me the most was the suggestion of emotionally detaching myself. All my life I have been told that music is supposed to express emotion. So it was almost like it would be wrong to try and strip that away. For me, the teeth brushing example was a very interesting concept. I realized that the level of habitual repetition of that daily routine is rarely achieved in any other life areas. Dishes get put off, vacuuming, shopping for groceries.... but I always make the time to brush my teeth. Always making the time for practice? A lofty ideal indeed.
10 comments
Read more

Interview with Michiko Yurko on Music Mind Games and Sight-Reading in the Suzuki Method

Welcome to Rethinking Genius, Michiko! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your company, Music Mind Games. Hi, Danielle! I am Michiko Yurko and I am the creator of Music Mind Games, a project I have been working on for 40 years. It’s been great! Music and education were important to my parents. Although they followed different professions, my father sang and my mother played the piano. I was always supported in my music and dance lessons and related activities so I have very positive memories of those years. My mom was an elementary classroom teacher and her extraordinary devotion to her students and her creativity taught me to be innovative in my own work. Music Mind Games, LLC was founded in 2005 after Warner Bros (my publisher for nearly 20 years) was sold to Alfred. Although they believed in my work and continue to publish the book Music Mind Games, Alfred said they could not afford to produce the Music Mind Games materials. My husband, Cris and I discussed all sor...
9 comments
Read more

Interview with Dorothy Jones on Suzuki Early Childhood Education

Welcome to Rethinking Genius, Dorothy! Please introduce yourself and give a us a little background on your history with the Suzuki Method. I am a Suzuki specialist in Early Childhood Education.  I founded a Suzuki School in London Ontario Canada. In 1993, the ISA approved my program in Early Childhood Education and designated my school as a world Teacher Training Centre. Past President of the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) past board member of the ISA, I was a founding member of the Board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario and served as President of that organization. I have been a Suzuki parent, Piano Teacher Trainer and keynote speaker at conferences and workshops around the world for over 41 years. I am recognized as a Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) teacher trainer in the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), the European Suzuki Association (ESA) and the Pan Pacific Suzuki Association (PPSA). Explain to us what Suzuki Early Childhood Education (...
5 comments
Read more