Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Our new App of the Week might just make the day more fun with your child (or children), at least those of a certain age.
It’s called Caspar Babypants Music Time, and if you’re a parent of a younger kid, you probably don’t need an explanation of the Caspar Babypants part of that name. For everyone else, it’s the pseudonym of Chris Ballew, who made his mark as a member of Seattle-based alt-rock band The Presidents of the United States of America before branching out into kids’ music as Caspar Babypants.
The app lets kids play along with Caspar Babypants tracks, using a virtual guitar, xylophone or drum set on screen. The thing I like most about the app is that the virtual instruments change notes to stay in key as the song is playing, which lets kids focus on rhythm and musical creativity, and it always sounds good (or at least in key).
The percussion section also includes a feature that lets kids play along by shaking the device (this can be turned off in the settings). For more advanced users (or their parents), the app also includes a mode that shows the chords, to play along with a real instrument.
The app, for iPhone and iPad, goes for $1.99, but it comes with 12 tracks, selected from Caspar Babypants albums. It also works with existing Caspar Babypants tracks or albums that you already own, and you can purchase more tracks inside the app, via iTunes.
Listen to this week’s App of the Week segment below.
