iPlayMusic’s Play Music Together for Mac lets families make music, sing songs and learn guitar

iPlayMusic, a leading provider of music learning and entertainment products, today announced the launch of Play Music Together, a Macintosh software and video DVD designed to enable toddlers and preschoolers to make music with parents and caregivers. This unique music learning and entertainment product includes interactive guitar and song lessons, and a dancing and singing puppet named Capo who encourages participation among the whole family.

Play Music Together includes interactive software for the Macintosh, GarageBand music projects, a printable coloring book featuring scenes from the children’s songs and a bonus DVD. A video-only DVD of guitar and song lessons is also available for viewing on any television, PC or portable DVD player. Videos from the Macintosh software can be easily exported to iTunes and played on a video iPod for anytime, anywhere entertainment or learning. Play Music Together delivers programming to help preschoolers develop their musical skills through interaction with the program, while also encouraging families to learn guitar, sing and have fun together.

With more than 35 video guitar and song lessons, unique puppetry, animation and effects, Play Music Together makes it fun and easy for families to begin making music. Each guitar lesson is presented using iPlayMusic’s multi-angle video-based instruction method, which enables beginning musicians of any age to learn the skills and techniques necessary to play or sing songs without learning to read music.

Play Music Together features scrolling chords and lyrics, close-ups of the left and right hands and looping features that allow children to learn songs by playing or singing along at their own pace. Capo the puppet models fun songs and activities so youngsters develop an understanding and appreciation of musical elements including rhythm, tempo and pattern, while parents, teachers or caregivers play along and join in the fun. After just a few basic lessons, children of any age can play and sing-along with six popular family songs like If You are Happy and You Know It, The Wheels on the Bus, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, The Crawdad Song and The ABC Song/Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Medley.

“Parents understand that children who develop music skills early perform better academically, and that just the act of hearing music stimulates young minds,” said Stewart Putney, president of iPlayMusic, in the press release. “Play Music Together was designed to provide families with a fun and entertaining way to expose their children to music, while at the same time developing early musical skills. The interactive videos, animation, colorful puppet and scrolling lyrics make it easy for the entire family to join in the learning process, and bond through their mutual enjoyment of music.”

Play Music Together for the Macintosh includes special features that take full advantage of Apple’s iLife suite of applications. Each song lesson includes a full GarageBand project file, complete with instrumental and vocal tracks, so families can remix the featured songs, change or add vocals or instruments, record their own performances, and share them with family and friends using iTunes, email and iWeb.

To view a video demonstration of Play Music Together, visit http://www.iplaymusic.com/kids-demo.html

To sign up for a free podcast, which includes a sample song lesson with Capo, visit http://www.iplaymusic.com or Apple’s iTunes Music Store. In iTunes, simply search for iPlayMusic, then subscribe.

Play Music Together for the Macintosh is available for $39.95. The video- only DVD version of Play Music Together is sold separately for $24.95.

MacDailyNews Note: The software is also promised to be available for Windows in early fall 2006, so those families can attempt to make music in between applying patches and taking their boxes to the local “expert” for the usual hard drive wipe and reinstall.

Macintosh. Because life’s too short.

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