How it works
Unlike other music learning applications, Fly Robin Fly’s learning methodology is based on emotional engagement. Numerous studies show that emotion has a substantial influence on the cognitive processes, including perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Being the application's highest priority, emotional engagement is intimately linked to the effectiveness of learning processes. In order to achieve such engagement, the application gamifies the process of studying music. In such a way, Fly Robin Fly transforms boring mechanical repetition of notes and chord progressions into a conscious and amusing process and creates an emotional stimulus for the user. For this reason, information that is related to or associated with music learning is perceived and processed easier.
Such an approach:
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Helps kids to focus their attention on the notes and their combinations and generally decreases distraction, as musical notes become perceived as «relevant» information;
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Enhances memory, helps kids to memorize musical patterns;
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Helps kids to remember more musical patterns over time (after the process of studying is completed);
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Encourages them to repeat the musical patterns (as they are perceived as levels of the game);
These effects are achieved with the help of highly engaging gameplay which is based on matching the notes and chords on the piano scale with lovely animals:
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The user chooses a song he or she would like to study. Each song is a separate level which can be played through multiple times.
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After the song is loaded, the screen depicts a certain location (a forest, an ocean, a meadow, etc) and a piano keyboard. The kid sees various animals. Each animal or group of animals sits on a separate note or a chord.
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Afterward, the song starts to play at a regular tempo in a preview mode. The user is not hitting the notes at this stage. Each animal has his own unique animation which is triggered when its note is played (for instance, the animal jumps on the key). The played notes are simultaneously highlighted.
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After the song is played to the end, the kid is offered to play the song step-by-step by himself with the help of animals on the screen. The animals will appear on the notes and ask the kid to play a particular note or a chord that corresponds to this particular animal by jumping on the note or otherwise actively attracting the user’s attention to the note it is standing on (dancing, smiling, wagging the tail, etc). If the user hits the keys correctly, the animal performs the corresponding animation. Then the player moves on to the next animal or sound - until he plays the song to the end note by note.
The player may use both the virtual keyboard on the screen or a separate physical piano keyboard connected to the tablet.
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If the player mistakes, the animal replies that he should try again and continues to attract his or her attention to the note. The fewer mistakes the player makes, the happier the animals on the screen are.
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After the level is completed in a note by note mode, the animals on the screen start dancing. Afterward, the kid is offered to perform the same song, but at a particular tempo (slower than the original or as quick as the original). In this mode, the animals will not give hints to the player, if the player misses the key. After the user completes the song in this mode, he is offered statistics regarding his or her performance with this particular song. The more songs the kid completes, the more animals and locations become available. That encourages kids to improve their results.
For instance, the song «Twinkle Twinkle Little Star» is played with 6 notes: C, G, A, E, F and D. If this song is chosen, the kid will see 6 different animals on the screen, each animal will sit on a separate note (for example, a fox, a squirrel, a bear, a rabbit, a bird, and a wolf).
For instance, the wolf standing on the «C» note will wag its tail, while other animals will stand still. When the user hits the «C» note, the wolf will jump on the note and stand still. The fox will start dancing on the «G» note, while other animals will stand still.
For instance, if the player will hit the «D» note instead of the «Ð¡» note at the beginning of «Twinkle Twinkle Little Star» the wolf will shake its head and express frustration.
