MusiCan

By John Hesnan
Published by Gemini
2005
content is music fundamentals
grades pre-K through 4 (but comes in 7 levels)
for a general music class
Only works on a Windows PC – files not recognized by mac.
No peripherals are necessary

Instructional content
MusiCan 1, 2 and 3 are set up with introduction, practice and review. Both the
practice and review sections are interactive.
MusiCan 1 is for pre-K ad kindergarten. Students will identify sounds (example
farm) by clicking on pictures. They later have to identify what the sounds are in a
quiz like format.

MusiCan 2&3 is for 1st and 2nd grades. The musical

elements are introduced (Pitch, Pulse, Dynamics,
Tempo, Pitch Duration, timbre and rhythm)
The format is the same as 1 and students have the
similar interactions only dealing with musical
elements. Levels 1 to 3 use the same animation and
characters so there is consistency for the students.

Both of these sections come with complete lesson

plans with info on accommodations and extension
exercises. There are also guidelines for assessment.

The modules are sequential but the student has to choose them in the proper order.
They are not forced to do them in order and this could be problematic for younger
students who like to explore.

MusiCan 4,“Journey to the cinema”, if for 3rd grade. In these 11 exercises students
will cover styles, instruments,
melodies, notation, layering,
clashing and structures. The
program takes on a new set up at
this level. The lessons are
student directed but have less
interaction than the earlier
levels.
In 4 to 7 it is not as easy to access
lesson plans. There are outside
activities for the students to
complete after they have
completed the lessons. There are quizzes at the end of a section. They do give the
student the option to go back and fix their incorrect answers.

MusiCan 5 starts with revision section. This is review of the previous sections in
levels 1 through 4.
Beat town is a review of notation

The program then moves on to 12 exercises in the “museum.” This is for grade 4.
The museum covers music of various lands and it develops skills in music reading
and writing.

To use the programs students have to double click on the icon. Once the program
starts, students will be asked if they are a return user. If not they will enter their
name, so their progress can be tracked. Once passed the startup, students will click
on a module to begin and the computer will lead them through each section.

All the levels meet the educational objectives of knowledge, comprehension and
application. MusiCan can be classified as a discovery/simulation program and is
computer lead instruction.

Overall Evaluation

Both the sequence and pace of instruction are good in this program. It has very
good graphics and is visually pleasing. It does have a few quirks. The main one is
that the notation terminology is British (ex. A quavers instead of 8 th notes). This can
be extremely confusing to elementary students just learning terminology. The
sequence is good but the teacher needs to be involved to make sure the student is
completing the proper module. The Lesson plans, especially for levels 1-3, are great
and they include how to account for individual differences. The record keeping is
basic. It keeps track of each student but mainly what modules they have completed.
It is a little bit more detailed in the upper levels with keeping track of the quizs.
Overall it is a nice program but I would not recommend it for purchase.