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"Educational Fun"

Written By: Deborah Wilborn

While teenagers will appreciate games like Guitar Hero, the younger crowd will have much more fun with Wii Music - and they will be learning at the same time.

Lessons - Sebastian Tute guides lessons in how to play the different types of instruments, but his later lessons on how to jam teach about rhythm, accompaniment, and song structure. As you take lessons, you unlock even more instruments to enjoy.

Games - Mii Maestro allows you to conduct an orchestra. This seems simple, but the subtle differences in conducting style required to get a good score make it challenging. The handbell game shows how the notes of the scale are structured together to create a song. The final game, Pitch Perfect is a challenging exercise in ear training, where the player is required to match pitches, pick out incorrect notes, and even create chords.

Jams - This is the heart of the game, where you can practice an instrument with the Tutes, or jam with a friend. As you get more experienced at the game, you learn how to make your own arrangements of songs. The Jam section starts of with only a few simple songs, but as you do other activities, eventually 50 songs are available for jam sessions, ranging from simple tunes like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Happy Birthday", to classical pieces like "Minuet in G" and "Ode to Joy", and of course pop tunes like "September", "Every Breath You Take", and "Material Girl".

Videos - All of your saved Jams can be viewed here, and if you are connected online, you can send your Jams to others to enjoy.

Overall, this is a game that is fun for the entire family, but will also give children a background in music they wouldn't normally receive if they didn't pick up a real life instrument.

"A little strange, but so fun when you get the hang of it!"

Written By: Ashley Keene

My sister and her husband got Wii Music as a Christmas gift while we were staying with them for the holidays. It was the game they were least excited about playing, but was the game we ended up playing the most!

The Bell Choir feature is what got us all hooked. Four people play 8 bells, each responsible for their 2 colored bells. We were obsessed with changing the settings to "complex" "fast tempo" and "stop music for players" which would stop the tempo if someone made a mistake. The goal would be to try to get through the song without making a mistake, which was a riot when someone would forget that they were the green bell and the other Miis would stare incredulously at the offending Mii, waiting for the note.

The Bell Choir could be a complete game in itself, if there were several more songs and challenges. With only 5 songs, the bell choir leaves a lot to be desired, once we played all the songs at the most complex level, at the highest speed, it felt like we were just given a taste of what could be a very in-depth game.

We also had fun with the Perfect Pitch game (I think that's what it was called) which tested our ability to hear different pitches and chords and fix an incorrect song. Also, something that has little replay value, other than to beat the previous score.

My niece, nephew and their cousin (3.5, 2, and 4 years old) spent an hour and a half with the jam session part of the game. They loved to choose the cat or dog or a fun-looking instrument, and simply make noise. It was very easy for them to do, even at such young ages. I think they ADORED being part of a game that they saw the adults having so much fun playing. It required a lot of assistance from me, and isn't the kind of game that you can just let them sit and play (too many buttons to push between choosing an instrument and a song and a location, etc.) but is DEFINITELY a great interactive experience, if you're looking for something that's fun to do with them that YOU can have fun with too. It's also educational, if you're there telling them the names of the instruments, and what the difference is between a woodwind and a brass and a stings instrument.

My brother and I had a ton of fun with the conducting game. Not together... it's pretty much impossible to play that game together (it's hard enough getting the hang of it by yourself). We just tried to beat each others' scores (which, while vague on HOW they're scored, still seemed pretty accurate). The Nintendo songs were especially fun to conduct since we knew them so well.

It was when I started playing by myself that I really felt how deep the game went. I looked online to figure out how to unlock most of the instruments (which is REALLY weird... save 10 music videos and do the 2nd music lesson). I played around with each one, figuring out the unique aspects, figuring out what each button on the wiimote did for each instrument.

During the Jam Sessions, the "main" feature of the game, you don't get to choose the note you're going to play, but you DO choose how it's played... whether it's soft, loud, part of a chord, short, long, whether your mii does a trick while playing it (which usually triggers something in the environment, too), whether you will play the next note in the song or will play just a random note within the current chord of the song... and then you can save the part you just played and be EVERY part of the band, from percussion to bass to harmony to melody.

I had so much fun putting together my own version of the Mario Brothers theme song while my Mii and several clones of my Mii rode on the back of a truck by a beach. Every time my first Mii would hit the drums, a palm tree would spring out of the beach. With my second Mii, a sand castle popped out. If one of them did a trick, a dolphin jumped out of the ocean. And this is just one song... with 3 instruments... in one environment... with one kind of tempo... there are so many combinations that it seems infinite.

It's not perfect, of course. The song choices are mediocre and the game does require interest in music and a good sense of rhythm, and it takes some time before you can really get the hang of what the instruments can do and how to make the most of them. Like Mario Paint, if you put a lot of time into it, you can make some really cool stuff. I'm going to be purchasing my own Wii Music because I can't stop wondering if I could make the Zelda theme song sound good with 6 "choir" Miis, or if I could make the Mario theme song sound romantic with violins and harps.

"A Blast For The Whole Family"

Written By: Basil MacDougal

Wii Music is great fun for the whole family. It is more whimsical than Rock Band or Guitar Hero and takes-on a less intense feel. It is actually rather comical as you design your own character and choose your instrument, and play a song together as one band. My 5 year old, 11 year old, and 13 year old, and I, had a blast forming our band and watching the replay of the video we had created. It was like transforming ourselves into cartoon characters.
It is certainly not going to give you the same experience as Rock Band or Guitar Hero, but, as I mentioned, it is great family fun and I would expect would be much more fun for younger kids to play by themselves.

"Pleasantly Surprised"

Written By: Elizabeth A. White

When we received Wii Music for Christmas, I thought it would be a hit for the younger set in our house, but not hopeful for the teens. I was pleasantly surprised to find my 13 yr old son (Guitar Hero enthusiast and musician) and his 12 yr old cousin (star athlete) completely engrossed in the game for hours. They loved it! We all love it. It's completely different from Guitar Hero, which we all like as well. It stretches the kids in authentically musical ways, and yet there is still a fun game-playing component. They've created many videos of their musical compositions, too. Don't expect Guitar Hero, be ready for the option to improvise, compose and try your hand at "playing" a new instrument.

"Wii Music -- digital musical fun"

Written By: Edward Balen

I'm so glad that I received this for Christmas. I am amazed at the wide variety of instruments you can play. You can jam alone or with backup musicians, conduct an ensemble, or make your own music video.

I'm a pianist, and love playing piano on here, as well as the other instruments. I had a little trouble with the violin technique at first. I started playing with the remote controller alone. I then added my nunchuk and Wii Fit balance board. Once I got the techniques down, and learned how to get the best sound from each instrument, my love of this software just increased.

If you're a budding musician like me, or want to introduce someone to the world of music via the Wii, this is your ticket to fun and exploration.