This is one of a number of mini-reviews of music-making apps for iPads and smart phones.

Loopimal is a simple but clever music-making app for the iPad that unfortunately isn’t free. However it offers good value in being clear, fun, creative and intuitive. 

Using simple characterful animal animations to represent instruments, users can combine these in different ways to make electronic beats and sounds that loop or repeat.

By dropping different shapes into an 8 beat grid that, it is possible to compose and modify music. As the music is all in the key of C, any white notes on a piano of keyboard will go with it.

Suggested activities:

• take turns to build up a piece of music with a partner using 1, 2 or 4 animals
• Take turns to swap animals in or out
• make music to dance to
• make music to sing along or play to
• which is your favourite animal?
• which is your favourite combination?

You can read a more complete review of the app on Common Sense Media.