Pazazz

Crash

Rosetta McLeod

CRASH COURSE By Rosetta McLeod MUSIC TO MY EARS For this, the first CRASH COURSE of the New Year, I have looked at a mixed bag of educational software. Three music programs landed on my desk, and it is good that this interesting area, enjoyed by both children and adults, is at last being given the attention it deserves by the publishers. The trio of programs, ranging from Theory of Music (a formal approach for those studying for music exams) to the lighter but no less valuable, Note Invaders and Pazazz, should appeal to a wide audience both young and old. The other programs reviewed this month are aimed at the 7-12 age group, and are representative of the increasingly wide range of software becoming available. From major publishers like HILL MACGIBBON to the smaller KEY SOFTWARE (run by a teacher), the programs cover a whole variety of skills ranging from teaching punctuation, spelling and fractions, to developing the more abstract concepts of logical thought and problem-solving. Next month I'll be looking at software from Granada Television to accompany their series of programs on The Micro At Work DON'T MISS IT! PAZAZZ Producer: ASK Software Retail Price: £13.00 Age Range: 9+ Pazazz is a package which allows the user to draw and animate characters on screen, creating appropriate music and backgrounds for the performance. Two cassettes and a comprehensive booklet are included in the pack. The data tape contains four complete performances showing a breakdancer on the street, a clown on the high-wire, a skeleton in a graveyard, and a disco-dancing girl. Having viewed the demo programs to get a general idea of the possibilities, the user can create a scenario and performance. The EDIT command in the main program contains options allowing you to change the music, the scene, the figure, and the movements, and then to link them all up. There are also facilities for synchronising the movements to the music, for altering colours in the foreground and background of the scene, and for creating quite sophisticated settings. It is possible too, to use existing figures, scenes and music, so you could have a disco-dancing girl in a graveyard! The creation of the music is probably one of the more interesting options, although the instructions are rather complicated. Once you have recorded a tune, you can then make some changes to it: you can change the rhythm, select a cue or lead-in of a few beats, and set the beat too. At the end the whole performance can be saved onto a blank tape for use at a later date. This is a very complex, but creative package, and younger children would certainly need the help of an adult to follow all the instructions in the booklet. COMMENTS Control keys: described both on the screen and in the booklet Keyboard play: good Graphics: quite attractive Use of colour: good Sound: not as good as in some music programs, but still acceptable