Horace Hopper's Musical Adventures and Painting CD-ROM

These adventures in learning and skill building are for children from 2 to 10.   The Function keys, mouse, space bar, and Hopper Bopper (switch click) are the action keys.  These trigger thousands of audio and color digital samples.  These sounds and colors along with 860 images can be especially useful in stimulating communication and creative growth in developmentally challenged children.  The use of enhanced learning techniques make it appropriate for children of all developmental levels.

In the Beginning…Place the CD-ROM in the computer CD tray.  Follow the directions as it self-installs.  Double click the treble clef icon on the screen to start the program.  Place the plastic laminated colored note guide with the folded edges bent down directly behind the function keys (top row).  The folded edges seat behind the three groups of keys. The function keys are the keyboard.   If your keyboard is a laptop, use scissors to trim the guide to make it fit.  It is extremely important to use the note guide.

The graphic background settings for the adventures are the night sky over an ocean and the outer space over the moon.  They can be selected under Options in the tool bar. A background sound of the ocean and a space sound give an imaginative context to the scenes. These background sounds can be chosen under Options.

There are ten categories of usage across the top of the screen.  Each is a menu of graduated skill building activities. Early indications from research suggest it is best to concentrate on one level at a time.  However the exception may be to use the painting section as a reward for progress in other areas.  Testing on a weekly basis with vocabulary development and pitch recognition will show overall growth by percentage.

Different instruments appear on the Tool Bar at the top including drums and pizzicato strings.  A complete list of sounds, languages and voices can be found under Options.

The Hopper Bopper is a round switch that can be struck or pressed.  It can be obtained through our web site.  For developmentally challenged children it is a must.  It functions as a left mouse click.

FILE:  The print command is located under File.  It is especially important to print out the results of the children’s work in the painting section on a daily basis.  This rewards the children and gives each a unique example of their success.

NOTES:  Play the Notes turns each function key into a key like on a piano.  Each key plays one of the 12 chromatic notes in the musical scale.  Dr. Roxane LaCombe’s voice was digitally sampled singing each note in English (e. g. D Sharp).  On the screen, a unique shape and color for each note is displayed as the note is played.  Also, a musical staff with the note positioned on it is seen. 

Guess the Note.  The computer plays a note with the shape and color displayed.  The child presses the correct function key until the right one is played (only the right one will sound) and the counter displays “1”.  For physically challenged children, the Hopper Bopper or space bar can be used to trigger the correct note.  The diagonal line of color circles has a moving bracket that can be used to select the right note.

Guess the Note No Hints does the same thing with no visual cues for the correct sound.

Beat the Bird is a timed game.   The bird flies across the screen in 60 seconds.  The child gets as many notes identified as possible before the bird is across.

TUNES:  Twenty-Nine simple songs are programmed to play in rhythm for the child to hear. 

Play All.  All the songs will play one after another.  Try the Celeste with this one!

Learn the Tune is a program to teach the children notes in sequence.  Each note of a song is displayed in color and shape.  The child plays each note displayed in order (only the correct note will work).  This program develops special skills in the child.

Advance.  The Hopper Bopper (or space bar) plays each note in order as the child strikes the Bopper. The ability to discern long and short note durations is developed.  You can choose what language or instrument is played under Options.

In Compose mode the child can record, play back, and store any song they play.

WORDS:  Play the Words is a program where the computer spells a word on the screen and the child plays each letter in order.  The Voice then pronounces the word.  The score is in the upper left corner.  The Hopper Bopper can be used to play the letters. 

Spell the Word is a program where 68 words that can be formed using the letters of the musical scale.   Words can be heard in English, Spanish, or Korean.

HORACE VOX:  In this program 860 images can be displayed and each is accompanied by the sung word representing the image.  The images can be selected as illustrations or photos. “Sing with me” is heard as an invitation to sing with the computer as the word is sung twice. 

In the All mode, each word in the library is sung at random, the image is seen once and automatically advances to the next image.  In the Advance Mode, the child hits the Hopper Bopper to trigger the next image.

Display Words presents each word with the picture

Three Pictures tests the child with a 3-picture comparison.  The results are tabulated on a continuous scale for each child. Enter the child’s name and select a number of words.  You can save the list by typing a name for the list.

To select individual words use Choose Words.  Click on words to use and hit OK.  You can make and save lists for each child.  Just name the file and it can be reloaded later.

There are many categories to choose from including school, food, body parts, home, and buildings. 

HORACE SCOPE:  This important program shows proportional relationships in counting.  A drum set shows visual representations of the counting.    The first 5 function keys select whole notes, halves, quarters, eights, and sixteenths.  Pressing the key starts the count and hitting it again stops it.  Any relationship can be demonstrated. The upper notes can be played along with the counting.  Example:  Select Drum.  Press the “C” (F1) key.  Hear the bass drum play whole notes.  Press the “C” key again. The drum stops.

Voice.  A Voice counts aloud as the drums plays.

Drum.  The different drum sounds play the counts.

Use the Hopper Bopper or Space Bar to play along with the beat.  Choose the instrument to play with Options.

PICTURE:   A set of 29 very fine commissioned line drawings are included. 

Paint by Music.  In this program the child chooses the color by playing a function key.  The color is displayed in the drawing.  As more colors are chosen a rational can be discerned in the way the color is positioned.  The Hopper Bopper can be used to trigger the color positioning.  This triggering is at random.

Paint by Color.  The child can choose a color in the note strip at the top of the screen or the function keys.  With the Mouse, the child chooses what parts of the picture to paint with that color.

Kaleidoscope.  As the child strikes a function key, space bar, or Hopper Bopper, the color is displayed in a geometric design that moves in time.  As colors are more frequently selected, the complexity of the design increases.

TESTS:  Several Tests are included that measure the ability to discern and remember tones.   Absolute and Relative Pitch are measured.  A percentage comparison from the initial score is tabulated.

OPTIONS:  Voice can be used to choose between sung sounds in English, Spanish, French, and Korean.  Instruments, including Flute, Dogs barking, Drums, Pizzicato Strings,  Piano, and Celeste may be used in any area of the program.

Hopper Bopper:  This switch available through our Web Site performs a left mouse click when hit.   It is used in selecting a pitch under Notes.  It triggers the consecutive pitches in a song under Tunes.  Other functions are described above.

Research at Sequoyah and Andrew Johnson

This program is the result of 10 years of working with children with all manner of ability, economic, and social situations.  Much early work funded by the State Arts Council was directed toward children of economically challenged families through Greenwood Foundation.   The common denominator was music as an enhanced tool in developing early skills in language and math.

More recently, we have developed specific tools using private venture capital and research studies funded by Kirkpatrick Foundation, Barthelmus Foundation, and the Kravis Foundation.  This is the largest study so far.  We hope to show progress with socialization and understanding of math and language with music as a catalyst with children diagnosed autistic and multiple developmental disorders.  We have chosen more severely challenged children based on success with a study at Frost Elementary in Tulsa which showed students using our program scoring 48% higher in math and 23% higher in language development over the control group.

Note:  The Hopper Bopper and the space bar can be used to trigger many events.  The speed of the response can be set in the settings section under mouse double click speed.