Toca
Band for iPad and iPhone
Toca Boca
£1.49
Toca Boca makes delightful apps for children. The lastest, Toca Band, is no exception. The app features a range of cartoon characters, each of which sings part of a song. Some of them sing parts of the vocals, for example, while others handle bass or percussion.
By placing them in different positions on stage it's possible to create very different pieces of music. The higher up the stage you place a character, the more active they are in the song. That means you can create something very beat-driven by placing the percussion high up, or remove the percussion entirely and have something more relaxed.
At the top, in the centre, is a star stage. Put a character on here and you will be able to improvise with them, adding your own style to the song.
As always, the animation and artwork is enjoyably silly and the app follows Toca Boca's usual model of providing an open-ended toy that children can play with in their own way. Younger children will simply enjoy dragging the characters on and off the stage, while older children will be able to spend more time creating exactly the song they want.
The downside is that there is just one song. This lack of variety won't bother small children, who will happily play for hours, but it might start to drive parents to distraction well before then.
