Kapu Bloom Tunes

Although my son will be seven soon and prefers math apps or building games, I still have a soft place in my heart for applications geared towards the youngest members of the family. One of my favorite developers, for toddlers and beyond, is Kapu Toys: a developer that, as the name may describe, creates digital toys that are always lovingly polished with a use of wonderful colors, music, and sound effects.

Their new app, Kapu Bloom Tunes, allows children to have a chance to grow musical flowers. This app opens first to a seed that needs painting. In a moment that could not be more intuitive, users learn to simply drag a finger across the seed after choosing a color from a selection of bold, bright choices. From the most intricate of designs to the roughest smears from a toddler, these marks will soon be transformed to a beautiful flower, with the designs drawn later as seen at the pattern within the blooming petals. While painting, do note that the eight included colors have been assigned their own musical note, complete with the ability to drag a finger across this palette to listen to the musical scale as a finger is dragged across the screen.

I do love the melodies heard here while children paint as these different colors, now associated with the different musical sounds who’s color becomes subtly highlighted while their individual sounds are being played, create a lovely nod to music education for the very young. When the seed has been colored in, press and hold the watering can to fill the screen with water to crack open the seed with a sprouting flower that will be seen fully grown.

From here, one can see included the newly grown flower plus two other blossoms, soon to be the previous three floras one recently detailed – each of which may include different petal shapes. It’s a nice touch that I am quite fond of. Spin these petals to hear melodies played forward or in reverse, as well as hear how the speed of the music being played becomes varied as children explore, including drum sounds that one will find with a tap to the center of these flowers. Also of note are the natural outdoor ambient sound effects that one can hear while experimenting with these floral displays – a detail that I have admired within Kapu Toys’ other apps, Kapu Blocks and Kapu Forest

When ready, a tap will allow children to paint a new seed. Do notice how when new seeds are painted, different instruments can be heard – from the tinny or earthy percussive sounds to woodwind selections and beyond. The musical elements included are quite elegant for a children's app, and I appreciate how standard children's songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb can have a level of sophistication that adults as well as kids will appreciate.

Kapu Bloom Tunes is a charming app that, although developed as an early music and art app, will keep the interest of adults and older children as well. It is quite easy to recommend Kapu Bloom Tunes and the other apps from these developers. I look forward to any new apps Kapu Toys develops in the future as I am sure they will include a rich use of color and a very special use of sounds.