Now here’s an iPhone app that rocks!

In 2003, Paramount Pictures released School of Rock, a surprise hit movie that cast Jack Black as Dewey Finn, an unlikely school teacher who teaches adolescent music students the virtues of rock-and-roll. Last week, Paramount comes back with an encore in the form of an iPhone app also called School of Rock which is part game, part teaching app. Much like the movie, the iPhone app seeks to teach music lessons about the core instruments of rock. And much like the movie’s lead character, the app manages to teach rock-and-roll through a series of interactive and entertaining lessons.

The School of Rock iPhone app is a learning app that is jam packed with things to do. It has follow-along lessons for for drums, guitar, keyboards, and bass. The lessons are basic, but fun to play and the music sounds great if you are rocking along with your headphones or external speakers.

There’s lots of music theory in the School of Rock, including notes, chord recognition, and so on. But the real fun is in playing along with the rock songs included in the app. You get to play the instrument of your choice, and you can even play along with your own songs from your iPod touch or iPhone.

The $6.99 price may seem steep for an app that, on the surface, seems like a marketing vehicle for a movie. However, aside from the app’s name and the audio clips featuring Jack Black (“one great rock show can change the world!”), there’s really no other tie-in to the film. So if even you didn’t care much for the movie, you can still find this app thoroughly satisfying. This is one of those rare apps that succeeds as a fun game that actually teaches you something valuable.

The School of Rock iPhone app contains more learning and more fun than any other music teaching app out there. It will expand your knowledge and give you a deeper appreciation of rock-and-roll. After a day playing this fun learning game, you can officially call your iPhone an “axe”.

School of Rock iPhone app – $6.99 [app store]

Add a comment (2 so far)