Stay adorably in tempo with Petronome
Petronome is a free app that offers itself as a standard metronome with animal noises instead of the typical click sounds. This app seems to target children studying music because the noises are very playful. The incentive to download this app as a parent would be to make music practice more exciting for your child.
I used Petronome while playing my keyboard at home. It functions perfectly as a basic metronome. As an adult it truly does feel a little silly to have animal noises guide me through practicing a new song. However, as a child I probably would get a huge kick out of it. I hated practicing piano when I was younger and Petronome might have motivated me to practice enough to become a much more dedicated and professional musician.
The animations are very clever and adorable. The noises that accompany them however, are not very realistic to their corresponding animals. The cat sounds more like a high pitched squeaky toy. The chicken sounds like a rusty wheel. The dog bark is probably the closest to sounding like an actual animal noise. The user can choose to slow or speed up the bpm and the app displays the proper Italian name for that tempo. This metronome has entertainment and educational value that could be appealing to children studying music.
A user is able to access other animal sounds with the premium version of the app, including a fish, a duck, an owl, and a frog. For 99 cents, that might be worth it for a young musician who is also a huge fan of any of these animals and can be used infinitely.
The App Store description mentions that Petronome is good for pet lovers or a rock star. I don't really see Bono bothering with this app, which is definitely more of a toy than it is a useful tool. However, perhaps the next generation "Bono" - who may currently be a six year old learning guitar or piano - may find this app to be very appealing. I don't necessarily see pet lovers using the app just to hear animal sounds as there are already many toys with more realistic sounds that serve that same purpose.
Petronome is cute and useful for users under the age of 10. It's great to help beginner musicians focus in a way that is creative and entertaining. As a free app, it is certainly worth a try for young music students.
