Review by Polly Conway, Common Sense Education | Updated July 2013

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Incredibox

Name: Incredibox
Item: Incredibox
Rating: 3
Author: Polly Conway

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Mix and groove along to a variety of sweet beats

Subjects & skills

Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.

6–12

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These seven hip dudes are your very own beatboxing crew.

Repeated play "unlocks" fun, tres French songs to listen to.

Can't get enough of these faces? There are lots of promo items to buy.

The Incredibox Top 50 lets you listen to others' compositions.

Pros: Design is outstanding, and writing music is beyond fun with these guys at your fingertips.

Cons: Play can become repetitive, and kids may tire of it eventually.

Bottom Line: Musically minded kids will go wild here, creating compelling pieces of music in minutes, and beginners will feel like pros right away.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Incredibox would make a great warm-up activity for a choir, band, or any sort of music appreciation class. Heck, it's so fun, any classroom could benefit from a few musical rounds. Kids can easily sing along or improvise to the simple tunes (very easy to harmonize with) that come from Incredibox combinations.

Incredibox appears to be a totally fun place to play around, but it's teaching music and composition skills at the same time. Score! You may go crazy hearing your kids' somewhat repetitive songs, but they will love this beatboxing crew.

What Is It?

Incredibox is a music creation website that allows users to put together songs from a collection of pre-created musical elements. A handful of sleepy-eyed hipsters become your very own beatboxing crew with Incredibox's simple interface. Beginning with a single character on-screen, users assign him a particular musical element, which he will repeat. Drag and drop from a bar of options -- Effects, Beats, Melodies, Chorus, and Voices. Another dude appears next to the first, and you choose a sound for him, and so on, until the screen is full and you've created a rich song. No sound is "wrong"; they all fit into the ever-developing song.

Is It Good for Learning?

Kids can learn to put together a great-sounding song by experimenting with 20 different beats, melodies, and other musical elements. They'll make decisions about what sounds best, and create mood and atmosphere by adding or subtracting certain elements from a composition. Discovering where a single sound fits into the whole of a song, kids will gain an understanding of the combinations it takes to make all kinds of music.

Layering these song elements is crazy fun, and kids will love playing around with this site (and although the never-ending jam might get a little repetitive to parental ears, it's better than Barney). The site's a bit difficult to navigate at first, but after a little poking around, everything makes sense. The black-and-white characters are modern and funny to watch as they make their musical contributions. Creativity and experimentation are at the forefront. In terms of musical composition, the tools are somewhat limited. Kids won't be able to take the learning experience very far; however, they will get to see how simple sounds come together to create a dynamic piece of music.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

It's SO fun. That's all there is to it. Kids will get addicted to shaping songs, and the chill posse of animated beatboxers couldn't be better designed.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

While it feels like playing, there's definitely learning tucked in behind the music-making. Kids who love experimenting here can move on to other, more complex digital programs.

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

Aside from a short intro video outlining the basics, there's not a ton of instruction. Songs can be recorded and saved, and there's a solid community of Incredibox fans out there.

Common Sense Reviewer

Polly Conway Classroom teacher

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Featured review by
Jill L. , Technology coordinator

Technology coordinator

Great bridge into using Garageband to make music.

I like how visual the website is and how easy it is to understand dragging and dropping. A con is that the animation of the people on the site is men without their shirts on at first, but it is not graphic by any means and I do not find it inappropriate. My students always love using Incredibox and often choose it at home. I found it was a wonderful visual and engaging way to represent musical parts.

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