Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

June 28, 2013:  Congratulations to Cassandra S. who won a free copy of SlowTunes!

SlowTunes is a new, iPhone app ($1.99) developed by the dad of a girl with apraxia.  She loved the “Time to Sing” CD which features popular kids’ tunes like the Hokey Pokey and Wheels on the Bus at a slower tempo that she could keep up with.  But time goes on, kids’ tastes change and sometimes a mom or dad needs  to hear a new song.  SlowTunes was born.

This app allows you to upload songs you already have in your playlist and play them at a slower speed with no change in pitch.  No.  Change.  In.  Pitch.  Awesome, right?

You’ve got to check it out to see both the simplicity and brilliance of the idea.  Ever want to really hear what the artist is saying?  Ever try to learn a song and wish you could start at just a slightly slower speed (For instance, if you are a middle school boy who wants to rap, but your mom won’t let you which includes not letting you print out lyrics because you pick the most misogynistic and/or violent songs available.  Uh, oh, I might not be able to share my copy at home)?  Ever have a child who just can’t keep up with the “standard” song?

The screen will show you the song title/cover and give you options to play/fastforward/rewind as well as play rates of:  normal, slower, or slowest.  By going into settings, you choose the rate for “slower” and “slowest.”  Options are between 50%-100%, done in increments of 5%.  The default for “slower” is 90% and “slowest” is 80%.  Percentage points have a bigger impact than you’d imagine!

I think this would be great for lots of speech and language delayed kiddos, and I’ve got a free copy to giveaway!  If you’d like to enter, simply comment below, letting us know how you think you are most likely to use the app.  Though it is currently optimal on the iPhone, it can be used on the iPad.  Please also include the device you are most likely to use it on.

You must enter by midnight EST, June 27, 2013.  The winner will be selected at random and announced on Friday, June 28, 2013.  Good luck!

I received a free copy of SlowTunes, but all views expressed are strictly mine.

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This Post Has 12 Comments

  1. Cindy

    Love this idea! I use music with my students and often wish some songs were slower. This would do the trick.

  2. Little Angels School

    This app sounds brilliant. We have so many CDs that are just too fast for our pupils. We have many students with apraxia, speech delay and autism. We would love to receive a copy to try out!

  3. Cassandra S

    I love to use music in therapy. This would be great to help some of my kiddos who struggle to “keep up” – would love to try it out! I will likely try it on both iPhone and iPad. Thanks!

  4. Jodi

    This would be great for my daughter and sometimes for the adults just to figure out what the lyrics are. I would use it on an iphone.

  5. Sharon S.

    This sounds so cool! I could definitely use this with some of my artic. kiddos!

  6. Stephanie

    This is fantastic! I’m a music therapist working in the public schools, and I’ve in the past used Audacity (a free PC program) to slow songs down to a more obtainable rate of speech, then put the file in iTunes, then plug in my iPad to sync… it’s a tedious process to be sure. This app would make it a lot easier!

  7. Judie

    My daughter, Alessandra, was diagnosed with Apraxia when she was 2, so hearing about this app makes me very happy. I teach yoga to children, some with special needs. However, even those who don’t have “special needs” (isn’t every child special needs??) would benefit from this app. I would love to use it in my kids yoga classes. I would use it on both my iphone and ipad. Does this work on an ipod touch?

    Namaste.

    Judie

    1. Brian Stokes

      Yes, Judie, SlowTunes works on the iPod Touch, too.

      And right on about the “special needs”. I haven’t met a single person in my life that doesn’t have a “special need”!

  8. Deb Culbertson

    This would be a great app for my students with CAS.

  9. Lisa

    Great idea!!!

  10. Myra

    I have been looking for an app like this for a while. I have clients that benefit from a phonological/visual pacing activity with an alphabet song. Different ages and different skill levels need different rates of the song. Seriously, I am still using my old Marantz cassette player that has a dictation function to allow control of playback speed. This would be a Godsend!

  11. Kim

    Awesome app! I can’t think of any student/client that wouldn’t benefit from this, and they all love music. Especially useful for articulation, childhood apraxia, language delays and even stuttering. Definitely a smart app for the smart phone!!

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The views expressed in this blog are my own and are intended to inspire other speech-language pathologists in their own practice. If you are a parent, teacher or other educator, these ideas are not intended to take the place of treatment by a certified clinician. Read full disclaimer here.