Read to Your Child With Perfect Accompanying Sound Effects
Last night I read my daughter a bedtime story, as always. I picked up an old favorite from her bookshelf, Giraffes Can’t Dance . But this time my narration was accompanied by the musical composition.
“The warthogs began to waltz …” – I read. Then a romantic melody began to play.
I continued. “And the rhinos rock and roll …” Suddenly there was a pause in the performance of the electric guitar.
“The lions danced a tango that was elegant and bold.” Just in time, a dramatic tango melody kicked in.
So, there were no real musicians in my child’s bedroom – it would be strange, because we were sitting in pajamas. But it seemed like they were there, thanks to a free iOS app called Novel Effect .
It’s impressive: When you read a children’s book aloud, your iPhone, iPad or connected speakers play customized music and sound effects to enhance the story. The system uses voice recognition technology to turn on sounds at just the right moment so you can move at your own pace. The Book Without Pictures has a well-timed “ba-dum-bump-chsh”, the hum of engine engines in “ Good Night,” “Good Night,” “Construction Site,” and live underwater effects in “Fishy Inflatable . ” There are even some voiceovers for some of the characters – in ” Where the Wild Beasts” Max appears with his famous phrase “I’ll eat you.”
Novel Effect works with over 200 different books, from classics to recent bestsellers. Some titles are included with the appendix, but for most options, you should already have a copy of the book, whether printed or digital. (There’s also the option to open a book in iBooks right in the app.) After you hit Read Book, you can just put your device aside and start reading.
When it comes to stories with my child, I generally try not to get involved in technology. I shook my head at the sight of many “reading robots” trying to disrupt the sacred ritual. But I have to admit that The Novel Effect is fun. I felt like a real audiobook storyteller. My 5-year-old daughter, who is just learning to speak words, also tried to read the book on her own. She read Pita Kota: I love my white shoes and, amazingly, the system picked up her voice and played the effects at the right moments.
Novel Effect founders Matt and Melissa Hammersley explained to Forbes that the technology is designed to “focus on the story and the narrator.” There are no silly games or reading comprehension questions, and the content should not distract from the real reading experience. However, not every storytelling session requires the assistance of sound effects, and when you are trying to get the kids to sleep, embedding anything digital can have the opposite effect. But now we enjoy revisiting the books we read a long time ago and interacting with them in new ways.
Novel Effect is currently creating media designed for use with Alexa , which makes a lot of sense. It would be nice not to need my phone at all to use this technology. Further, it would be great if they could add sound effects to my daily conversations with my child. I would love it if womp womp played every time my daughter says she doesn’t want to eat broccoli.