(Article from The Independent. Dated 2/3/2000. Author: Emma Haughton)

Of all the subjects on the Web, music is probably the one of the least well developed, which is a pity because the potential is enormous. Computer technology, in the form of such thingsas electronic keyboards and sound processing, is playing an increasingly large role in music teaching in school, and the Internet provides an ideal way to find inspiration and share your own creations.

But there are still a number of useful sites parents can use at home to promote an interest in music and develop musical fluency, and yet more that provide information on composers or musical styles. And as multimedia and the use of audio files over the Internet grows, all this will undoubtedly expand.

www.giveusahome.co.uk/kidscorner/xylophone/Xylophone.html

Hit the bars on the screen xylophone and watch the notes annotate automatically on the music score below. You can delete and make amends, change the tempo and length of notes, then replay the whole sequence to your heart's content. A simple yet fascinating introudction to the wonders of electronic composition, and ahppily you can play it offline.