When our six year-old asked if he could try the piano lessons that his school was offering, we were surprised to see how soon afterwards he was reading simple music notation as part of his learning.

Here’s an app to help all children (well, all children with an iPad) start to recognise music notes. It’s aimed at 2-8 year-olds, and uses a mixture of animation, games and music to get them started with notation.

It’s the work of Hong Kong’s Yip’s Children’s Choral and Performing Arts Centre (YCCPAC for short) and apps developer Beluga, who are hoping parents and children will work together through the app’s exercises – so it’s as much a chance to bond as to learn music.

There’s also a physical aspect: 28 “music cards” that can be bought from the Little Musician website and used with the app. “These lovely Music Cards contain musical notes, and their relating positions, animals, and sol-fa name,” explains Beluga.

“Simply tap your Music Cards to the screen and bring the app to life! Each card activates the sound of the particular note or solfege. They are also great for a variety of possible activities on its own.”

Little Musician – Note Reading is a free download for iPad from Apple’s App Store, but the music cards will be sold from Beluga’s website. They’re not there at the time of writing, but a similar set called Little Musician - Musical Instruments costs $39.99, which may be a guide to pricing.