MakeMusic Forum

The original version of this page can be found at : http://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=23&m=99181

Posted By : dave2005 - 12/6/2004 2:15 AM

Cool, new forum. :D

Can someone explain SmartMusic to me, what are the benefits and how it works etc?

Finale 2005, Windows ME, Yamaha Clavinova CLP-920

Posted By : Tyler - 12/6/2004 10:57 PM

My best advice is to check out www.smartmusic.com and watch the videos of SmartMusic. It's a good way to get introduced to the program. SmartMusic an accompanist, a teacher, and a practice studio rolled into one. It comes with thousands of accompaniments for instrumental and vocal solos. SmartMusic listens to the performer through a computer microphone and matches tempo, entrances, starts/stops, etc. It comes with a number of method books built in, such as the Hal Leonard Essential Elements and Standards of Excellence. As a teacher, I use these frequently with my students. It provides a nice accompaniment which makes it more entertaining for the kids to play with (not to mention getting them to listen!). It even shows them which notes they get right and wrong, indicating pitch and rhythm mistakes. This becomes a favorite game for them, as they love trying to get all green (correct) notes. Besides the method books, there are a ton of exercises for sharpening technique - similar to the scales, arpeggios, and twisters you see in methods such as the Arban's. The assessment also works here, and they've created background tracks to play along with. The rhythm exercises are some of my favorite, and I assign a few of them for my students each week. One of the cooler recent developments in SmartMusic is the ability to create our own files for SmartMusic using Finale 2005. I've been making use of this to create tailored exercises for my students to address their weaknesses. The tuner is also extremely handy. At the university here, students use SmartMusic as a way of learning how their parts fit with the accompaniment and for the exercises. Vocalists also love being able to hear their part (the solo line can be turned on) rather than going to a piano and picking them out.

Windows XP, all updates

Posted By : dunce58 - 12/7/2004 6:24 PM

Hi,

I am brand new. Where do I post questions regarding Print Music? Is Smart Music the same as Print Music?
Dunce58

Posted By : Tyler - 12/8/2004 5:37 PM

PrintMusic and SmartMusic are different programs. If you have a Windows version of PrintMusic, post your question on the Windows forum here. If you have Mac, post it on the Macintosh forum.

Windows XP, all updates

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