http://www.smartmusic.com/
One of the things I got to experience in the two days of observation last week was a quick run through of smart music. For those in band, it is a great and easy way to assess how well a student can play songs from a methods book. Basically, the way it works is the teacher downloads whichever methods book the class is using from the catalog of resources available. Then the teacher can assign certain songs in the book to be played at any given time. The student then can play through the piece on the classroom computer, or can go home, record, and send an mp3 file from a home computer running the program. As the student plays through the song, a bar moves across the screen in the correct tempo marking. When the test is done, the program tells the student what went wrong (such as note or rhythm problems) and the student can either send it in for a grade or record it again.
I think it's rather cool to have something like this especially since there are tons of method books, fun books, and solos available to use with the program. Speaking of solos, I also heard that in the state of Kansas, if no accompanist is available for a performer at state solo contests, then smart music can be used as an accompanying thingy. When I heard this I just keep the grin off my face because I have no intention of ever filling in as an accompanist in any school (even though we all know Kirsten is the only who is pretty much able to do that). What happens is, the program will play through the accompanying line, but it will follow the performer as they slow down or speed up or just totally mess up.
I feel smart music is a great thing for music teachers who find that they are teaching everything by themselves and don't have time to listen to each individual student perform an etude. It also lets students try solos in contests if there is no accompaniment. I attached a link to the site at the beginning of the post and I think it's something worth checking into.
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Totally agree. Smart music a good tool for music educators, but we can't let it become our teaching crutch. I know I'll probably use it, but I will always be careful to make sure I'm not using it as a way to get out of my own work.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, smartmusic is awesome.
What a cool tool! For you "music people", who will have many many students, this tool will be an amazing asset. If we had this at my high school, the choir and band director's life would have been so much easier. She had lots of classes plus individual voice lessons and other small group things that this tool would have helped her out a ton. I am so happy that you were introduced to such a beneficial tool!
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