SmartMusic
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Denton Ave Band
Smart Music
Dear Denton Ave Band Parents,
We have an exciting opportunity for your student that will not only help your child substantially improve their ability, but will also actually make practicing a lot more fun.
It’s called SmartMusic® and it’s a practice and assessment software program that’s currently being used in thousands of school districts across the country. We have our own subscription here at school and plan to use it extensively throughout the school year.
We recommend that you seriously consider SmartMusic for home use. The cost is $30 for a one-year subscription, plus a one-time cost for the microphone ($19.95 for Windows, $29.95 for Mac). That investment will make a huge difference in your student’s ability to meet our class goals — and it will make practicing more engaging and productive.
SmartMusic provides your student access to thousands of music titles, all with professional accompaniment that sounds great and helps encourage practice. The software provides immediate feedback that shows your student what they played correctly and where they need to improve. The assessment scores encourage continued practice, similar to scores in a video game. To learn more, view a short video at www.smartmusic.com.
We sincerely hope you choose to order a SmartMusic subscription for this year. You can place your order at www.smartmusic.com. We’ve seen how well it works and how well students respond. We know it can make a significant difference in your student’s ability and increase their love for making music.
Sincerely,
Mr. Mark Bligh
Denton Ave Elementary School
www.herricks.org/webpages/mbligh
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SmartMusic?
SmartMusic is a software-based computer program that helps students practice and submit their school music assignments. Students can practice anything from exercises, solos, band and string methods, as well as the music that they are performing with their school band, orchestra, or choir. SmartMusic records and even grades student progress from home or school practice room computers and includes a metronome, tuner, and digital recorder. SmartMusic is also a sophisticated accompaniment program that can be used by students preparing for NYSSMA and solo recitals.
How does SmartMusic benefit your family?
Individual practice is often boring as the music has been taken out of its intended group context. SmartMusic makes practicing fun. With SmartMusic, students practice with professional accompaniment. This makes practice time more engaging and productive, and helps develop better listening skills and a more mature understanding of the music.
Students may also practice longer and more effectively as a result of the built-in assessment features. SmartMusic enables students to record their assignments for self-evaluation and submit these recordings as part of their assignment. Most assignments offer assessment, where green and red notes indicate what students have performed correctly and where improvement is needed. In this digital age, students are accustomed to receiving immediate feedback, and they respond by setting their goals higher.
A SmartMusic subscription also provides your son or daughter immediate access to the world's largest accompaniment library, allowing them to explore areas of interest and set their own development objectives.
What is needed to use SmartMusic?
SmartMusic works on your PC or Mac and requires an Internet connection to activate your subscription and receive and send assignments on-line. System requirements and support contacts are listed at www.smartmusic.com/support. External computer speakers are also suggested.
What does this cost?
You can purchase a full-year subscription linked to our school's account for $30 per year. Although any computer microphone is usable, microphones available from SmartMusic are recommended as they are adapted for instruments or vocalists(head set). (Mac computers also require a USB microphone adaptor. )
How do I get started?
Go to www.smartmusic.com and take the SmartMusic tour to see how the program works. Should you decide to subscribe, your child's music teacher will provide him/her with a password that will be needed in order to activate a home subscription. While you must be on-line to activate, receive, or post assignments and to download ensemble and other new titles, no web browser is required, and you can practice “off- line” at any time. If you run into any questions with purchasing, activating, or using SmartMusic, SmartMusic technical support is free.
If I have more than one music student at home, do I have to purchase more subscriptions?
No. After purchasing a subscription, you must activate that subscription on a single computer. Then everyone in your household can practice and perform with SmartMusic on this computer. Additional subscriptions would be necessary only if your family would like to practice on more than one computer within your home.
We look forward to exploring this exciting program with our students.
Sincerely,
Anissa Arnold
