| Developer(s) | MakeMusic, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | SmartMusic originated as Vivace, introduced in 1994. |
| Operating system | Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X v10.4, Mac OS X v10.5 |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Music learning software |
| Website | SmartMusic website |
SmartMusic, formerly Vivace, is a subscription-based commercial software application designed to help band, orchestra and choir students develop skills and prepare music for performance.
What Is SmartMusic?
The aim of SmartMusic is to provide accompaniment to students all the time they are practicing. This ever-present accompaniment supports students as they develop skills, prepare solo literature, practice pieces for their next concert, and learn to play the blues.
When students practice without accompaniment, they cannot hear where the pitch should be. Nor can they learn how to play with others in the ensemble or sense the structure and emotions of the music. They cannot practice listening, a most important skill. By providing accompaniment, SmartMusic accelerates learning, fosters a wide range of skill development, and makes practicing much more fun.
When students are preparing solo literature, their accompaniment must be flexible and adapt to their spontaneous tempo changes. When accompaniment does not hear what the students are doing, it forces them to conform to its pre-recorded tempi – the opposite of an artistic experience. Students need to practice expressing themselves as they experiment with slowing down in one spot and moving forward in another. SmartMusic’s Intelligent Accompaniment® allows students to do this by listening to them and adjusting the accompaniment tempo to follow their interpretation of the music. This means students can project their personalities into the music and enjoy the resulting emotions. (Note that Intelligent Accompaniment is used only with solo literature; exercises and ensemble titles require students to play precisely with the recorded tempi.)
The spirit of SmartMusic also embraces formative assessment so that students get instant feedback and can immediately make adjustments to their performance. This feedback comes in the form of 1) audio recordings of what they just performed for purposes of self-assessment; and 2) colored notation that shows students what notes and rhythms were performed wrong and how to correct them. SmartMusic assessment enables students to learn and improve even when their teachers are not present.
Teachers use SmartMusic to guide student practice time, motivate student progress, and document student achievement. This last point is fundamental to defending music in school curricula when accountability is being stressed by No Child Left Behind. SmartMusic provides documentation that proves students are achieving. Academic programs that do not test and document student achievement are unlikely to be funded in the future.
SmartMusic is a result of three large and complex development efforts that comprise the integrated system:
1. Technology. The numerous technologies utilized within SmartMusic include a) display music notation onscreen; b) sync the notation to audio accompaniments; c) hear what a student performs and compare it to what the student is supposed to perform; d) efficiently show the student what was performed incorrectly and what is needed to correct the performance; e) display fingering chart when student clicks on a note; f) use Intelligent Accompaniment when accompanying solo literature; g) record student performances for self-assessment and documentation; and h) provide a range of practice tools such as metronome, tuner, practice loops, tempo controls, transposition, etc.
2. Content. The SmartMusic accompaniment library is the largest in the world with 2500 band, orchestra and jazz ensemble titles; 8400 solo titles for strings, winds, percussion and voice; 50,000 skill development exercises; and 20 band and string methods including Essential Elements, Accent on Achievement, Standards of Excellence, Rubank and Suzuki.
3. Web services. The Internet is the means by which a) teachers select and post assignments to their students; b) students receive their assignments and practice instructions; c) students post their completed assignments along with their assessment grades and/or recordings; and d) teachers manage student grades and document student progress. The SmartMusic back office currently supports 160,000 student subscriptions which allow students to download and post an unrestricted number of music files and assignments. The servers are redundant and scalable.
SmartMusic Assignments
The heart of SmartMusic is the assignment feature. It transforms how school music teachers prepare pieces for public performance, how students develop skills, and the very nature, efficiency and productivity of practice time. Here is an outline of the SmartMusic assignment process:
1. The teacher selects a title or exercise from the SmartMusic library or creates a title with Finale music notation software. If the selected title is a work for band, jazz ensemble or orchestra, it comes with pre-defined assignments. For example, the 1st movement of the Hindemith Symphony for Band comes with three pre-defined assignments for each part (1st Trumpet, 2nd Trombone, etc.). Every assignment for each part has specific instructions on how to practice the assignment. These pre-defined assignments are created by experts who know how to teach the specific title. The teacher simply selects the desired pre-defined assignment or creates one.
2. The teacher defines the date the assignment is to be sent to the students, the date it is due and how many points it is worth. Then the teacher posts the assignment. The entire process takes a teacher less than one minute to complete.
3. The student receives the assignment within SmartMusic. When the student selects the assignment, SmartMusic opens the file complete with instructions automatically. The student never has to find or open a file.
4. The student practices the title and works to achieve mastery by slowing down tempi and using practice loops. However, they can only submit an assignment when their performance conforms to all requirements including specified tempi.
5. When the student achieves an acceptable assessment score and/or recording, s/he submits the completed assignment to the teacher’s grade book with one click. The process is automated so that the student need not save files or email files. This automation is not only convenient, it also ensures there will be no errors in the assignment submissions. Students can only submit the exact assignment as defined by the teacher.
6. Teachers see the student scores and recordings appear in his or her SmartMusic grade book. The grade book also handles other types of assignments, tracks practice reports, calculates grades and manages student records.
Transforming School Music Programs
To fully appreciate the transformative nature of SmartMusic, consider how it changes the daily rehearsals for a band. Without SmartMusic, students typically come to rehearsal not knowing how the piece sounds, how their part fits in, or even how to practice it at home. With SmartMusic assignments, they have a chance to hear how the piece sounds, work out pitch problems, isolate difficult measures in practice loops, and sense the meaning and drama of the music… all before the first rehearsal with the band! With SmartMusic, students come to rehearsal ready to make music.
Also consider the ways in which SmartMusic transforms how students learn to improvise. They can: • Practice skill development exercises that focus on the blues scale and chord progressions. • Practice with Play-By-Ear exercises that teach them to hear a phrase and play it back. These exercises include numerous blues licks created especially for SmartMusic by Wynton Marsalis’ rhythm section. • See the chord changes in the tune notated as patterns including tonics, 123, 1235, 1357, etc. This helps students understand the grammar of the tunes. • Practice the tunes at slower tempi and use practice loops to master difficult chord changes. • Practice the tunes in any key. • Record themselves to hear if they are swinging. • Individually turn off the bass, piano or drums and sit in with Mr. Marsalis' rhythm section. • See the notation of what Mr. Marsalis' rhythm section played throughout the tune.
Significance of SmartMusic
As previously mentioned, there is increasing pressure for school programs to assess and document student achievement. But how can a band teacher with seventy-five students in one band and sixty in another possibly test and document each student’s skill development and ability to perform concert music? It is not possible without SmartMusic, which is the only computerized assessment solution for students in school music ensembles.
Furthermore, school music programs often have less funding each year forcing teachers to make do with less rehearsal time and handle larger student to teacher ratios. SmartMusic provides the cost-effective, comprehensive solution that students enjoy.
Whether students are studying jazz, preparing a sonata, practicing scales or starting a beginning method book, SmartMusic is with them – accompanying them, guiding them, assessing them and inspiring them. It is a truly transformative innovation that is strengthening music programs around the country.
Inventor of SmartMusic
SmartMusic was conceptualized by John Paulson who founded MakeMusic, Inc. in order to bring SmartMusic to life. Paulson benefited from an exceptional music education that began in one of the nation’s strongest public school music programs. He has a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Arts in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. He started giving private lessons when he was sixteen, played professionally when he was seventeen and taught music in Minnesota public schools for nine years. He is a published composer and arranger, guest conductor and clinician.
Paulson served on the boards of the American Composers Forum, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Wenger Corporation and the International Association of Music Merchants as well as on the two publicly held companies he founded. He has worked with diverse organizations including Juilliard, Northwestern University, Carnegie-Mellon University, Berklee College of Music, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Council of Chief State School Officers, University of Minnesota, Texas Music Educators Association, MENC, Associated Boards of the Royal Schools of Music, Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique Musique, Kunitachi College of Music, Musashino Academia Musicae, Osaka College of Music and Shobi College of Music. He has lobbied Washington D.C. on behalf of music education and served on the Global Economic Summit of the Music Products Industry.
Paulson is a member of the Kaufman Advisors Group at the Eastman School of Music and advised the music schools at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Minnesota. In 2002 he received the Golden Clef Award from the Berklee College of Music in recognition of his contribution to music education.