SmartMusic Software by MakeMusic!
Written: Jan 04 '08 (Updated Sep 02 '09)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: SmartMusic makes practicing fun
useful for music teachers, students, performers
wide-ranging repertoire for many instruments
Cons: Nothing Major--A few bugs, takes awhile to learn the user interface
The Bottom Line: Any Student, Teacher or Player will enjoy playing along with SmartMusic--the learning possibilities are endless and I practice SMARTER with this program!
|
|
|
| jenniferkateab's Full Review: MakeMusic SmartMusic 9.0 Full Version for PC, Mac ... |
Banish the Practice Blues Away! My daughter and I have been studying Suzuki violin for about four years now, and about a year ago our teacher introduced us to SmartMusic. What is SmartMusic in a nutshell? The answer is, an amazing software which has thousands of music pieces coded in memory and can play them with you while you practice.
What makes SmartMusic smarter than a CD, which can also play music, is that you can use the SmartMusic control panel to manipulate how the piece is played, adjusting the tempo, playing either the solo line or the accompaniment (or both), looping through a particular practice spot, and even having the software adjust its pitch using the software's built-in tuner and a microphone which you buy separately.
As you play along with SmartMusic, the musical notation is shown on screen, about three lines at a time. The music on screen looks almost identical to the pages as they appear in my instruction books. During a run-through, a green highlighter moves along,measure by measure, note by note, to show you where you are in case you get lost. No matter how complicated a measure is to count, you can count on SmartMusic to play it exactly as written!
Another thing I love about SmartMusic is playing along with the piano accompaniment. What a blessing for any musician or student who is practicing for a recital or performance. You can start your practice at the tempo which suits your current ability and work up to your goal tempo as your technique progresses. Best of all, like a metronome it keeps your tempo steady and makes sure you don't speed up at the easy parts and slow down for those 32nd notes! These features alone make the software incredibly useful for students and teachers alike.
Memorization is one key to the Suzuki method, and both my daughter and I find memorization very tedious. However, playing along with the program has made memorizing music at least more tolerable and a lot more fun. I have also found it fun to play duets with SmartMusic. For example, the Bach Double Concerto has First and Second Violin parts. I simply play the First Part while SmartMusic plays the Second Part--Voila, A Duet!
If you play along with the solo part during your practice, you can check your technique and accuracy against the computer's. I have caught myself playing wrong notes, having bad intonation or counting measures incorrectly this way. It truly is like having a teacher or tutor living inside your computer! Also, when I'm helping my daughter learn a piece, SmartMusic becomes our referee-- sometimes she doesn't believe me that a particular measure is counted the way I tell her, so we agree to follow it on SmartMusic-- what a blessing for Suzuki parents.
Now, what if you or your child is studying another instrument? No problem, there is a vast repertoire of technique and solo books for almost any brass, woodwind, or string instrument, and even vocal selections.
Here's what MakeMusic! says about their product on their website (www.makemusic.com):
"SmartMusic is learning software for students in band, orchestra, and choir. Students never practice alone when they have SmartMusic at home. This interactive, computer-based practice system helps students get better faster, and makes practicing more fun. With amazing accompaniments for more than 30,000 titles, challenging exercises, and the ability to record personal CDs, SmartMusic is the future of music learning.
With SmartMusic loaded on a computer, students plug in a vocal or instrumental microphone and begin practicing. They play or sing their part with accompaniment and receive, in real time on the computer, detailed feedback on their performance. Ideal for woodwind, brass, string, and vocal."
Some Additional Features
SmartMusic is a very full-featured program, and I haven't even experimented with all of the functions yet. Here are some additional features which may tempt you to try it out: Recording, Assessment, Tuner, Metronome, Transpose, Fingering Charts, Play By Ear, Improv Patterns, Jazz Exercises. You can read more about each of them on their website.
Should you purchase the microphone from SmartMusic? Yes, I definitely recommend getting their microphone. It's a small additional cost, but it makes a huge difference in the usefulness of the program. We clip the small microphone on my daughter's violin. She can then use SmartMusic to help tune her instrument (it tells her if a string's pitch is sharp or flat). SmartMusic will also listen for her to start playing and begin its accompaniment. The program is supposed to slow down or speed up based on her speed. We haven't tested this function completely, yet, but it seems to be pretty sensitive to the sounds from her violin.
How do I get SmartMusic?
SmartMusic is available for either PC running XP or Vista, or Mac. I have a PC, but my Music Teacher has a Mac and it seems to work fine for her. If you are a Suzuki violin student, your teacher may have a special student password that enables you to pay for a $25 per year subscription online. Once you purchase a subscription, you can either download the program or request a CD to be mailed to you. I found the download process took awhile, but was well worth the wait. I had no problems installing the software and I have since downloaded several new versions without incident.
I imagine that almost any student could obtain a subscription for the $25 annual rate, I would just check on the website. You can also order the SmartMusic 10 software in a box online at various vendors, and some packages come with one or more microphones. I have found the program very handy without a microphone, but my teachers use them with great results.
There are a few minor things about SmartMusic that I wish were different. They are definitely minor and don't hinder the overall effectiveness of the program!
1) The user interface takes awhile to get used to and is not always easy to manipulate. However, as I have used it for about a year now I have discovered some useful shortcuts.
2) Often when you boot up the program, it tells you there are updates to the Repertoire Library. It can take quite awhile (around 30 minutes) to download the catalog updates, so I try to limit the number of times I say "yes" to them.
3) Occasionally you will find a measure which has not been coded correctly. Basically, the program plays the wrong note (for example, doesn't continue an accidental all the way through a measure), which is a little annoying but not frequent.
4) There is one bug, in which you cannot turn off the Intelligent Accompaniment toggle switch. I didn't buy the microphone at first, and in certain pieces the accompaniment waits to hear your note before continuing. I tried calling tech support about this, and they fixed the problem temporarily, but it is a minor nuisance. As I said above, the program is really designed to work with a microphone, and having used it both ways, I agree that the microphone is essential to get the full value from SmartMusic.
5) SmartMusic only synthesizes the piano sound. I would love it if you could hear other instruments, for example a violin playing the solo part of the piece I'm trying to learn. Maybe they will add this to future versions!
Bottom Line: If you have a music student in the family or are a student yourself, like me, you will find so many uses for the program. It is one of those things that, the more you use it, the more you realize you can't live without it. I have come to depend on this additional support system in my weekly practice and for my daughter's learning, and will definitely renew my subscription.
Related Reviews and Essays:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars: Suzuki Violin School Volume 1
Beautiful Tone, Beautiful Heart: Suzuki Violin School Volume 2
A Mother-Daughter Suzuki Experience: Two Violins, One Concerto, A Loving Bond
Note Reading for Beginners: I Can Read Music by Joanne Martin
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jenniferkateab
|
 in Home and Garden |
 in Home and Garden |
|
Member: Jennifer
Location: Rocky Mtns.
Reviews written: 191
Trusted by: 204 members
About Me:
Happiness is when your thoughts, your words, and your actions are in harmony.~M_Ghandi
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.