MakeMusic, Inc. announced the formal release of the new SmartMusic, a web-based redesign of the interactive music practice platform for music students and educators.
“We believe that deliberate practice, with a strong connection between student and teacher, can transform skill development,” said Fred Flowerday, MakeMusic’s senior vice president of product strategy. “SmartMusic provides a platform for teaching and learning music that empowers this connection. The new SmartMusic makes this experience as inclusive and affordable as possible.
Like the classic SmartMusic, the new SmartMusic supports the proven deliberate practice model by providing immediate feedback and making it possible for educators to individually guide each student.
Students practice specific music assigned by their teacher and receive instant feedback on what they played correctly – and incorrectly. They also receive an assessment score and can hear recordings of their performances. When they’ve mastered an assignment, SmartMusic sends their score and recording back to their teacher’s Gradebook to be evaluated, graded, and documented. Teachers and students can also easily provide comments on every performance.
In addition to interactive practice tools for students and administrative tools that streamline classroom management and document student progress, SmartMusic includes a large repertoire library.
“The key to any practice platform is available content,” said Heath Mathews, MakeMusic’s vice president of repertoire and licensing. “Like its predecessor, the new SmartMusic includes the music that students and teachers are looking for, with thousands of ensemble and solo titles as well as the world’s most popular method books. What’s more, we work with music publishers around the world to further build on this collection, and we are continually adding new pieces of repertoire to the platform.”
The new SmartMusic is priced to make full classroom coverage a reality. Starting at $399/year, up to 3 teachers can connect with up to 50 students. This platform is scalable to music programs regardless of size so additional teachers and students can be added inexpensively, if necessary. There is also a free version that provides every music educator and student all the power of the paid version but with limited access to the content.
“The new SmartMusic has been available in limited release since September,” said Greg Dell’Era, MakeMusic’s director of technology implementation. “Since then it has continued to evolve thanks to feedback from hundreds of music educators. Designed to facilitate the participation of every student, the new SmartMusic will empower more educators to inspire all their students to new heights.”
