Chormatik and SmartMusic

This week we learned about two performance based software programs, Chormatik and SmartMusic, available on the Internet for free or a low yearly fee. I have been using SmartMusic for many years now, first as a student, then again as a teacher, but had never heard of the free program Chormatik. This program offers free sheet music that can be played on your computer or as an App on your smart phone or tablet. There are several features that I really like about Chormatik, but the main reason I am interested in this program is because it offers popular music that students and adults would want to learn. While I was looking through the music, I saw everything including pop tunes, country, famous Disney songs, jazz, alternative, rock, etc… I could definitely see myself, as an adult, finding songs that I was interested in and learning to play those pieces. I love the annotation feature where students can make notes on the music on their tablets. I also love that the music will turn pages for you and there is a small video at the bottom of the screen so that students (or adults) can play along with the actual recording of the song.  The practice log is also something that immediately caught my attention. I assign a weekly practice log to my students, and about 2% actually complete and turn in this assignment. I have tried several different ways of assigning this, but it seems only the most dedicated of students will actually take the time to write their practice habits down. If there was a platform where the students could record their practice on an App and share it with me immediately, the success of this assignment may be greater than if the students write with pencil and paper.

            My concerns as an educator with using this product are that these songs may be above the performance level of the students I teach.

“Do You Want to Build a Snowman” as well as other Frozen songs, are extremely popular among my students, but looking at the sheet music, there is no way even my beginning students would be able to perform this piece. Several of my advanced students may be able to work through it, but the majority of my students are at a very basic level of performance. However, if I were to assign homework to my middle school orchestra students, than Chormatik may be a useful and effective tool.  

My other concern is that all the special features like the annotation tool, practice logs, and recordings aren’t available on the computer. I do not own a tablet, and I’m sure many of my students do not own a tablet either. I know most have smart phones, however the screen may be a bit small to read the music or to write on. Having tablets seems almost necessary for this software program, which may be a concern for many of my students, and myself. I was also sad to see that the School and Group feature had been removed from the website. Previously there was a portion of the website and App dedicated to schools and groups, but it became to expensive for the company to continue to run. https://chromatik.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204735875-What-happened-to-Chromatik-for-Schools-Groups- Hopefully this website will be able to bring back the features that they had for teachers and group classes in the future.

            SmartMusic is a program I am much more familiar with. When I was in high school, my teacher would allow us to use SmartMusic in the practice rooms during the school day, and I used it when I went to my teacher’s home for private lessons. In college I used smart music to help with my jazz improvisation and also as accompaniment for the numerous solos I had to perform throughout the years. I even used the accompaniment tool for my jury test one semester when my pianist became unavailable at the last minute. The great thing about that was that SmartMusic was able to follow along with me so if I made a mistake or changed tempo, the program was able to stay with my speed the entire time. Now, as an educator, I wish I could have SmartMusic at all of my schools for my students to use. Not only is it a great way for students to visually see their mistakes, but it makes learning music more fun and interactive, which always keeps young students interested and engaged.

            Since this year I have started teaching middle school orchestra, I am able to use SmartMusic as a practice and assessment tool with this group. Earlier in the year, we held a SmartMusic night where the students and their parents came to the school to watch professional musicians use the program to show all that it had to offer. Parents were then able to sign up for a SmartMusic subscription that evening or take information home that discussed the benefits of subscribing to the program.

I use SmartMusic for our “pass-off” exams that each student must take during each quarter of the school year. I assign 8-10 short songs out of the method book that each represent some musical technique that the group is attempting to improve upon. Throughout the quarter, the students must play these short songs perfectly in order to “pass-of” that exercise. Since SmartMusic has the method book we use already on it, the students can do the pass off assessments at home, and have as many tries as they want to get a perfect score. This allows the students more chances to get a perfect score than if they do the assessment during class time where they only get one chance per class.

            The other features I love about smart music are the ability to change tempos, the endless supply of music to practice sight-reading, and that there are songs in the system for any age group. A beginner from my elementary school could use smart music to practice groups of four quarter notes, half notes or whole notes, while an advanced student at a high school could use it to perfect a passage in a Holst Suite. This software is so versatile, while remaining incredibly user-friendly. In fact, there are many outlets for students and educators to seek out additional support if they are confused or need help with anything. http://www.smartmusic.com/training/ This page shows all the places to get additional training on the software with links to customer service reps, videos, and training guides. If you can’t find what you need on this link, there are also many YouTube videos that can guide a user to the answers to their questions.

            My concerns with SmartMusic are similar to my concerns with Chormatik with regards to the tablet issue. However, SmartMusic is just as interactive on a computer as it is on a tablet or smart phone. As long as the computer is equipped with a microphone, the program can be used just the same as on the App. The other concern I have is the cost of the program. Several of my students have signed up to use this, but many have not and it is because of the cost. For my school, the cost is $40 for a year subscription. This may not seem like a lot for all that is offered, but in the district I teach in this could be way over budget for many parents, especially when they are already paying for other expenses with the instrumental program. Because of this, we cannot require that all students purchase and use SmartMusic. We highly encourage parents to purchase the program, which is the reason for our SmartMusic night, but since it is an extra cost, we cannot officially require all students to obtain the program at home.

            In my opinion, Chormatik seems like an excellent tool for educators, but has a few bugs to work out. There needs to be simpler music for the students to play as well as a more user-friendly version for a computer instead of just for the App. SmartMusic is still my number one choice of educational music software and I would recommend this program to any educator at any level.