Music educators across the United States are using SmartMusic to provide individualized instruction to their students. Here are some of their stories: Retaining and engaging reluctant students with technology. Eric Wilson Colonial Elementary Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania Today, our society is full of gadgets. In the world of music education, it is amazing to see all of the devices that can help a teacher. Everything from the obvious (pocket-sized audio recorders, MP3 players) to the obscure (smart phones, video game consoles) has found a place in the music classroom. But no technology has been more valuable to me than SmartMusic. Of course, I use SmartMusic to help develop musical skills but the real success is in how it helps me retain students and engage reluctant learners. Several years ago, I had a student who enjoyed music but was not particularly successful at his instrument. I knew if he would stick with it and practice a little more, there was some talent underneath. One day, this student came to me and said, I don t want to play anymore. When I asked why, he replied, It s just too frustrating. I explained that learning to play an instrument can be frustrating at times and that more practice would help. Then, I suggested he give it one more month but try SmartMusic. He agreed and I quickly gave him some assignments to practice. Less than one week later, I walked into my room after school had ended and found a note sitting on my desk. I was convinced this was the dreaded I quit note from my student. But, as I opened the letter, what I found instead was a printout of his results from SmartMusic. Every note was marked green. At the bottom was a handwritten note from the student. I did it! I love SmartMusic! After that, everything clicked for him. He became one of the best players in the band and he still plays his instrument today. Since that time, SmartMusic has become a fixture in my classroom. I immediately saw the benefits students received from the program, but what I didn t anticipate was how it would also make me a better teacher. Once I started using SmartMusic during class, I felt free. I could teach anything I wanted, at whatever tempo I needed. I wasn t locked into the tempo of a CD or stuck behind a piano. I was amazed how fast beginner students were learning to tune, record, and improvise. Once students could see, hear, interact, and play along, even at home, you could see the light bulbs go on. All of a sudden my room was filled with Oh, instead of Huh? 1
Teaching 400 students from K-12. Thane Thomas Cordova Junior Senior HS Cordova, Alaska The Story and the Result: Cordova, a small bush community located in southeast Alaska is home for 400 students K-12. I have taught music to them all for the past eight years. This year I had help. I purchased 100 subscriptions to Smart Music. The high school band has gone from playing grade 2 and 2-1/2 music to grades 3 and 4. At the regional music festival, Cordova walked away with second place in the band competition, a surprise but not unexpected because SmartMusic has taken us to a new level. Ten students were selected to play in the Honor Band this year instead of two or three which are usually selected. When students are selected, it is the responsibility of the student s director to ensure that they know the music before the festival. SmartMusic had the music and the students went to work. After the first rehearsal at the festival, I was thanked for having prepared them so well. I hated to admit that someone else had done the work for me. Fifth and sixth grade bands have been challenging experiences for me in the past. This year I introduced SmartMusic to prospective band students and parents. Kids who were not interested in band signed up when they saw the program. Students have not dropped band, they progress so quickly that I have some students learning the music of my junior high band. In the past, I had to continually replace books because the kids lost them. Not anymore, the book is on the computer. This year, I have students asking for more music to practice which is a definite improvement. Due to the scheduling issues of a small school, every year I know I will lose at least half of my sixth grade band. This year, students not scheduled for band were able to keep up with the class by way of SmartMusic. The flexibility of SmartMusic allows the students to choose what they want to play and even pick up a different instrument. SmartMusic allows the student to progress as far as they want to go. I just placed an order for 100 subscriptions for next year. The program is user friendly, accurate and works on all kinds of computers. The gradebook allows me to listen to what the students have submitted, make comments, and then have them redo it or assign other music or skills. I love the fact that I can keep track of the time the student spends practicing a piece of music. I have just touched the surface of Smart Music. I will have a SMARTBoard next year in my new classroom and will use SmartMusic to help students learn bass guitar. I have asked SmartMusic to put a recorder book in their skills section because I would love to introduce my third grade students to it. [Note: Recorder Express is now available in SmartMusic.] The program has exceeded my expectations and continues to surprise me. 2
Finding a way to provide solo accompaniment. Bob Smith Hardin High School Band Hardin, Texas Back in 1997 I found myself at a small school in very rural East Texas without anyone in the community who could accompany on piano. In Texas, it is required for all solos. Strangely enough that day I was opening my mail and found an informational mailer about SmartMusic. Normally I don't read a lot of those things but I read the enclosed information and immediately called about getting the required software. That year I introduced my soloists to SmartMusic and the ease of playing with it. The fact that they had an "on demand" accompanist was exciting to them. Some other regions in our state were using it so I decided to take SmartMusic to our contest. At first our region secretary was not happy, but knew that there were no rules against it. The very first judge we had was fascinated and wanted me to bring all of my soloists to his room. He was impressed that it somehow seemed to ease the student's nerves playing with the computer. 99% of my students made I's that year. I took 12 students to state. Since that time I have used SmartMusic exclusively. We use it with our All-Region tryout music as well as working with our concert band. Our jazz players have an instant format to learn improvisation as well. I have helped several directors in our area set up SmartMusic, and we have used Finale to increase our repertoire. SmartMusic has also been the answer to the problems associated with different learning speeds and styles. Oftentimes students need extra help during class and with large numbers and the lack of extra help it is difficult. We send these students into the lab where they can work out of their beginner book with SmartMusic. The many different ways it helps them allows for learning styles and even allows them to work at their own pace. In this modern world of education, the state wants to monitor technology and how it works in the classroom. One thing is for sure: SmartMusic has allowed my department to be able to be on the cutting edge of what the state wants in the way of technology in the classroom. There are many avenues to use SmartMusic that we haven't even explored yet. 3
Meeting the needs of a diverse group of students including special needs students. Gregory Mueller Washington Middle School Mehlville School District St. Louis, Missouri Through the use of SmartMusic, my music students have soared to new heights. I am a second year teacher, and this is my first year using SmartMusic daily in my general music and choir classes. Through the use of SmartMusic, my students have confidently demonstrated the ability to perform tasks that they could never perform before. As I began to use SmartMusic within my classroom I could see clearly the growth of students. During my first year at Washington Middle School, not one of my students could read music. This year I decided to use Essential Elements and my own Finale files to work with students on sight-reading skills. Now, my students are able to follow along, and they are having fun while reading. My students have also benefited from listening to recordings of themselves. This has helped us enormously to achieve our goals through self-evaluation. Last, my special needs students have confidence that they never had. Before using SmartMusic, I taught rhythms with pictures of fruit. It was fun, but I always wanted them to be able to learn more. This year, we have been using the Rhythmic Exercises in SmartMusic. They are able to follow the green line, keep a steady beat, and perform appropriate rhythms. One of our favorite things to do is record ourselves with our rhythm sticks and then play the recording back to see how great we did! It is amazing to hear them play with such confidence! SmartMusic has allowed me to become the very best educator that I can be. Last year, I spent many classes behind the piano trying to look at piano music, watch student behavior, and listen for opportunities for musicality improvements. We received a Good rating at our music festival. This year, I have used SmartMusic to play the piano accompaniment for all pieces that we are singing. This has allowed me to work personally with the students and communicate the emotion and musicality to them while we sing. We are very proud to have received a Superior rating at our music festival for the first time this year. I attribute much of this success to using SmartMusic! As a result of how I use SmartMusic in my classroom, I was even asked by our curriculum superintendent to give a presentation to all middle and high school music teachers. I used this opportunity to show them all the great things you can do for yourself (as a teacher) and your students. 4
New band director in small Texas school reviving the High School Band Dan Holman Band Director Crawford High School Crawford, Texas I began clearing the office out at my new job and wiped off a layer of dust that was coating the only computer in the band hall. It was my first year as the director of a very small 2A Texas school and I was going to be the only director. It was going to be a big challenge to revive a program that had been successful in the past but had dropped down to just over 20 kids in the high school band. I sat down at the computer and checked the desk top and then went in the files of my computer and was relieved to have SmartMusic loaded on my computer. I opened it up and looked through band literature and instrumental solos. The first day of school I started talking about student participation in solo and ensemble contest and got a look of disbelief and disinterest. We made it through football season and at the end of the season I began pulling out every solo I could find in the band. I checked SmartMusic and began finding solos that were on the Texas UIL Solo List and talked with the students about how they could use SmartMusic to improve their playing. There was interest but not as much as I hoped. But my drum major, who was also a high academic achiever, stepped up and stated she wanted to perform a solo and participate at solo contest. We opened up SmartMusic and began looking through the recorded class one solos. At the end of the week she chose a solo, and we found it in the selection of solos we had on hand. I told her to start working with SmartMusic and that I would help her as much as possible to prepare for the contest. Each day she would come in during her free time and sit down at the only computer in my office, and I would find something else to do while she played along with her solo. As weeks passed I noticed that she was quickly learning the solo and had already begun memorizing part of it. It was amazing how quickly the solo lined up with the piano part. I continued to work with the student on small details of the solo until the day of the contest. The student performed wonderfully at contest and received a first division at solo contest and qualified for the state contest. I have almost finished my second year, and the school district has purchased a second computer that the students use to work on SmartMusic. I have budgeted a third laptop for next year so that the students can take it home to work on solos, band literature, or band text books. SmartMusic has been a huge asset to my band program s success. 5