Smartmusic: Making Practice Fun and Meaningful.

Introduction

For most musicians, the ability to perform with a group of people no longer exists (or has been greatly curtailed) since the arrival of COVID-19. This holds true in the music programs in schools across the United States. In many states, students in grades 4-12 can no longer play wind instruments inside the school building. While some have been able to adjust to playing outside with varying degrees of success, many have gone completely remote, with teachers attempting to teach via Zoom or similar platforms. “The reality is that it will be almost impossible for you to simply recreate your current program in an online environment. While the idea of a live rehearsal over a videoconferencing tool such as Zoom sounds great, in reality it is very difficult to pull off well” (Frankel, 2020) This is due to several reasons: lag, slow internet, and varied audio quality of student devices, being just a few. While it can’t replace an in-person educator, especially for evaluation of technique such as proper tone, breath control, musical phrasing etc., SmartMusic accompaniment software can provide the student with some of the most important foundational skills of ensemble playing.

Method Books Improved

SmartMusic Educator accounts allow for the teacher to assign exercises to the students. These can be technical scale exercises or basic rhythm reading exercises. They can also be method book exercises. There are many different instrumental method books used by different beginning and intermediate band instructors. These generally use small exercises to introduce and then expand upon musical concepts, or technical skills. Most of these books are included in the Smartmusic Library. “You can manipulate the music to slow down, speed up, isolate your individual part, isolate problem sections, add metronome clicks, etc. The program can also listen to your playing, will point out note and rhythm errors, and even award a grade based on your performance” (Zuke 2012). The student can then submit the score and recording to the teacher or choose to re-record the excerpt for a better score.This provides the student immediate feedback on those aspects of their playing and the teacher, can provide comments on finer points such as tone quality, articulation and tuning. It also allows for immediate feedback without judgement of peers. A 2013 study in the Journal of Technology in Music Education found that “The majority of students preferred SmartMusic because they felt less nervous than when playing for their peers” (Walls, et al. 2013) Students can see small things they can correct to get a higher score and the ability to keep trying not only gives the student a chance to succeed, but also encourages them to practice the skill for a longer period of time which is far more important than getting a perfect score

Context is Everything

The thing that makes a band class special is playing with a group of people. Everybody contributes to the whole sound of the group. Being in that sound and playing in harmony with others will never be replicated by computer software, but playing along with a high quality recording of professional musicians is far more motivating than playing alone. Smartmusic has a library of [many] concert band, orchestra and jazz ensemble pieces, all with mp3 recordings synced to the sheet music for each of the parts. “The audio accompaniment feature is essential with younger students as they develop their newfound playing abilities.” (Tucker, 2016) This is incredibly important for students who play parts that are harmony parts. Instruments like the tenor saxophone or french horn often play harmony lines in concert band music that add a great deal to the piece as a whole, but may not be particularly exciting or or even musical played out of context alone. Students are more likely to remain engaged if they see that their part has a purpose.

Practice with a Purpose

Pre-recorded accompaniments and real-time assessments also keep students from getting off track. “In most distance-learning contexts, the non-completion rate is undesirably high and learner motivation problems are generally considered to be a primary cause” (Reiser, 2018)” A student practicing alone in their room may have a set practice routine, but more often than not, they just have a folder with some music in it and a few scale sheets and an expectation that they will do something called “practice”. Without a definite plan, it is easy to get discouraged and stop playing or fall back on playing that part that you know and like so much over and over (and over). Smartmusic gives the student a define series of exercises to play along with, with immediate results. If they play a concert band piece, they are forced to play it at a steady speed (though that tempo can be slowed down). This forces them to play difficult sections of the music that they might just ignore if practicing unaccompanied.

Conculusion

Smart Music cannot take the place of a music educator in the instruction of beginning and intermediate band students, but it can go a long way towards bridging the gap, especially in our current environment.

References

Frankel, J. (2020). Helping Music Educators Teach Online in the Age of Covid-19: The Music Industry Steps Up to Support Music Teachers. School Band & Orchestra, 23(4), 16–18.

Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Tucker, Carla Fowler, "A Case Study of the Integration of SmartMusic into Three Middle School Band Classrooms found in Upstate South Carolina" (2016). Education Dissertations and Projects. 170. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education_etd/170

Walls, K. C., Erwin, P. M., & Kuehne, J. M. (2013). Maintaining Efficient Ensemble Rehearsals without Sacrificing Individual Assessment: Smartmusic Assessment Could Leave the Director on the Podium. Journal of Technology in Music Learning, 5(1), 4–16

Wan, L. A., & Gregory, S. (2018). Digital tools to support motivation of music students for instrumental practice. Journal of Music, Technology & Education, 11(1), 37–64. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1386/jmte.11.1.37_1

Zuke, A. (2012). “Concert Band Hero” -- How SmartMusic Can Enhance Your Band Program. Canadian Winds / Vents Canadiens, 10(2), 10–12..