Smart Music, Anyone had any experience of it? Options

[purple dolphin]

My teacher told me about a new software program called Smart Music that's a practise helper. From what I've read, it contains loads of accompaniments, and you can change the tempo etc to suit your practise, tells you where you've gone right/wrong and is a general all round helper. Has anyone here had any experience of using it? I'm very tempted to get it, despite the £89.99 price tag for home use, but i'd like to find out a little more about it first.

[nicki_flute]

My teacher told me about a new software program called Smart Music that's a practise helper. From what I've read, it contains loads of accompaniments, and you can change the tempo etc to suit your practise, tells you where you've gone right/wrong and is a general all round helper. Has anyone here had any experience of using it? I'm very tempted to get it, despite the £89.99 price tag for home use, but i'd like to find out a little more about it first.

Yes, it is really good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm about to resubscribe. If you're in Flutewise or registered with the AB (I think), the price is only about £24.

What do you want to know?

[purple dolphin]

Did you really find it helped you to improve? I really, really am tempted, and so's my dad because it will mean he can buy a new laptop (we can't run it on our other desktop) so that I don't have to practise downstairs. Do you buy sheet music and then play from that or do you play from the screen? How often do new pieces become available? How easy is it to use etc...

[lejt]

I bought Smart Music last week and got it for £23.99 with my ABRSM discount. You can get a code to discount it if you are an ABRSM applicant, so might be worth asking your teacher about that, saves you paying out the full price.

I've not had a chance to completely get to grips with it, but so far I'm quite impressed. I'm using it purely as an accompaniment system and there is a large selection of music there. You will need the sheet music, there is a selection of pieces which you can play 'on screen' but as far as I can see so far the majority is not on screen. I got it primarily to practise with an accompaniment as I don't have access/funds to a decent pianist!

If you've not seen it already, the website is: http://www.smartmusic.com/default.aspx

and there's some tutorials on using it here, so you can get a feel for it without buying: http://www.smartmusic.com/support/default.aspx?page=page6_4

[nicki_flute]

Most of them, the music isn't available on screen, but I prefer playing off my own music anyway.

[music_mad]

I've got Smartmusic - I got it reduced with my Flutewise subscription. It's really good, my playings definitely improved since I've had it. I've had it just over a year now, and as well as using it to play the accompaniment files at different speeds (great when first practising a piece), it's also got some sample files on there, and the music comes up on screen. There's also some jazz pieces on there - great for practising improvisation and the technical exercises are good as well. It's got variants on all the scales you could possibly think of and they've got backing tracks. I'd definitely recommend getting it!

[willobie]

Am I missing something? The repertoire seems to be very limited... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

W

[sarah-flute]

I think it depends on the instrument - from what I gather, the flute is one that is well catered for.

[willobie]

I think it depends on the instrument - from what I gather, the flute is one that is well catered for.

The string music seem to consist almost entirely of Suzuki books... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

W

[katyjay]

Well, I've splashed out thirty quid or so on the software and a microphone. I chose the clip-on microphone as I play more than one instrument as well as singing.

It arrived today so I've installed it and given it a try.

First impressions:

The little mike's not too bad - works OK with Audacity to record sound. I tested this because the pairing of the mike and Smartmusic was impossibly annoying. Singing, the sound distorts at anything above pianissimo even with the mike on the music stand, not my lapel, and with the computer's own mike volume control at minimum as well as that in the software. Violin, I couldn't get the sound to register at all even with the microphone clipped on a string behind the bridge, and the whole thing set to maximum. Haven't tried recorder yet. I can't seriously believe I sing THAT much louder than I play the violin.

A fair-ish selection of song repertoire, mainly Italian baroque arias, anything published by Schirmer and some musical theatre. A rubbish selection of violin repertoire, which it was difficult to navigate round as it's all Suzuki books. And the Grade 3 violin piece isn't in the ABRSM folder, it's in a Suzuki folder. Negligible recorder repertoire.

Tried out a few of the songs with the microphone on the other side of the room. The "intelligent accompaniment" appeared to slow down and speed up at random, regardless of what I did (and I used a metronome to check several passages), but when I turned it off and used the system as an ordinary backing track it was OK.

Conclusion - Ok but not brilliant. May improve when I figure out how to make it work further, but at the moment I won't be looking to renew next year.

[andante_in_c]

Just a thought, kj. Check the flute listings for recorder repertoire. The Handel sonatas Op 1 are there, but I can't remember offhand what else is.

I've used Smartmusic for two separate periods of one year each, but haven't used it enough to make it worthwhile renewing (unless I play the Franck Sonata again (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ).

[nicki_flute]

I found the Smart Music microphone rubbish, my Creative one which came with my webcam was much better.

[sarah-flute]

Not worth investing in their specific mic then?

[purple dolphin]

Oooh. SmartMusic 10.0 has just become available! I think I am definitely going to look into this now! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[flute fanatic]

It's good to hear that ABRSM applicants get a discount. I don't think I could justify spending £90 at the moment.