Mrs. Thomas ~ BAND

Smart music is a program that we use with our middle school band program.  It is a great tool for students to use at home.  We will give homework assignments weekly and students will have several days to pass it off at home or play it at school.  Students can re-try their music assignments until they receive the grade they desire.  Once turned in, I will receive the grade and a recording of their playing grade.  I also love this program because it is almost like having a private teacher at home.  It will show you what mistakes you made.  If you want to explore music outside of our band book that we use in class, there are several other method books and other band music to practice.  This all comes with your smart music subscription. 

How to Order SmartMusic

1.  A subscription for SmartMusic is for an entire calendar year.  If you order it
     August 1, 2011 then you will have the subscription until August 1, 2012.

2.  Go to smartmusic.com to order it.  A subscription is $36 for an entire year and
     you will need an instrumental microphone for $20.  You can pay for the
     subscription on-line.
 

Ways to Use your SmartMusic at Home

1.  Pass off your assignments at home.  The computer will grade and record your
     playing.  If you are not satisfied with your grade, try it again.

2.  When you are practicing at home, use the metronome.  This will help you stay
     on the beat.

3.  Use your tuner.  Practice playing several notes & see if you can get them in
     tune.

4.  Practice with the book that we use in class.  You can plug
     your microphone in and it will show you what notes you played correctly or
     missed.  You can also put only the solo line to help with correct pitches.  The
     background music helps you stay in tempo and makes it more fun to practice.

5.  You can move on in the book or use the other method books on SmartMusic to 
     practice with.  There are several things on the different methods such as scales
     or other music we do not have in our book.