Chromatik is an online program for musicians that is
designed to help them practice, perform and share music. It can be used on Web,
Android, iOS, and Amazon devices and there are not currently any options to
print or download music. It offers a free catalogue of reference tracks, annotation tools, and
recording options. The basic version is free, but there are frequent ads that
are of minor annoyance, and one only has access to three “plays” or pieces of
sheet music per day. There is an option to upgrade to Chromatic Pro, which
allows for an ad-free experience and unlimited access to their music. If you
are unable to find a piece of music, you can make a request for that piece,
although there is already a variety of music styles already available for many
different instruments. There are lead sheets with lyrics and chords, guitar
tabs with intro-to-guitar information, as well as easy versions of pieces for
beginners. There is an option to find scales, but this was sub-par. For
example, the “advanced” piano scales included no bass clef and included no
fingering, but these could be annotated. Perhaps the greatest advantage of this
program is that students can record and share their music with others and
receive feedback. One weakness is that there are not many help features.
Fortunately, navigating the website is fairly intuitive. For example, if you
are looking for classical music to play, you can click “Classical”, and then
select your instrument. Below is a link to piano classics.
https://www.chromatik.com/piano
SmartMusic is another online sheet music library with many other
features. It is larger than that of Chromatic, and it is geared more
specifically to music educators and their students. Students can play a piece
of music in context of the ensemble with professional accompaniments. They
receive immediate feedback as the program lets students know of pitch or
rhythmic inaccuracies, which will inevitably save time in lessons. In addition,
students can record themselves for their teachers who can listen to the
performance on a mobile device or computer and give feedback. Students can send
recordings of their performances to family and friends. Portfolios can be
created of individual students performances, and there are other options for
music educators like assignments and assessments and rubrics, that can be
tailored for specific instruments and students. In addition, there are many
exercises including scales, intervals, arpeggios, vocalises, and more. There
are also practice tools such as a metronome, tuner, on-screen piano, and
digital recorder. There are online training classes that users can take for a
fee that will help them navigate the program. There is a free trial for
educators, and there is an annual fee for students and music educators. See the "Discover SmartMusic" video at the link below for more information.
http://www.smartmusic.com/
Both
of these programs have implications for music education. Chromatic is seems to
be geared for more informal study that motivates students. Being able to access
the library for free is also a benefit of Chromatic. SmartMusic, while
requiring an annual subscription fee, is
tailored more specifically for music educators with its capacity for creating
assignments, assessments, and for grading performances. Its ability to helps
students recognize their own errors without assistance from the teacher is of
enormous benefit and has the potential to save a great amount of time in
lessons and large group ensmebles, freeing the director to focus on other
aspects of musicianship.
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