I recommend SmartMusic as a very efficient and enjoyable way to practice at home. It is interactive software that utilizes computer software to give feedback for practice. The cost is $30 for the year, and gives you access to tremendous amounts of practice material, including our lesson book and many of the pieces we use in large group rehearsal. It is a program we will be using more and more at school for both practice and assessment purposes.

MSNBC recently ran a feature about smartmusic. View it here!

Here is a printer-friendly letter giving more specific information about enrolling in Smartmusic.

I encourage you to visit the web site to learn even more at www.smartmusic.com.

This award-winning, computer-based interactive practice system gives students the tools and accompaniments they need to get better on their own:
- Over 30,000 titles that make practicing at home fun! - Built-in Tuner and Metronome keep students in tune with a steady beat
- Recording encourages students to analyze their performances.
- Exercises that develop individual skills display right on the screen with a choice of accompaniments.
- Beginning band and string students are guided with colorful Assessment graphics

System Requirements Windows Pentium 4-class processor or higher, 512MB RAM, Windows XP/Vista. CD-ROM drive. 1GB free disk space. Microphone. Direct X 9 compatible sound card with full duplex support. One available USB port for the foot pedal (optional). Monitor resolution 1024x768 (800x600 minimum). Macintosh 867MHz G4 processor or higher (PPC or Mac-Intel), Mac OS 10.4 or higher. 512MB RAM. CD-ROM drive. 1GB free disk space. Microphone and microphone adaptor. Speakers or headphones. Additional USB port for the foot pedal (optional). Monitor resolution 1024x768 (800x600 minimum).