Chromatik and SmartMusic

The combination of instructional and play-along videos on Chromatik make it an excellent tool for instrumentalists of any ability level.  The sheet music/video combination gives students a new option for learning their favorite charts online free of charge.  Many of my students already use YouTube tutorial videos for learning certain songs, particularly on guitar, bass and piano.  Chromatik now gives wind players quick access to pieces they can hear on YouTube but may be unable to find "how to" videos that guitar players have available.

When playing along with a chart, the pages turn automatically on the screen which prevent you from having to stop playing and turn it yourself.  I thought this was a brilliant feature on the site.  The Chromatik iPhone app allows you to set a speed for the sheet music to scroll along while you play.  The app has a lot of other great features, including a practice log, a metronome, and chromatic tuner.  It also gives you the ability to upload and share 15 seconds of yourself performing.  You can keep a running list of favorite tunes as well to play so you don't have to search back for them later.

One downside to Chromatik is that the sheet music for wind instruments only contains the melody line of each song.  This can be limiting if there are other lines in a chart you would like to see music for a play along with.  The database in Chromatik is almost exclusively popular music.  This is great for getting students excited about practicing at home yet can limit them from practicing music or method material designed to improve their skills on their specific instrument.

SmartMusic seems by all accounts to be the most comprehensive and beneficial interactive practice tool available to instrumental students.  The motto description on the website, "Focused Practice.  Instant Feedback. Documented Progress.", sums up all that SmartMusic provides.  The videos and testimonials from students, educators and parents are remarkable.  SmartMusic boasts a database of 30,000 works for solo and ensemble as well as 50,000 method exercises.  It allows students to practice with or without accompaniment from a home computer or iPad app.  The most impressive feature is SmartMusic's ability to evaluate mistakes they make AS they play through a piece.  Students can perform their assignments and send them to their teachers online.  Teachers can check student work online or from the iPhone app SmartMusic Inbox.  The one year subscription cost of $140 for educators and $40 for students is a worthy investment.  After exploring Smartmusic thoroughly and hearing the first hand accounts of its benefits, I am sold on adding it to my band program.