The SmartMusic Knowledge Base is a powerful resource at your fingertips. Have a SmartMusic question? This is the place to go to get it resolved, whether you browse solutions or submit a question directly to our support staff.

We've just released a mobile version of the Knowledge Base! Access it from your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, and the site automatically appears in the correct format, optimized for browsing on your device:

How might you use it?  You might:

• Have the Knowledge Base displayed on your iPad while you work on your computer.
• Find answers while using the SmartMusic Inbox app on your mobile device.
• Submit a case from your mobile device while you ride the bus home.
• Check on a submitted case from your mobile device while at the park.

For quick access, you can even create a web clip (shortcut) for quick access from your device’s Home screen, right alongside your other apps.

Ready to check it out? Navigate to: http://smartmusic.custhelp.com/app/

If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, click on this button:

…and select Add to Home Screen. Name the web clip whatever you’d like, and it will appear on your Home screen for quick access.

If you’re using an Android device, click the Bookmarks button then add the site as a bookmark. Tap and hold on the bookmark then select Add Shortcut to Home.

Try it out today and let me know how it works for you by clicking on “Comments” below.

Based on your feedback we’ve made it easier for your students to purchase SmartMusic online.

Since most students want to download the software immediately, we’ve made purchasing SmartMusic as a download the default (although a free disc remains available for a small shipping fee). Students will still need a SmartMusic microphone to use the software effectively, but instant access to the software means they can be installed, up, and running when the microphone arrives.

We’ve also made it easy for everyone to manage their renewal choice during the ordering process. Previously, only students could pick whether or not to renew while ordering; teachers managed their subscriptions outside of the order process. Now everyone has the option to renew (or not renew) when placing an order.

Check out these improvements and more by clicking on Store at http://www.smartmusic.com.

Have any additional feedback about our ordering process? Please share it by clicking on “Comments” below and I’ll get it on the list!

In an effort to best safeguard your login data and student records, we’ve recently made some improvements to our security measures.

Today, should you misplace your password, we can automatically reset your password to a random string of letters, numbers, and symbols to be seen only by you. In the past we could track down your old password, which was pretty convenient, but not as secure. Your data is now fully encrypted and no one in the company can decode your password. The same goes for your Security Key.

As a result, should any of your students have used a non-active email address to set up their SmartMusic account, they will need to update the email address associated with that account to access their password.

Another ongoing change is that we’re locking down your student data so that it is only accessible on your terms. What does this mean in practice? Let’s say you call our support staff for help: Today we’ll always ask your permission before viewing your student data–even in the act of troubleshooting.

As we work to finalize these current improvements, you may be asked for your password from our support staff. While this may seem at odds with improved privacy measures, it’s a temporary step as we complete the troubleshooting system.

Everyone at MakeMusic is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your students’ personal data. We’ll never share your information with people outside of MakeMusic and we maintain strict internal confidentiality. If you have additional suggestions, please share them below by clicking on “Comments” or contact our support team directly for a private discussion of your account. We’ll be happy to answer any questions!

On Friday, April 29, 2011, MakeMusic’s Customer Support (CS) staff was awarded free coffee and doughnuts courtesy of Jill Riley and Steve Seel, co-hosts of the Morning Show radio program on 89.3 The Current.

Our CS brethren were selected for this honor on the basis of a letter submitted by CS representative Jesse Gregory (front row, third from left). Jesse’s winning submission described how our products help to create music around the world as well as the vital role our CS staff has played in the spread of International Pizza Cake Day.

Jesse also suggested that being selected would save his coworkers from the hardships of ingesting our regular brand of coffee.

I’d like to thank Jesse and his cohorts for the great support they provide as well for the sense of fun and humor they bring to the office every day.

We recently released SmartMusic 2011a, a free-of-charge update to SmartMusic 2011. It includes support for the Sound Innovations method book, addresses a handful of minor issues, and adds an easily accessible, stand-alone metronome:

With music open hit Ctrl+m (Command+m on Macintosh) to access this Metronome.

Here’s a related question that’s come up a few times recently:

“It takes months to approve the installation of new software at my school.
Do I have to go through this now, or can I skip the 2011a update?”

If SmartMusic 2011 is working perfectly for you, you don’t currently plan to use Sound Innovations, and you can live without the metronome, feel free to continue using SmartMusic 2011.

Have any additional questions about SmartMusic, SmartMusic 2011a, or the 2010 Minnesota Vikings? Please click on “Comments” below.

While the numbers vary, the following scenario is one we enjoy hearing frequently:

A student plays along with SmartMusic and receives a 95% assessment score, tries again and gets a 92%, then again and hits the magic 100%.

As an educator, that’s precisely the behavior that you want to see in a student: Stick-to-itiveness.
 
I didn’t learn trumpet with SmartMusic. As a result, when I practiced at home I likely was unaware of many of the mistakes I made. We all know how much harder it is to perfect a piece once you’ve practiced it incorrectly. Perhaps equally important as immediate feedback, however, is the motivating possibilities of assessment. The popularity of video games certainly bears testament to this.

But what about the rare case when those assessment numbers don’t improve in time? We have heard from a small number of educators who have students whose recordings sound decent, but their assessment is closer to 0% than 100%. What could cause this?

Good performances can produce poor assessment results when there are problems with the microphone setup. If SmartMusic 2011 doesn’t detect your microphone, it will notify you, but it is possible to pass the “Mic Check” and still not have enough microphone signal to get the most accurate assessment results.

Here are some of the problems we’ve seen, along with their solutions:

1. The “internal microphone” is selected (usually on Macintosh) – fix it in Settings by choosing “SmartMusic Microphone” from the drop-down menu (or, on Windows, select the correct sound card).
2. The microphone is too far away from the instrument – fix it by running the Mic Check and checking the diagram to learn the optimal microphone placement for the appropriate instrument.
3. An unsupported microphone is being used – fix it by using the SmartMusic microphone. The SmartMusic microphone is the result of years of testing and development, and SmartMusic was created with this specific mic in mind. Furthermore, if you use any other mic, and can’t get assessment to work properly, our support staff won’t be able to help you troubleshoot, as without your specific mic in hand, there’s no way for them to eliminate the mic as the culprit.
4. The signal is just too low – fix it by manually dragging the slider all the way to the right, into the red area, if need be. This one is actually pretty rare, because this problem is usually a symptom of the first three possibilities.

In my experience, poor assessment scores are either the result of poor playing or one of the problems described above. Did this help? Do you have any assessment-related questions or observations? Please share them by clicking on “Comments” below.

Have you ever handed your students a piece of paper asking them to document how many minutes they’ve practiced in the week?

In my experience, nothing turns otherwise honest kids to deceit more quickly. I’m talking brazen, bald-faced falsehoods, beneath even the standards of trashy reality TV! I knew it, the kids knew it, but still the system persisted.

But if you’re using SmartMusic 2011, this system can change. Now you can finally measure practice time objectively!

In older versions of SmartMusic, once a student opened a Practice Report assignment, the clock began to run as soon as they opened a piece of music. Admittedly it was a generous method of accounting for student practice time. We heard that it was overly generous for some more enterprising students: Let’s channel some of that creativity back toward music!

The new Practice Report assignments work better. The students’ practice time is stored server-side, so now your students can accrue practice time on any computer running SmartMusic 2011, even if they log some practice time at school and more practice time at home. All they have to do is log in and play music! The time is tracked as soon as they click Start Take and ends when the piece stops. It doesn’t include time spent with the Tuner or the Metronome, just actual time spent playing repertoire.

These changes will cause some students to feel a little humbled by how little time they’re actually playing, so be ready! You can reduce the amount of time you’re requiring, or create a Response Assignment for them to tell you how many minutes of non-SmartMusic practice time they do during the week. I personally recommend the former to help your students get used to the stricter practice time requirements.

We welcome your feedback on this feature as well as any other aspect of SmartMusic 2011 or the gradebook. Leave a comment below, or submit a feature request (or a technical question) directly to the support team at http://smartmusic.custhelp.com/app/ask.