Google Classroom
Canvas
Schoology

What does this mean for SmartMusic teachers and students?

This will be a huge time saver with account management for all of your students and this is just the beginning. Very soon, we will launch rostering so you can easily mass create student accounts and import them into your SmartMusic Classroom with a few clicks! 

How does it work?

Follow the links below to the LMS you are using:

Google Classroom
Canvas
Schoology

If your LMS is not yet included, please fill out this form to let us know what you are using with your students. 

These exciting features will come at no additional cost to users. SmartMusic is fully FERPA, COPPA, and GDPR compliant, so you and your school never have to worry that student data is unprotected.

Click here for Single Sign-On FAQs

The post Single Sign-On Is Here! appeared first on SmartMusic.

When you access PerformancePlus+ titles through SmartMusic, that’s when the “plus” really kicks in! Directors and students will get the best of Alfred Music’s carefully edited repertoire, the composer’s educational resources, and SmartMusic’s powerful assignment and assessment tools. 

What’s the “Plus”?

In addition to the standard SmartMusic assignment, recording, and assessment tools, PerformancePlus+ titles include these extras—all accessible from within the app:

Concert Band

• Piece-specific exercises focused on skills and techniques
• Printable sheet music with a standard SmartMusic subscription (Print add-on not required)
• Videos featuring educational tips and suggestions from the composer
• Rights to perform in a live or virtual setting

Access the PerformancePlus+ Concert Band playlist > 

Orchestra

• Piece-specific exercises to focus on the skills needed to learn the piece
• Printable sheet music with a standard SmartMusic subscription (Print add-on not required)
• Videos featuring educational tips and suggestions from the composer
• Rights to perform in a live or virtual setting

Access the PerformancePlus+ Orchestra playlist > 

Choral

• Part-predominant and accompaniment tracks
• Printable sheet music with a standard SmartMusic Subscription (Print add-on not required)
• Correlated rehearsal guides and performance notes
• Rights to perform in a live or virtual setting

Access the PerformancePlus+ Choral playlist > 

How do I get it?

With a truly digital-first approach, this series of music is not available in a traditional print format. All titles can be accessed with a SmartMusic subscription. Just click on any of the titles on these links (Concert Band, Orchestra, Choral) or search the titles in the app. No need to order music in advance, it’s all available to print from within SmartMusic. Not a SmartMusic subscriber yet? Wait no more—click here to get a quote!

Click on an ensemble type to see the PerformancePlus+ titles now available.

Concert Band (includes Alfred Band and Belwin Concert Band)

Contributors: Chris M. Bernotas, Vince Gassi, Michael Kamuf, Victor López, Patrick Roszell, Robert Sheldon, Adrian B. Sims, Todd Stalter, Michael Story, Kirk Vogel, Douglas E. Wagner, and Scott Watson.

Orchestra (includes Highland-Etling and Belwin Orchestra)

Contributors: Chris M. Bernotas, Katie O’Hara LaBrie, Richard Meyer, Deborah Baker Monday, Yukiko Nishimura, Jim Palmer, Bob Phillips, and Doug Spata.

Choral

Contributors: Sally K. Albrecht, Jay Althouse, Andy Beck, Alan Billingsley, Mark Burrows, Greg Gilpin, Ruth Morris Gray, Mark Hayes, Victor C. Johnson, Kirby Shaw, and Douglas E. Wagner.

PerformancePlus+ titles are also available to purchase and print-on-demand from totalsheetmusic.com, but you won’t have access to all the “pluses” that you get in SmartMusic (rehearsal guides, videos, educational tips, assignment/assessment/recording tools, and more.)

Get started today with SmartMusic!

The post Introducing PerformancePlus+ appeared first on SmartMusic.

You’ve asked for video recording in SmartMusic… and we listened.

While hearing your students practice is the biggest piece of the assessment pie, we understand that when it comes to grading things like posture, fingering, and embouchure, a visual component is necessary in order to get the full picture. 

That’s why we’ve recently acquired the technology behind Upbeat Music App! Upbeat Music App is a music collaboration tool that allows musicians to record and generate virtual performance videos, as well as rehearse remotely in real-time. 

Next school year, we’ll integrate this technology into SmartMusic, providing a video recording component to accompany and sync with the existing audio assessment. 

Even better, this exciting upgrade will come at no additional cost to users.

What does this mean for SmartMusic teachers and students?

• Teachers can enable video recording for an assignment.
  
• Students and Performers will be able to record video with assessment to submit for an assignment.
  
• Students will be able to self-analyze using video replay and assessment before submitting.
  
• Both teachers and students will experience enhancements in recording quality.
  
• Recordings will be saved for students to submit at a later time.
  
• Teachers will be able to merge student submissions together to create a virtual performance.
  

For general inquiries, please contact the MakeMusic Support and Services Teams at upbeat@makemusic.zendesk.com.

The post Coming Soon to SmartMusic: Video Recordings for Assignments appeared first on SmartMusic.

Here’s a glimpse of what you can expect from SmartMusic in the coming year.

What’s New in SmartMusic

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of some exciting recent developments.

Sharing Playlists

This past February, we took the Playlist feature in SmartMusic to a new level with the launch of Playlist Sharing, giving teachers and students the ability to share their custom SmartMusic Playlists through a link. These links can be distributed via email, shared on social media, or hosted on a website or LMS for easy access. Learn more.

Sharing Sight Reading Builder Exercises

Now students can practice unlimited sight reading in SmartMusic without needing an assignment—teachers can share Sight Reading Builder exercises via a shared link. Sight Reading Builder content can also be organized into a playlist, giving students endless practice opportunities. Learn more.

New & Improved Single Sign-On Process

This back-to-school, we are offering a new way for teachers and students to connect with SmartMusic. Expanding on our implementation of Single Sign-On last back to school, teachers and students now have a direct, simplified way to create and access SmartMusic accounts through Google Classroom, Schoology, and Canvas Learning Management Systems.

Coming Soon to SmartMusic

An In-app Instructional Video Library

That’s right—a video library! Adding to our expansive repertoire library, SmartMusic will soon house over 1,000 instructional videos from our friends at MusicProfessor—at no additional cost to users. These pedagogically sound videos will initially offer beginning band students expert instruction on instrument setup, technique, tone, and more, further supporting both in-class teaching and independent learning.

Improved App Navigation

Our product team is working directly with users to incorporate their feedback and create a better navigation experience within SmartMusic. The ultimate goal is to provide quick and easy access to the tasks users need to complete and make it much easier to visit any part of the app from any page.

Thousands of New Educational Titles from Edition Peters

On the heels of our recently-announced partnership with Edition Peters, we’re adding their entire educational catalog exclusively world wide in SmartMusic. This includes thousands of new titles to our Digital Sheet Music Library which we will add progressively to our Interactive Library. This will bring a breadth of solo, piano, and choral rep like voces8, to our growing library. 

New Purchase Process for Individual Subscriptions

Interested in purchasing a single teacher subscription, or having students self-fund their own subscriptions? We’ll soon be simplifying that process with the ability to purchase individual subscriptions directly from our website.  

Stay tuned! 

Get a Quote

Educator Resources

As you develop plans for the next school year—whether that includes prepping your budget, learning about federal funding, recruiting and retaining students, using SmartMusic in the classroom, or advocating for your program—explore our Educator Toolkit with resources on all of the above, and more!

Learn More

The post What’s New & Coming Soon to SmartMusic for the Next School Year appeared first on SmartMusic.

With the launch of the new Playlist sharing feature comes the ability to also share Sight Reading Builder content through a sharing link. This means that teachers can share custom sight-reading exercises as individual outlines or through Playlists—skipping the assignment process altogether. Even better, these outlines can be shared publicly, meaning students without a SmartMusic account can improve their skills by accessing free sight-reading content, generating unlimited exercises, and receiving assessment.

Try it out!

Click the links below to access Sight Reading Builder exercises that we’ve created and shared. Students can select their instrument or part from the dropdown menu at the top of the Practice app, and generate an infinite number of new exercises using the Generate New (circular arrow) icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

String Orchestra Level 1 Exercises

Concert Band Level 1 Exercises

SATB Level 1 Exercises

Here’s how it works:

To learn how to create a Sight Reading Builder outline, click here.
To learn how to create a Playlist, click here.

1. Create a Sight Reading Builder outline.
   
2. Choose which way to share:
   
   • Share through a public link:
     
     • Go to your Content Manager.
       
     • Select the Sight Reading Builder outline that you want to share.
       
     • Click on the share icon.
       
     • Either copy the public link or send it directly via email.
       
   • Share through a SmartMusic Playlist:
     
     • After you have created your Sight Reading Builder outlines, navigate to My Library.
       
     • Go to My Created Content on the left panel.
       
     • Click and drag your Sight Reading Builder outline into the Playlist on the left hand panel, or click on the more menu options icon and choose “Add to Playlist.”
       
     • Share your SmartMusic Playlist with others.
       

The post Skip the Assigner and Share Sight Reading Builder Exercises appeared first on SmartMusic.

Teachers can benefit from Playlist sharing by:

• Supplementing the SmartMusic assignment process and sharing practice playlists with students.
  
• Embedding playlist links in an LMS or other digital classroom for easy access.
  
• Sending a list of Sight Reading Builder outlines to students.
  
• Emailing playlist links to students.
  
• Sending and receiving playlists to/from colleagues for ideas and inspiration.
  

Students can benefit from Playlist sharing by:

• Sharing their favorite pop, movie/TV, or video game titles with peers.
  
• Submitting their own curated practice playlists to their teacher.
  
• Curating and sharing a list of repertoire recommendations for the next concert.
  

Here’s how it works:

Haven’t created a SmartMusic Playlist yet? Click here to get started.

1. To share one of your SmartMusic Playlists, start by navigating to My Library.
   
2. Navigate to the Playlist List, or the Playlist Details Page.
   
3. Click Share.
   
4. Click Make Public.
   
5. Copy the generated playlist link.
   
6. Distribute the playlist link with students or other recipients as necessary—post in your LMS, email to students, or share on social media.
   

For more information, visit the Playlist Sharing FAQ.

The post How to Share Your SmartMusic Playlists appeared first on SmartMusic.

“Hiding user information allows our teachers to be more objective when they evaluate their own student’s assignments. By keeping submissions anonymous, Lubbock ISD is able to distribute district-wide assessments through SmartMusic that can be graded by any qualified staff member without bias. This tool is helping us to identify where our instructional gaps are for specific groups of students.”

—Andrew Babcock, Executive Director of Fine Arts, Lubbock ISD, TX

Use cases for hiding student data:

• TIA Programs
  
• Placement tests
  
• Auditions
  
• Ranking student scores
  
• Unbiased grading
  

How does it work?

For step-by-step instructions, please see our Knowledge Base Article.

The post Hiding Student Data in Class Gradebooks—New Tool for Platform Admins appeared first on SmartMusic.

With a repertoire library that boasts tens of thousands of titles (and counting!), we understand the growing need for the ability to curate custom lists of content for easy access and personal organization. To fulfill this need, we are excited to launch Playlists in SmartMusic! Playlists are the latest way that SmartMusic can help you save, organize, and access titles from our Interactive and Digital Sheet Music libraries. Just like creating a playlist in your favorite streaming app or listening service, SmartMusic Playlists allow you to curate music any way you want—whether that’s creating a playlist with your next concert’s repertoire, a set of warm-ups and scales, or letting students create their own “mixtapes.”

Playlist Examples:

• Repertoire for your next concert or program.
  
• A set of titles for a listening assignment.
  
• Daily warm-ups, scales, and sight reading exercises.
  
• Custom content created in Compose.
  
• Share Playlists with Students!
  

How it Works:

Each playlist allows you to enter a playlist name, a custom author name, an image (like an album cover or program cover), and a description of what the playlist contains. This description area can be used for a variety of different things such as:

• Pedagogical information about the pieces or assignment instructions.
  
• Program notes for the concert.
  
• Descriptions of why each piece on the playlist is important.
  
• What story is being told by the playlist.
  
• See more features and learn more below!
  

For step-by-step instructions on how to create a playlist and add titles, visit our Knowledge Base Article.

The post Now You Can Create Playlists in SmartMusic appeared first on SmartMusic.

Just like creating a playlist in your favorite music streaming app or in your music library, SmartMusic’s upcoming Playlist feature will allow you to create custom repertoire playlists to suit every situation. Some examples include:

• Repertoire for your next concert or program.
  
• A set of titles for a listening assignment.
  
• Daily warm-ups, scales, and sight reading exercises.
  
• Student mixtapes that can be shared with you or with classmates.
  
• Custom content created in Compose.
  

With playlists you will be able to:

• Easily add music from My Favorites, My Content, Interactive titles, Digital Sheet Music titles, and Sight Reading Builder exercises.
  
• Reorder the titles, just like reordering titles in your Favorites List.
  
• Add a description such as program notes or assignment instructions.
  
• Select a custom image for the playlist (like album art, or a program cover).
  
• Customize the playlist name and who it’s created by (to protect your students’ names), or list the name of the ensemble.
  
• Coming soon! Share your playlist with a link.
  

The Playlist feature is still in development, but will be available this fall.  Stay tuned for more details and a more in-depth features list!

The post Coming Soon: Create Playlists in SmartMusic appeared first on SmartMusic.

Who can print?

Print is available to any user on an academic platform who has been allocated a Print add-on. Print add-ons are available for platforms with 20 subscriptions or more, and must be purchased for a minimum of 20 users. Print access can be allocated to both teachers and students from within the Admin portal in SmartMusic. Get a quote today!

If my school has already renewed subscriptions without purchasing Print, can we still buy Print add-ons?

Yes. If your school or district has already purchased or renewed subscriptions and would like to add Print add-ons, please contact our Sales team.

How can I subscribe to gain print access?

In order to gain Print access, a user must currently be part of an academic organization or platform that has a minimum of 20 Teacher and/or Performer subscriptions and has purchased a minimum of 20 Print add-ons. Once these requirements are met, Print add-ons can be allocated within the Admin portal in SmartMusic.

Print add-ons are currently not available for individual Teacher or Performer subscriptions. However, if you are interested in the option for a single subscription Print-add on, please let us know! 

How do I find printable music?

Select the Printable Titles filter within the Search tab in Find Music or click here.

How can I allocate Print access to teachers?

• Visit the Teachers tab from the Admin portal in SmartMusic.
  
• Check the box in the far left column next to the name(s) of the teacher(s) whom you would like to provide Print access. (Note: a teacher must have a Teacher subscription in order to receive Print access.)
  
• Select the Allocate Print button.
  

How can I allocate Print access to students?

• Visit the Classes tab from the Admin portal in SmartMusic.
  
• Select a Paid class on your platform to view the Class Details. (Note: Print cannot be allocated to students in Free classes.)
  
• Check the box in the far left column next to the name(s) of the student(s) whom you would like to provide Print access.
  
• Select the Allocate Print button.
  

How do I print?

• Open a printable title from Find Music.
  
• For Digital Sheet Music titles, click the Print icon. The Print window will appear. Choose your settings and print. Method books are restricted to printing the current page only.
  
• For Interactive titles in the Practice app, click the Print menu † and select SmartMusic Display to print SmartMusic’s default view, or Custom Display if you have changed the zoom level under the Display menu and would like to print that version. The practice app
  

*If there is no Print menu, then the current piece is not available to be printed.

**If the Print menu appears in gray, then your account does not currently have Print access and you need a subscription with Print access.

What can I print?

You can print individual instrument/voice parts and/or full score PDFs of pieces from the following consortium of music publishers:

• Alfred Music
  
• FJH Music Company
  
• Neil A. Kjos Music Company
  
• MakeMusic
  

Search our current list of printable titles here.

Can I print multiple parts or pieces at once?

For individual parts, you can only print the current part of the current piece you are viewing within the SmartMusic Practice app or Digital Sheet Music viewer. You can, however, print full scores from the Digital Sheet Music Library. 

Can I print full scores or piano accompaniments?

Yes, full scores and piano accompaniments in the Digital Sheet Music Library can be printed, if available. 

Can I share what I print?

Printed copies of published materials are authorized for use only by the account holder. No copying or distributing is allowed. 

A piece I want can’t be printed from SmartMusic. What are my options?

Please contact the publisher of a specific piece or a sheet music retailer (such as JW Pepper) for options.

I’m an individual teacher or performer that purchased a single subscription. Can I purchase a single Print add-on?

No. Print is currently only offered to platforms that meet the minimum of 20 paid subscriptions. Additionally, for organizations that meet this minimum and wish to purchase the Print add-on, Print must be purchased for a minimum of 20 users.

If you would like to express interest in a Print add-on option for single subscriptions, let us know!

I used to be able to print for free. What happened?

In August 2021, Print transitioned from its free trial phase into a new paid add-on available for platforms with 20 users or more. Get pricing.

The post Frequently Asked Questions About Print appeared first on SmartMusic.