Chromatik and SmartMusic Reflection

This week was the first time I had heard of Chromatik, and I have found that it offers a plethora of performance and educational opportunities for students. As I explored this website I find that it is easy to navigate, easy to use, and is intuitive. Once you develop an account, it is easy to access sheet music and videos of 100s of songs. Students are constantly asking me where they can find sheet music for their favorite songs. Now I know the perfect website to send them too. Educators are constantly being asked to implement technology in our classroom, and Chromatik is one of the many solutions. For example, Chromatik offers numerous scales notated for all instruments. Students can access this website to practice scales, and listen to model videos of these scales being performed properly.

As I explored the website, Chromatik offered that this program can also be used for sight reading activities during rehearsals. Students would only need a method of accessing the exercises during class (e.g. iPads). Teachers would decide which songs they wish to use for the sight reading activity, and students can access the song for their instrument with their free subscription. This website can also be used in a guitar class setting as well. This website offers six lessons for an introduction to guitar class and an endless amount of songs for students to access. These six lessons include learning how to tune your guitar, and learning how to read tab. I am not a guitarist, but have always wanted to find a way to teach my students how to play songs they would enjoy playing. I plan on using Chromatik in my guitar class this school year as an incentive to students learning the assignments that I give them. Once students have completed a tested assignment, I will let them sign out a chromebook from the library. At this point, they can log onto Chromatik and learn a song that they would enjoy playing.

 

Smartmusic has become the industry standard for assessment in performing ensembles. It is easy to navigate and is intuitive in use. Smartmusic is intended for assessment, but it does not need to be used for educational purposes. It can also be used for entertainment, and for general personal practice purposes. I have many music educator friends who use this program for their own practice. I do not use Smartmusic for my personal practice but did use it in my student teaching experience. This program is incredible for student learning because it offers a built in tuner and metronome, an endless amount of technical exercises to develop musicianship, and an endless amount of repertoire to keep student interest. Its most important offering is the ability to give students immediate feedback once they have recorded an assignment. When students start playing an instrument they often have a difficult time distinguishing what needs to be corrected when practicing. Having immediate feedback from smartmusic allows students to develop their skills immediately instead of having to wait until the next time they see their instructor. The main selling feature for educators is the gradebook feature. Once students submit an assignment, the grade Smartmusic gives them is compiled into a gradebook that only the teacher can see. 

The purposes of these programs seem quite different in the short amount of time I have been able to explore them. The main purpose of Chromatik is to be able to access songs that students would like to learn. Its lesser but still relevant purpose is the educational material that it offers. In the help section of this website, Chromatik admits in wanting to develop the educational aspect of the program however they realize their limitations in this aspect. Smartmusic is quite the opposite. The main purpose of Smartmusic is the educational aspects and the development of students as musicians. This program is quite developed and has become a standard in music assessment. Although these programs are quite different in their purposes, the one common thread they have is their consistency in music literacy. Chromatik and Smartmusic both concentrate on students having to read music notation when learning songs. All to often, especially in learning guitar, instruction is focused on learning by rote. Although learning by ear is an important aspect of being a musician, becoming musically literate is also an important aspect of being a musician.