I asked a question in the general forum but no one has replied. Here's a cut and paste of my concerns:
*****What's your opinion of smartmusic? I bought it to help with solo/ensemble because it supposedly shows you where you are messing up. I installed the program and couldn't find that particular component after 4 hours so gave up and called the company. Wellll, now they tell me it only has that component (aka "assessment") for the practice scales and such but not any UIL music. Thanks, the number one reason I bought it just got shot down.
Ok, so my next question to them was how do I get their partner Finale music copied over to smartmusic... of course now they tell me it can only be done with the $$$$ version of Finale. Huh? Yeah, as if I shouldn't have been able to see that coming a mile down the road. So, now it appears that smartmusic is strictly for the very early beginner and $$$$ Finale is for the professional who, being polar opposites, wouldn't find the need to share the two programs. Thanks, the second reason I bought it has just been shot down as well.
Seriously, if smartmusic doesn't do anything that one can't do on their own, what's the point? Does anyone have it and what do you use it for?
Update - And another complaint. On their web site they have a listing of state UIL PML pieces. Wow, big whoop. As if one can't go to the official UIL site or any music store to get the same info. One would have thought if they had the the list, they would also provide their subscribers with the actual recordings since that's the whole idea, but noooo. The piece my flutist is performing isn't in their very limited library. I've found several sites where the piece is in mp3 or such so it's not something that's obscure, so again, what is the point in having smartmusic? Am I missing something with the program or what?
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BTW, the other piece she's doing is in their library. However, they have it at 8 beats to the measure when it's actually in 4/4 time?!?
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Grrrr! And now I see that their UIL PML recorded piece with the same title and publisher isn't the same as my print copy (the solo title they have, the ensemble title they don't have). The whole idea that was presented to me was to use the smartmusic accompaniment for solo/ensemble contest. Now, where to find a "real live" person to go... Also, their button to change the instrument and the key does nothing. The more I work with this program, the more it doesn't perform as advertised. I am beyond upset with this company and will be calling them again Monday morning.*****
What do you all do for solo/ensemble's accompaniment to your solo? How important is this person? The reason I ask is because there's no one to do this out here in our neck of the woods. If it boils down to me playing it, I haven't touched a piano since... well, IIRC that was when I rode a dinosaur to school in the snow up hill both ways. I don't want my or whomever's performance (or lack of) to lower her score.
Hi,
As a private flute instructor, I generally have the students listen or play along with simple MIDI files if possible. These files can be slowed down if necessary and then gradually sped up to the correct tempo. They can help with timing because they don't follow the soloist like that Smart Music program. The soloist needs to hear the beats well and even. The soloist needs to know how long the rests are and when to come in on entrances.
Then as solo/ensemble gets closer they really need to get with their accompaniment person. If one is being used. Some solos are for instrument alone.
Smart music may have some good points but as you are seeing, it may have some limitations even after about 6 years on the market. One of these limitations may not be to make the soloist get with their responsibilities of being in the correct place rhythmically and to help them to play each note in tune. The other is that not everyone can afford the full setup.
The accompanist is rather important. If the solo is a tough one (Or should I say if the piano part is tough) The accompanist can wreck the performance. If they are bad, the accompanist can be impervious to what is happening with the soloist. If the soloist gets off, they need to be able to find the soloist's location and get them going again quickly or it can cause more problems. Get a good accompanist lined up and work several times with them.
Some slower pieces in 4/4 time should be counted in 8/8 if they are really slow. It helps the rhythm to subdivide.
jwillis, I have found that playing with midi accompaniment helps me lots. As Bilbo says, it is more demanding for the soloist but that is exactly what is needed for a student (but I am not sure what your case is).
This procedure has taught me more in a couple of days than playing alone for weeks (I was struggling with a 6/8 Faure Op16).
What I did is write the piano accompanist with Finale (full version) and then made MP3s at different speed and versions (piano alone 90, 100 and 110 bpm, piano + flute and even a flute solo).
I think you could do the same with the free Finale Notepad, entering notes by hand. But better check, as the free version is much limited.
As I understand smartmusic functions, the virtual accompaniment follows the soloist and not the other way round. However there could be latency problems, unless the thing is really smart (I'm afraid it can't be so much, judging from your experience with the mother company).
Note that the virtual accompaniment can be made quite good and with lots of expressions, rallentandi and whatever you need, just with MIDI and without using complex and expensive additions such as VTS modules or Garrison Instruments. The sound quality obtained when saving the midi files is more related to the capabilities of your sound card synthesizer, the MIDI file being the same.
I own an old sound card but it renders the piano (Grand Concerto) with quite acceptable quality for my needs (IMHO) The Flute is less realistic but that is our part as flutist, isn't it?
I posted recently about music notation software being used by Forum goers and received several replies. Some of the SW shown there are less expensive than Finale.
One example of what can be done just with midi and my sound card is the file I uploaded (see my profile) of Faure's Op 16 Berceuse. Listen to the MP3 file, not the MIDI.
A completely different example of an amazing piano sound, but using VST modules + real flute, is the link posted recently by Jonte.
My daughter is playing the Bach Sonata IV for Flute and Piano in C major, BWV 1033 which I've asked about the movements in earlier posts. It's been frustrating in that we were told the wrong movements by the director and he's the one who suggested getting smartmusic for the piano accompaniment. There simply aren't many out in our neck of the woods who are accomplished pianists so he's telling the students to download the smartmusic onto a CD to take to solo/ensemble. He also says that all solos must have a piano accompaniment (unlike back in my day).
She's been using the freebie Finale for a while and is pleased with it, however it can't be made into the much needed CD. The sonata (both the solo and the accompaniment) has been typed into Finale so she can play along and of course tempos can be varied as she works on each section so that's not a problem.
Here's the biggie as far as contest goes. Smartmusic's accompaniment for her arrangement of the sonata is NOTHING like the sheet music. Yes, the file states it's the same piece and yes it's supposedly the same publisher (Southern Music Company), but it's certainly not anything that's close to the sheet music.
Also on smartmusic, what's supposed to be the flute solo is a piano so that isn't much help. And the piano accompaniment is a harpsichord with other instruments so that's another total waste. There's a button to change the instrumentation but as with the rest of the program, it apparently only works for their practice scales and not UIL pieces. At this point I have no idea what arrangement smartmusic is actually using and if we were to find it, it still wouldn't provide the piano instrumentation accompaniment she needs so we're back to square one.
I've searched on line and found some midis of the sonata, but again they're not the same arrangement. Looks like we won't be renewing the SW subscription and I'll be dusting off the ancient out of tune ivories.
jwillis, according to what understand from your explanation, you could have the Sonata in a Finale notation without too much effort. But your problem is that you cannot make a mp3 out of it.
Two ideas:
- if you can produce a midi file from Finale Notepad, you could, rather easily, make a mp3 from this midi (.mid) file. In case you could not, I suggest you post the midi file in your profile or somewhere else and I could translate that into mp3 and send you the mp3 (or post it in this site). However, I will out on vacation from Wednesday so there is little time left and I am not sure if I could do it before leaving.
- In case you cannot export as midi from Finale Notepad, but you can play the music (that is, you can hear it on your loudspeaker), then I have a trick that should work and that I have used myself in the past:
1.- Download and install the free SW "Audacity" from the Sourceforge site or any other trusted site.
2.- Open Finale Notepad in one window and Audacity in another Window (you need to be able to see both windows at the same time, so none should be a full screen window).
3.- Make sure that you have selected "mixer" as the input of Audacity and the input volume is up (you will have to do some tests until you get it working).
4.- Start Audacity in Record mode, wait a couple of seconds and then start playing the Sonata on Finale Notepad.
5.- Audacity should record the Sonata in its own format (not still mp3).
Once you are satisfied with the result, try to export the Audacity File to mp3. Most probabl you will get an error message saying that an additional library file (.dll) is necessary and the name of the library required. (Audacity does not include this library in its pack, for some unknown reason)
6.- Google that name (including the dll extension) and download and install the file once you have found it. You should install the file in the same folder of Audacity.
7.- Try again exporting to mp3 from Audacity. You should get no error messages and the translation into mp3 should start.
8.-Now, if everything has been OK, you should have your mp3 file available.
For CD playing and taking the file to school, you can make a standard CD with any CD copy application, such as Nero 6 or higher.
Beware that playing Finale Notepad and Audacity simultaneously could take too many resources from your PC and this could produce annoying latency and tempo "jitter". Give it a first try and close all other programs and unnecessary resident appl. and do it in your most powerful computer.
Hope this helps.
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If your daughter feels comfortable with Finale Notepad, my suggestion is to consider buying the full SW (about 600$, but there are used copies in Ebay selling for about half the new price), because it is a powerful and quite complete software and surely your daughter will take lot of profit from it. Or you could consider any other of many options, most notably (according to my English sing professor), Sibelius SW.
Jose - thanks so much! I may take you up on your kind offer if I can't get this resolved. I've printed out your suggestions. After a busy morning I've concluded that whole thing isn't winnable and that I need to just drive to the city and purchase another arrangement of the piece.
Here's the latest installment of the saga --- I don't believe this particular arrangement is sanctioned by UIL. Never mind that it was bought at the publisher's load-up-the-school-bus-and-drive-two-hours-to-our-buy-every-UIL-piece-you'd-ever-need-bonanza-thingie, and it has their "I" written on the top indicating it's a UIL Class I piece, and the band director ok'ed it. The UIL/PML site is now back up and hello, this publisher's arrangement isn't listed. So, I visited with the band director about it this morning and he couldn't find it listed either but assured me it must be a typo and it wasn't a problem and that learing this solo while using a different company's accompaniment also wouldn't be a problem. What?!? Sure, try explaining that to a kid when a judge doesn't let them compete because it's the wrong music.
So, I get home and call the publisher and they swear it's on the UIL list even though they wouldn't pull the list up on the web and flat out refused to tell me where to find a list with their company on it. And besides, they'd already sold 100's of copies and couldn't possibly take them all back. Hmm.
Then I call smartmusic and ask them why their accompaniment part is different from the printed sheet music. Can you say brick wall?
Ok, fine. Uncle! I give up. I'm just going to have to make a mp3 or write out a general idea of what the smartmusic accompaniment is and take tomorrow off to drive into the city to buy an arrangement that matches smartmusic's and that's on the UIL/PML list. Sigh, all this over a few sheets of paper.
Your saga really looks like a nightmare. Sorry very much!.
Unfortunately I will not be able to make the mp3 from your midi as tomorrow is my last day before leaving and I am really overloaded.
I will be back in Jan 6, if you can wait till then, I'll be glad to do it. If you need it before that, most probably you will find someone here in the Forum with a music notation software (I believe any SW would be OK for that) willing to translate it into mp3. I suggest posting the specific request as this thread is already long and dense and probably many are not following it.
Hi,
I would be willing to send files of the movements which you are using but I don't think that you have said exactly. My Version which I wrote out in Finale 2002 isn't the Southern Music arrangement but it may be useable. It's from the Peters Edition. The difference in the flute part is probably negligable.
In this version of Finale, I can save the file as a Smart Music Acc.
What it says is that you can designate the melody line and the acc. line but the melodic line isn't going to sound like a flute. I think that they just include it for practice purposes.
Now what I can do is send the MIDI file in a few different speeds for practice.
ANd a fnale version in MP3 (without melodic line) if you wish.
What I need to know is which 2 movements?
and there is no Bach on the solo list.
I also can't understand why the list that is there is so limited in scope and publishers. In Ohio, the 6 Bach sonatas have about 6-8 diffrent pubs to choose from.
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The line:
"ANd a fnale version in MP3 (without melodic line) if you wish. "
Should read:
"and a final version in MP3 (without melodic line) if you wish. "
I played this piece my sophomore year of high school and had the very same problem. It got worse as I got older and started playing harder pieces.
Are you anywhere near a University that has a music program? If so, you could possibly find a pianist to record the piano part for you on tape and let your daughter use that. I noticed that the difference between the tape and where I normally had my flute was a bit flat, so make sure that the pianist plays a several tuning notes first. If you are not close to a University check the phone book for a piano teacher, go to the local music store and ask for a recommendation, or even call around to a few churches. Usually there is someone who can play the part and will either do it for free, or for a very small fee.
Also, if you are in the US I believe the reason the teacher is requiring an accompanist is because most State solo and ensemble competitions require it.
You can also pick up the Bach Sonatas in bound books with the piano part on Flute World relatively cheap if I remember correctly. These are good books for a flutist to have in her library. Lastly, you might want to check on the official rules in your area. Here students were allowed to play from copies, but ALL ORIGINALS of the music had to be given to the judges. Printed or photocopied pieces were not allowed.
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