MakeMusic Inc. on Tuesday announced the release of SmartMusic 9.0, a new version of their practice program for students of woodwind, brass, string and vocal. Available for the Mac and PC, SmartMusic 9.0 is available on a subscription basis for US$9.95 per month or $90 per year.
SmartMusic lets musicians record themselves, transposes music to any key to help match music to vocal ranges and more, configure “practice loops” to help you master difficult passages, play a metronome with support for complex meters and more. Intelligent Accompaniment listens to you practice and adjusts based on your own tempo.
New to this release of SmartMusic is a new jazz repertoire created by Wynton Marsalis and his musicians — users can practice listening to accompaniments from Eric Lewis on piano, Carlos Henriquez on bass and Ali Jackson on drums. Users learn sing solo-line playback and assessment tools, on-screen transcription of rhythm sections, jazz improvisation patters and 160 graded “Play by Ear” exercises using “call and response.”
Also new to this release is the addition of select musicals, including Porgy & Bess, West Side Story and My Fair Lady, additions of select baroque titles, new and update playback sounds, updated “Sound Fonts” support, improved assessment for woodwind and brass, cello, contrabass and pizzicato string assessment and more.
System requirements for SmartMusic 9.0 call for G4/867MHz or faster, 512MB RAM, Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later, 675MB free hard disk space, CD-ROM, 1024 x 768 resolution, microphone or mic adapter, headphones or speakers and available USB port, if you use the optional foot pedal ($60).
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