Race to the Top Funding Used for SmartMusic in Tennessee
September 22 2011 - 6:30AM
Business Wire
MakeMusic, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMUS), creators of SmartMusic®, the
interactive music software for band, orchestra and voice, announced
Tennessee is the first state to invest in SmartMusic with Race to
the Top funds. Memphis City Schools purchased more than 1,000
SmartMusic subscriptions to expand their use of SmartMusic to
orchestras in 13 Tennessee schools. Memphis City Schools have used
SmartMusic in their band programs since 2008.
Race to the Top is the federal program designed to fund progress
in education reform. Last year the U. S. Department of Education
announced that Tennessee and Delaware would be the first two states
to receive the Race to the Top grant, with Tennessee receiving more
than $500 million dollars. The Memphis City Schools’ order
represents the first purchase of SmartMusic with Race to the Top
funds.
“Because of Race to the Top’s emphasis on standards and
assessment, SmartMusic offers a unique fit,” stated MakeMusic’s CEO
Karen van Lith. “We believe that SmartMusic is the only software
that offers a means for music educators to provide evidence of
student achievement. We’re proud to partner with Tennessee to help
them accomplish their goals for what they call their First to the
Top Program.”
“SmartMusic provides a deeper understanding of how a student is
doing and what needs to be mastered to be better,” said James R.
Holcomb, music and dance supervisor for Memphis City Schools. “This
is really the essence of the standards movement in education
reform.”
SmartMusic features the world’s largest accompaniment library
for musicians of all ages and skill levels, including the most
comprehensive catalog of repertoire required by music educators.
Additional music can be easily added to SmartMusic through Finale®,
MakeMusic’s premiere notation software.
SmartMusic also provides the ideal practice environment for any
musician. As music appears on the screen, the musician performs,
and SmartMusic immediately displays the notes performed accurately
in green and the notes performed inaccurately in red. For key solo
titles, SmartMusic’s patented technology follows the tempo that
musicians set, enabling them to express themselves through the
music. At any time during their performance, musicians can access
the interactive tuner and metronome and automatically record
themselves.
SmartMusic’s e-learning capabilities are available to band,
orchestra, choir and private educators at all levels and enable
them to send a wide variety of assignments to students. The
technology allows the teacher to view, listen to and comment on
students’ performances. The SmartMusic® InboxTM, an AndroidTM and
Apple® mobile application, provides additional access for teachers
to complete these tasks. SmartMusic provides all the tools music
students need to practice, learn how to improve performance and
gain greater confidence to drive successful progress in their music
education.
More details about Tennessee’s First to the Top plan can be
viewed at their website: http://www.tn.gov/firsttothetop/.
Follow SmartMusic activities from our Community page, which
offers access to the SmartMusic Blog, Forum and links to SmartMusic
presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more.
About MakeMusic, Inc.
MakeMusic®, Inc. is a world leader in music technology whose
mission is to develop and market solutions that transform how music
is composed, taught, learned and performed. For more than 20 years,
Finale® has been the industry standard in music notation software,
enabling composers, arrangers, musicians, teachers, students and
publishers to create, edit, audition, print and publish musical
scores. MakeMusic is also the creator of SmartMusic® interactive
software that is transforming the way students practice. With
SmartMusic, students and teachers have access to thousands of band,
orchestra and vocal pieces allowing students to practice with
background accompaniment and get immediate feedback on their
performance. SmartMusic allows teachers to individualize
instruction and document the progress of every student. Additional
information about this Minnesota company can be found at
www.makemusic.com.
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