Finale Performance Assessment/Smartmusic and DCI

[drewbugler]

This year, my high school started using Finale Performance Assessment and Smartmusic to administer playing tests

So it got the gears turning...do any drum corps use these programs? I know a lot of folks use Sibelius out there, but the FPA/Smartmusic features are too cool...give it a shot!

I can only imagine how cool it would be to set a laptop up by the equipment truck after a show and have members play their show music for FPA/Smartmusic.

If you haven't heard of this stuff, check it out:

http://www.smartmusic.com/

[drewbugler]

Guess not!

[Einstein On The Beach]

I don't think drum corps really have a problem of their kids knowing the music.

[crashhelmi36]

I don't think drum corps really have a problem of their kids knowing the music.

Or even if they do, its a veiled plus, considering it'll do wonders to get them more in shape.

[raphael18]

I don't think drum corps really have a problem of their kids knowing the music.

You might be surprissed. I've heard of some corps using playing tests on caset tape, but most do not - the music can change radically from camp to camp (though you are expected to know what you had). I remmember once in July when they went through the section having each 2nd and lead play their part to a particularly challenging section, and only a handful could do it properly...the staff was not pleased, and it was quickly perfected.

[zachariaswmb]

What a great tool, though!

[drewbugler]

I don't think drum corps really have a problem of their kids knowing the music.

Really? I remember many a horn-holder in my time.

Smartmusic gives you instant feedback....tells you what you played right (and wrong), gives you a score and lets you listen to what you just played. It isn't easy to get a good score. My first time playing Charlier #11 I got an 84, and then spent the next 4 hours practicing to get better.

And I knew my music!

Edited March 11, 2007 by drewbugler

[Mouthpiece1234]

Mind you these softwares only can tell differences/discrepancies in notes and rhythms. However, no articulation or dynamics.

Good tool but for only checkups of basic parameters.

[Michael Boo]

Just one of a multitude of reasons I prefer Sibelius is that the company supports DCI by being a sponsor of the SUMMER MUSIC GAMES. I also used Finale for twelve years before switching. (A review I wrote on why Finale users should switch to Sibelius can be found at this link.)

I would not be at all surprised if Sibelius is working on such a program as is being discussed in this thread.

[drewbugler]

Just one of a multitude of reasons I prefer Sibelius is that the company supports DCI by being a sponsor of the SUMMER MUSIC GAMES. I also used Finale for twelve years before switching. (A review I wrote on why Finale users should switch to Sibelius can be found at this link.)

I would not be at all surprised if Sibelius is working on such a program as is being discussed in this thread.

I use both programs....Sibelius was a Christmas present years back, and I figured out how to make things look good pretty fast...the school I teach uses Finale, and while the last two years have been a "back to square 1" experience with the software, I've found it to be a fun experience.

Sibelius is working on a similar program. I spoke with Robin the mid-atlantic Sibelius rep with my counterpart and we were discussing the possibility of their program dipping into the dynamics and articulation concept a little more fluently (okay, okay, a lot more) than FPA/Smartmusic. He didn't really have much info on how they were going to do it, but FPA has been part of the Finale suite for many years, and they haven't figured it out yet, so I got the feeling that it'll take some serious development before it becomes a part of either company!

I thought about this a bit and came up with a few things:

1 - Having members review changes through FPA sounds like a great idea

2 - It replaces tape recorders, and gives you a pretty darn good recording of you playing your music

3 - It would be a great way to remediate sections of the show that even the most experienced caption head or tech can't find on the field

4 - Remediation of warm-up excercises as well...particularly timing and subdivision excercises. I can't count how many times I've heard a hornline play an excercise on the open series, then go to 2nd valve (especially A Major, or whatever) with much less fluency. Maybe their show doesn't play in that key, but if you can figure out your instrument in all of the keys, you're a better musician. Yippee!

5 - You can see your score. And when you work in an activity where scores count for placement, a kid playing their part for a score "gets" the importance of a high score.

6 - and possibly my most favorite....it is like a video game. You just get hooked and want to do it over, and over, and over.

Throw the high scores up on the food truck. Have a nice break during sectionals by comparing scores.

Since I started teaching, I know the importance of remediation. Last year, I didn't use it at all and a lot of kids slipped through the cracks and didn't perform their Festival music as well as they could. Using the program helped them unlock their potential by hearing how they played, seeing the notes they missed, and working towards that perfect score.

By the way, after I got an 84 the first time on Charlier #11, and I practiced for 4 hours, I got 10 points better. But seeing the progress is what made it so cool. Unlike DCI or BOA or whatever, you don't have to wait for a retreat to see what your score was. No butterflies!

:P