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Jessica Thurber
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I know that you have recently eliminated the ability to change keys for songs, which was one of my favorite features, even with your limited song choices. Now you're advertising free use to teachers forced to try to figure out how to teach applied lessons online. Your software is useless if teachers can't change the keys of songs. You should bring this feature back now and be useful again.

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18 comments

  • Avatar
    Thomas L Pawlikowski
    8

    Yes please bring this feature back...the keys of some of the easier jazz improvisation songs are a little difficult. I would like to transpose them to easy keys for me to play along.

  • Avatar
    Dennis Crystal
    6

    Agreed

  • Avatar
    Ron Mostaard
    8

    Yes please bring this feature back...some songs are to difficult, or to high or to low ........ I would like to transpose them to different keys to play along.

  • Avatar
    MICHAEL WATSON
    7

    Yes, I agree.  The ability to change key for any piece is very helpful.  I teach bass lessons, and basses can be tuned in solo and orchestral tuning, and so it is very important for making this software useful to have the ability to change key.  It also helps if we can adjust range for younger players.

  • Avatar
    Timothy Green
    7

    Yes, I agree.  Key change is an absolute must

  • Avatar
    Timothy Green
    5

    Additionally, more contemporary instruments and current music would be an additional asset to this platform.

    More specifically for, Guitar, Bass, Piano and Trap Drums.

    In providing up to date songs for students who are in Pop, Rock, R&B, Jazz bands using Electric Guitars, Bass, Piano and Trap-Drums would take  Smartmusic to the next level of music education.  Adding Tablature for Guitar would also take Smartmusic to the next level.

     

     

  • Avatar
    Bethany Gonella
    7

    I really miss the transposition feature as well in the new version and urge the SmartMusic team to add it ASAP.  I'm a flute teacher, and sometimes I have students figure out by ear how to play their pieces in a different key in order to exercise different skills.  Being able to play along with SmartMusic adds great benefits to this experience. 

    Also, as a baroque flutist, I have enjoyed the ability (with Classic SM) to transpose baroque pieces down a half-step and play my traverso with the accompaniment.

  • Avatar
    Ben Scotkin
    5

    I an an amateur sax player mostly self taught with SmartMusic since 2006.  I cannot play in every key so the ability to change the key to one that I can play is an extremely important feature to me.  Please bring it Back!

     

    Thanks,

    Ben Scotkin

  • Avatar
    Nancy Goldenhar
    4

    I also greatly miss the transposition feature, as many of the MakeMusic solos are totally in the wrong register for my instrument (bassoon).  Please reinstate this!

  • Avatar
    Emily Park
    4

    For creating flex arrangements for mixed ensembles with winds and strings this would be a huge feature (especially for the violas playing in alto clef!).

  • Avatar
    KURT SAND
    2

    Smartmusic really missed a huge opportunity to dramatically increase their customer base. My orchestra teacher and myself (band) really wanted to use and love smartmusic. But the lack of expected features was a major disappointment. We will not use nor recommend this useless product to anyone.

  • Avatar
    Frank Judnich
    3

    I hope SM's goal is to have its current version at least as capable as the old version. Right now Make Music has a lot of work to do.

    The ability to change the key of a piece of music is one of the more basic capabilities it should have.

  • Avatar
    KELVIN HELMEID
    2

    Please bring back the transposition feature. The ability to change keys is essential, and without it, the usefulness of your program is drastically reduced.  Please bring it back.

  • Avatar
    Emery Harvison
    2

    Well...What happened to Smart Music and their leaders? This current version is an incredible disappointment! I put off using the current version till the very last day of SM Classic retirement. SM Classic was perfect and you destroyed the ease of use and popular tools that I know every teacher was using. NO KEY TRANSPOSITON?? What were you thinking? There wasn't a day I didn't use that feature. It was brilliant and your brain trust eliminated the option. Just terrible. To the leadership: You took a brilliant product and made it worse. You are aware of that with the terrible feedback. Your new culture is a slap in the face to your long time users. So many of your previous supporters couldn't be more disappointed. 

  • Avatar
    Terence Watt
    1

    I agree entirely with the disappointment expressed by your subscribers regarding the absence of a key change facility. I have been an enthusiastic subscriber and advocate for many years and found the original SM instructive, easy to use, remarkably effective, but most of all, a real joy to engage with. I was dubious about subscribing to your updated version but went ahead anyway because I assumed any changes would be an improvement and would just take some getting used to. Unfortunately, I have been so disappointed. Apart from the lack of key change, I find the layout inferior to the original; navigating is more cumbersome, and some of the synthesizer sounds in the solo and accompaniament section are dreadful. I cannot now enthuse about, nor recommend this new version as I previously have done ( I have many musical friends and acquaintances, both amateur and professional), and unless some of these regressive modifications are reversed or improved, I fear I will be ending, reluctantly, what has been a very enjoyable relationship. 

  • Avatar
    DELMONT NERONI
    1

    Well, I was considering subscribing to the new Smart Music when you terminated Classic Smart Music, but the descriptions here pretty much agree with what I had already concluded, namely that the new product would not do the many things that Classic Smart Music did for me as an independent performer and composer.  Huge disappointment to many of us long term users and does not make sense from a business point of view for MakeMusic company.  I mean, those functions were already there, where's the sense in dropping them?  If the missing functions are brought back into the new Smart Music, I would most likely subscribe, but not as it is now since it would do almost nothing of what I need.  Or another suggestion is to make classic Smart Music available as a separate product (I would resubscribe immediately).  

  • Avatar
    Cynthia Gonzales
    1

    Yes -- develop programming to transpose music in NewSmartMusic. This should be a really fun programming challenge!

    I teach aural skills. Often, it doesn't matter what key an exercise is in -- what matters is that the exercise is within the student's singing range.

    The transposition feature made that easy. Now I just have to tell students that if it gets too high or low -- flip octaves. At least if singign only an octave or two away from what's notated, NewSmartMusic grades it as correct. Octave equivalence is beautiful in this context (until students start singing smaller intervals to avoid larger ones .....).

  • Avatar
    cassandra fulmer
    2

    Absolutely agree!!!

     

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