Over the past 25 years, it’s been our great joy to watch students learn and thrive using classic SmartMusic. We sincerely thank you for trusting SmartMusic to support your teaching and your students’ musicianship.

As we all know, classroom technology continues to evolve every year. Advances in cloud computing and mobile learning will continue to propel your students into a brighter, smarter future. Here at MakeMusic, we are committed to matching this pace of forward progress by remaining a leader in innovating the latest in digital solutions for music education.

Passing the Baton

Today we are announcing the retirement of classic SmartMusic as of August 31, 2020. Like so many other classroom tools, the future of SmartMusic is in the cloud – not on a hard drive.

While we recognize this may be a difficult change for some, we’ve gone to great lengths to create a replacement to exceed your expectations. We’re letting you know about this change now so you and your students can transition to new SmartMusic seamlessly and at your own pace. When the time comes, we’ll be here to help.

Why New SmartMusic?

SmartMusic’s future in the cloud means you can expect constant improvement and innovation. With new SmartMusic, our development is no longer tied to yearly releases or painful OS updates. That means more time spent on the features you request.

New SmartMusic Wins SBO Best Tools for Schools Award

In 2014, classic SmartMusic was awarded SBO’s Best Tools for Schools. As of last month, that baton has officially been passed. New SmartMusic brought home the SBO Best Tools for Schools award at the 2019 NAMM Show.

What You Can Expect From New SmartMusic

In addition to the tools you know from classic SmartMusic – rhythm and pitch assessment, predefined assignments, built-in tuner, and complete assignment loop – new SmartMusic offers more practice options and better accessibility.

Assessment tolerance and swing assessment, along with exclusive tools like Compose and Sight Reading Builder, allow you to build and assess assignments in SmartMusic exactly the way you want. Plus, since new SmartMusic is web-based, there’s no app to download, making it easier for students to practice on Chromebooks, computers, or iPads. Starting at $39.99 per teacher and $13.99 per student, it’s even more affordable, too.

Classic Retirement Timeline

Full Year Subscriptions
September 1, 2019
Last day to purchase full calendar year subscriptions

Prorated Subscriptions Offered
September 02 – December 31, 2019
Subscriptions purchased during this time will be prorated as necessary

Last Chance at Prorated Subscriptions
December 31, 2019
Last day to purchase a prorated subscription

Sunset on Classic SmartMusic
August 31, 2020
Classic SmartMusic is fully retired

If you have a multi-year classic SmartMusic subscription, our sales team will work with you on a transition plan.

Helping You Move Content from Classic to New

We know uploaded content is important to you.

If you created content for classic SmartMusic using Finale, you can use the same Finale documents to export MusicXML files for use in new SmartMusic. But what if all you have are the old SMP or SMPX files you exported from Finale, and not the Finale documents themselves?

The next maintenance update for Finale 26, due later this year, will include a feature to convert SMP and SMPX files so this content can be uploaded to new SmartMusic, too.

We also know that solos are important to you.

New SmartMusic already rivals classic in large ensemble titles and methods, and we’re adding new solos all the time. To see our progress, select any instrument below to view the solo titles available today in new SmartMusic and those that are coming soon.

Don’t Take Our Word for It

Thousands of other educators are helping their students grow with the web-based new SmartMusic.

“The new SmartMusic is much better than the older classic SmartMusic. Using the Sight Reading Builder we were able to double the number of students we had from our district in the all-state bands.” – J. Kelly Diamond, band teacher, Georgetown Middle School, Georgetown, KY

Join Mr. Diamond and other teachers across the country. Try SmartMusic for free.

We’re Here to Help

We’ve made short videos to help you get up and running quickly in new SmartMusic. You can find them, more in-depth tips for seasoned users, and music education resources that go far beyond the use of SmartMusic all at SmartMusic Academy.

If you have questions about anything, from our decision to retire classic SmartMusic to issues specific to your program or subscription, contact us – we’re here to help you.