Last year around this time, we released a solo collection called Spooky Solos. This collection contains 14 songs that fit this time of year perfectly like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, In the Hall of the Mountain King, I’m So Happy I’m a Ghost and more.  Not only are they fun to play but they can be very educational (just don’t tell your students!). To find this collection in SmartMusic, go to Find music, type the word “spooky” and click Search. Select the instrument, click on a title and click Open. That song and the rest of the collection will be downloaded to your computer. After that, you can then find the collection in My Library>Solos.

Now you might be saying “I thought you were going to tell me something new?” Well here is the treat part. The Spooky Solo collection is an exclusive SmartMusic virtual book and is not published in a hard copy format. Wouldn’t it be great if you could print out the solos? With Finale you can! These solos are included as part of the latest version of Finale 2012. Under the File menu select  “Open Worksheets & Repertoire”>Repertoire>Holiday Patriotic>Instrumental. And of course by using SmartMusic, students can practice and learn the music at their own pace, see if they are playing the right notes and record themselves. No “Tricks” here!