It’s been a little over a month since the release of SmartMusic for the iPad and we couldn’t be more pleased with the initial response to the app and all of the positive feedback. After thousands of downloads, a very good app rating, and a number of glowing reviews, one thing is clear: the single biggest item that we are hearing about is the ability to receive and submit assignments on the iPad. This is a top priority for us as well and we plan to make assignments available for this upcoming school year.

In addition to assignment functionality, other development work continues on the iPad app. To that end, we will be releasing our first app update later today. This update contains the following changes:

1)     My Part – now you can choose to listen to or play along with your part, just like on the desktop version of SmartMusic

2)     Ability to delete titles that have been downloaded to your iPad

3)     “In-app” help documentation

4)     A handful of bug fixes and performance improvements

We’re continually working to improve the app, so stay tuned for more news as we move toward the start of the next school year.

Many teachers and students are already using the app and a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit a choral director’s classroom to observe how they were using SmartMusic. I was pleasantly surprised to see our app had already found a role in this teacher’s daily routine. Sight-reading exercises from the “90 Days to Sight Reading Success” method book were being projected for the entire choir to sing along with, while being assessed by the SmartMusic iPad app.

It’s always exciting to hear the new and different ways educators are using SmartMusic and I have no doubt that the iPad app will provide even more flexibility and creativity in the classroom. So, as always, please let us know your thoughts, suggestions and stories. We love to hear them.

Thanks,

Michael Williamson

Senior SmartMusic Product Manager