how to cheat on smartmusic assignments

The MakeMusic Blog

Tips and news for musicians, educators, and composers, pro tips for creating assignments in makemusic cloud.

Music Educators are busy people! When you use MakeMusic Cloud (SmartMusic) with your students, you are empowering them to use high-quality resources, self-assess, and self-correct with the assistance of our powerful suite of tools. Students can receive differentiated instruction when they practice with our Assessment and Practice tools, and you are still free to give as much or little feedback as you’d like! Let’s explore some impactful ways to nurture your young musicians with assignments in MakeMusic Cloud.

Traditional Assignments

Start your assignment creation process from a piece in the Music Catalog or My Library. Remember you can create assignments from anything in the Music Catalog, shared items created in Compose, uploaded and shared items from other notation software, or even Sight Reading Builder custom exercises or templates. Use the Assign button to get started. View step-by-step instructions on creating assignments here. 

Pro Tip #1 (possibly THE most important tip!): Add clear directions for your students in the appropriate text box. Consider rewarding your students for reading your instructions by including bonus words that they must include in the comment box when they submit their assignment. This will help your students develop the habit of reading instructions.  Save time by keeping a document of directions that you can copy/paste from and make minor changes to as you create new assignments! 

Pro Tip #2: The Assessment tolerance defaults to “Level 1” – keep it there until you really see a need to challenge your students further! 

Pro Tip #3: You can turn any assignment into a sight reading assignment in the Additional Features section. Activate the si ght reading toggle and easily specify a study time for your students.

Pro Tip #4: When setting the tempo parameters, consider setting the tempo to “At Least” ___ and encouraging your students to choose a tempo where they can get their best score or are most proud of their performance.

When you choose how an assignment should be graded, you may use the MakeMusic Cloud assessment score or create your own rubric. If you select to Submit Grade Automatically , the MakeMusic Cloud assessment score alone will provide the final score. While students will always be able to see an assessment score after a recording, teachers can add other criteria that make the most sense for the assignment with a rubric. 

Pro Tip #5: Add criteria that you can use on multiple assignments because these custom items will be available to you in future assignments that you create! Consider making use of criteria such as “Musicality”, “Evidence of Practice”, or even “Reflection in Comments” to use as additional pieces of the final score that are teacher assessed. 

Save Time with Units

All of the assignments that you create are automatically turned into templates . You can access these templates from the Home page ( Recent Assignment Templates) or by clicking on Assignments in the navigation menu. 

Units are a great way to assign multiple assignments all at once! Consider using units for things that you might use year after year or create them when planning your assignments for the grading period. 

Pro Tip #6 : Add assignments to your Unit in “backwards order” — select the LAST assignment you want to appear in the list first and end with the FIRST assignment so that they will appear in sequential order to your students.

Create Your Personal Best Workflow

You will get the most out of the MakeMusic Cloud tools when you learn about how they work, and then create processes for yourself and your students that make sense in your situation. A traditional graded assignment may not always be the best option alongside your musical goals. Here are some educator-tested ways to use our tools in creative ways: 

Toggle “Show Assessment” On and Off 

Show students that they can turn off the visual of the red, yellow, and green notes appearing when they are practicing. While instant assessment is so helpful for some, it can be anxiety inducing for others, especially when trying to perform something. To use this toggle, click on Assessment at the top of the Practice screen and you’ll see the option to adjust this on and off. 

Pro Tip #7: If Show Assessment is turned off, our tool will still assess, it just won’t show the colored feedback until the toggle is changed back to the on position. 

Delete, Save, or Submit any Take

After a take is recorded in MakeMusic Cloud there are three options next to the dropdown list of takes from the current practice session. Delete removes the take from the list. Save downloads the take as a .wav file (that can be attached to an email, LMS assignment, etc.) Submit turns the assignment in to the teacher. 

Pro Tip #8: The Save option offers you some flexibility in how to accept student work and is even a backup plan that students can rely upon if they have trouble with a submission. 

Practice Analysis Offers Valuable Insights 

Pro Tip #9: Consider assigning grades (or portions of grades) based on practice time. You can easily and quickly see how long students spend recording takes, how many times they open material, and what they are exploring in Class Analytics . The Analytics you’ll find in MakeMusic Cloud are based on playing time and recording time that we can track. Remember that students will likely spend some time looking at the music, playing just a few measures, checking fingerings, or decoding rhythms outside of the tracked plays and records. When a student shows “10 minutes” of playing and recording time, they likely spent 20-30 minutes total really practicing that music! 

Gain practice insights for each of your classes by visiting Class Analytics. Find it in the main menu on the left side of the screen under Classroom and Teach.

You can also access it from your Home screen by clicking on the Practice item at the bottom right of any class card. 

Students can see their own personal practice analysis in the left side main menu under Classroom and then Learn.

Pro Tip #10: Submit The Take You’re Most Proud Of. Consider offering assignments on occasion that ask students to submit the take that they are “most proud of”. Don’t underestimate the power of asking students to open their ears and really take a few minutes to self analyze 

No two teachers use MakeMusic Cloud tools the same way. We are always working on improving functionality and expanding options for creative teachers like you so that you can continue to do your best for your students! Join the conversation and connect with other MakeMusic Cloud educators in our Facebook group,  Teaching with MakeMusic Cloud , and let us know YOUR Pro Tips! 

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Educators Technology

Innovative EdTech for teachers, educators, parents, and students

What Is SmartMusic?

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: May 14, 2024

SmartMusic is an educational platform that provides teachers and students with a wide variety of resources to enhance music education. SmartMusic library features a huge collection of predefined practice exercises and sight-reading assignments with automatic scoring and instant feedback. 

Students can practice using various practice tools including tuner, fingerings, metronome, accompaniments, and loops. They can also record their performance externally and upload it to the site to submit for assessment.

Teachers can create classes on SmartMusic and invite students to join. They can also use the titles in the site’s library to create assignments to share with students. From within the dashboard, teachers can grade students assignments, view and review submitted assignments, review graded assignments, add grading comments, track students progress, and more.

How to create a class on SmartMusic?

SmartMusic allows you to create classes for your students and invite them to join. Classes enable you to create and share assignments, grade assignments, access tools to track students performance and assess their learning. To set up a class, log in to your teacher account, click on Classes from within the dashboard and select Create a Class.

If you logged in to SmartMusic through the license of your school or school district you can then connect your newly created class to the platform at this point and create School-funded class . If not, you have two choices to choose from: Free Class and My Students.

Free Class , as its name indicates, is free and students can join it without registration. However, only free content is featured in Free Class and teachers cannot assign or access premium content. My Students , on the other hand, allows you to create a Student-funded class . 

“This funding type will require your students to purchase a Performer subscription upon joining your class. This can be a useful option if your school or district is not providing paid access for your students.”

Related: 7 Great Music Websites for Teachers and Students

Once the class is created, a unique code is generated for your class that students can use to enrol in it. Simply send an email invitation with the class code. Students go to https://admin.smartmusic.com/join, type in their email address (and a backup email), enter the class code and select Find your Class .

How to create and share music assignments on SmartMusic?

You can create assignments from titles featured in SmartMusic interactive library. You can search for the title you are interested in then turn it into an assignment to share with your students. Only titles with the icon arrow can be assigned, titles from Digital Sheet Music Library featuring the sheet icon are view only and cannot be assigned. 

Once you locate the title you want to use, use the Select An Assignment Type drop-down menu to choose either Predefined Assignment (if available) or  Custom Assignment. Predefined assignments are assignments created by other teachers and educators and usually come with  instructions, tempo, and location which you can use as they are or customize them to your teaching needs. Custom Assignments, on the other hand, are assignments you create from scratch with your own instructions, locations and tempo.

Next, set up the general parameters for your assignments (e.g., turn on/off sight reading, measure highlight, allow metronome and accompaniment, assessment tolerance, etc). Every assignment you create is saved as a template which can be used and adapted in future assignments. Once your assignment is ready you can then share it with students.

SmartMusic Gradebook

Using SmartMusic gradebook, you will be able to grade students assignments and review graded ones. The Gradebook legend is where you can find submitted assignments (tagged with blue colour). SmartMusic assesses students performance in terms of pitch and rhythm and automatically generates an assessment grade. Green noteheads, as shown in the image below, means that the pitch was played correctly at the right time. Red noteheads point to incorrect pitch or timing. 

You can also create your own grading scale for your classes. “A Grading Scale is used to match grade names (A-, B, etc.) to a point percentage. When you grade SmartMusic assignments, the percentage of points achieved by a student is calculated, and then the corresponding grade label that you’ve specified for that percentage within the Grading Scale is applied. Students reviewing their graded assignments see an overall grade from your Grading Scale for their individual assignments. “

Students can view their graded assignments by accessing My Graded Assignments on the dashboard of their accounts. They can hover over the assignment and click on Review to view the grade and read the accompanying feedback and comments.

SmartMusic Library

SmartMusic library features a wide range of titles that teachers and students can use in their practice activities. Click on the Explore button and browse through the collections there. Titles are organized by Genres (e.g., concert, classical, folk and multicultural, jazz, rock and pop, sacred and religious, etc), featured publishers, and categories (e.g., band and orchestra, choir, exercises, free selections, jazz improvisation, solos, etc). 

You can also use the search bar to type in your query and search for a specific title using the following filters sheet music format, printable or full score, categories, genres, instruments, and difficulty.

Titles in SmartMusic library are arranged either into Interactive Sheet Music Library, meaning, these titles allow users to assign, play, record, and assess. Or, Digital Sheet Music Library which contains view-only PDFs that are neither assessable nor assignable. Also, certain titles are available for print and users must have Print add-on to access them.

SmartMusic video tutorials

Here are some video tutorials to help you learn more about SmartMusic:

• What is SmartMusic? by SmartMusic
• SmartMusic Tutorial , by Mr Rhodes
• SmartMusic for Students , by SmartMusic
• SmartMusic Student Login Tutorial , by Boot Camp
• Smart Music Tutorial: Student Navigation , by Mr. Long Band Aid
• Enrolling Students – Video for Teachers , by SmartMusic

How much does SmartMusic cost?

SmartMusic offers various types of subscriptions: Individual subscriptions  are priced annually and include: Teacher subscription ($39.99/user) and Performer subscription ($29.99/user). As for Bulk subscriptions (priced annually) they include Teacher subscription ($39.99/user), Performer subscription ($13.99/user), and Print add-on ($15.99/user).

SmartMusic alternatives

Soundtrap for Education is a good alternative  for SmartMusic. You can also check 6 more alternatives in 7 Great Music Websites for Teachers and Students .

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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