Talking to Parents about SmartMusic

Thinking about implementing SmartMusic into your program?

Thinking about implementing SmartMusic into your program?

Ongoing communication with parents can ensure that they will help make it happen.

Many directors have found that the best wayto start this dialog is to host a SmartMusic information and demonstration event.

SmartMusicDemonstrationsFor Parents:

Whether you schedule a special parent night or includea demonstration at a concert, be sure parents see students performing with SmartMusic.

To help you with your planning, we provide demonstration materials including timelines, outlines and best practices.

To help you with your planning, we provide demonstration materials including timelines, outlines and best practices.

We also recomend showing your parents our SmartMusic Parent Video.

In four minutes they’ll see students and parents describing their experiences using SmartMusic at home.

In four minutes they’ll see students and parents describing their experiences using SmartMusic at home.

It’s important to note that SmartMusic helps students understand what to do in order to get better even if their parents don’t have a musical background.

That can be very reassuring for parents.

“After I demonstrate what SmartMusic can do at a parent meeting, they ask, ‘Why wouldn’t you want to use this?’ Parents are surprised to find out that the cost of SmartMusic is very reasonable...”

“Parents who have played an instrument say that they want to pick them up again because it looks like so much fun! When their child practices with SmartMusic, it is easier to hear both the mistakes and the progress that is being made...”

“Parents who don’t know music feel like they have a better handle on what their kids are doing.”

- Sister Gail Buckman, Band Director, St. Gabriel’s Catholic School,St. Louis, MO.

Tell Parents How SmartMusic Will Be Used:

Clear communication doesn’t end after demonstration night.

Clear communication doesn’t end after demonstration night.

Smartmusic assignments represent a great opportunity to include parents in their student’s home practice.

As you begin your implementation, tell your parents exactly how you plan to use SmartMusic to help their children practice and improve their music skills:

• What kind of assignments are required

As you begin your implementation, tell your parents exactly how you plan to use SmartMusic to help their children practice and improve their music skills:

• What kind of assignments are required

• How assignments are graded

As you begin your implementation, tell your parents exactly how you plan to use SmartMusic to help their children practice and improve their music skills:

• What kind of assignments are required

• How assignments are graded

• What kind of feedback will be given

As you begin your implementation, tell your parents exactly how you plan to use SmartMusic to help their children practice and improve their music skills:

• How students and parents will know how theyare doing

As you begin your implementation, tell your parents exactly how you plan to use SmartMusic to help their children practice and improve their music skills:

• How students and parents will know how theyare doing

As you begin your implementation, tell your parents exactly how you plan to use SmartMusic to help their children practice and improve their music skills:

• What is required for home practice

“[It’s] that time of year...parent-teacher or student-led conferences...

Each conference, regardless of the student’s current level of performance, was a positive one...

“[It’s] that time of year...parent-teacher or student-led conferences...

Each conference, regardless of the student’s current level of performance, was a positive one...

“[It’s] that time of year...parent-teacher or student-led conferences...

Why? Because SmartMusic provided the kind of data that teachers in other subjects only dream of having...”

“I accessed the student’s most recent playing assessment through SmartMusic’s Gradebook. I review my written comments and help parents to interpret the familiar screen shot of red and green notes from that assessment...”

“We then listened to the audio recording, which seems to be the highlight of my conferences. Parents enjoy hearing their child play...

I could only discuss (without evidence) how a child was performing on their instrument.”

- Don Long, Director of Bands & Department Chair,Fire Prairie Middle School, Independence, MO

“We then listened to the audio recording, which seems to be the highlight of my conferences. Parents enjoy hearing their child play...

Even MoreCommunication:

Recently, as part of one school’s year-endactivities, teachers and parents were givena survey about the school year.

One of the questions was:

“How well do teachers communicate with parents?”

Teachers rated themselves 7 out of 10,

One of the questions was:

“How well do teachers communicate with parents?”

One of the questions was:

“How well do teachers communicate with parents?”

Teachers rated themselves 7 out of 10,

while parents rated the teachers at only 3 out of 10.

The SmartMusic Gradebook offers several ways to enhance communication with parents by:

Sharing SmartMusic scores and recordings

The SmartMusic Gradebook offers several ways to enhance communication with parents by:

Reassigning work to students with a mouse click

Sharing SmartMusic scores and recordings

The SmartMusic Gradebook offers several ways to enhance communication with parents by:

Reassigning work to students with a mouse click

Sharing SmartMusic scores and recordings

The SmartMusic Gradebook offers several ways to enhance communication with parents by:

Easily sending personal notes to students and parents!

Reassigning work to students with a mouse click

Sharing SmartMusic scores and recordings

The SmartMusic Gradebook offers several ways to enhance communication with parents by:

Easily sending personal notes to students and parents!

Reassigning work to students with a mouse click

The SmartMusic Gradebook offers several ways to enhance communication with parents by:

Sharing SmartMusic scores and recordings

Helping students learn music in a thoughtful and transparent process

“I provide a comment for every single exercise that a student submits. The parents appreciate this and it has helped in developing open communication with them. Parent/teacher conferences are relaxed...”

“With the e-mail button, I can easily share the success of students with their parents. The parents feel much more a part of their child’s music education. With the documentation that SmartMusic provides, parents are making their kid’s practicing a priority...”

“I have an entire folder of positive quotes from parents regarding SmartMusic. You can’t beat that. I also create a portfolio of each student’s work over three years. Imagine that!”

- Martha Boonshaft, Band Director, Garden City Middle School,Garden City, NY

Communicate bySharing Music:

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in concerts, testing,grading and documenting student progress we forgetour students (and parents) signed up for music classesto enjoy making music.

We can encourage students to use SmartMusic to sharetheir music with friends and family by picking out musicthey love and making a recording.

Any music that is recorded in SmartMusic can be saved as an MP3 and shared with others.

SmartMusic recordings can also be used in auditionsand to create portfolios.

“Creating a holiday CD for parents using SmartMusic is a project I have used for many years. I am currently doing this project with my 6th grade string players. If you don’t wish to create a holiday CD, you could use this template for other projects such as a portfolio of your students’ progress...”

“Since the students choose the songs, they work really hard on them and we make it a goal to record at least one song per week in their lesson.”

- Jim Schulz, Instrumental Music – Strings,Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, NE

In Conclusion:

When you’re doing everything you can to improveyour music program, it can be easy to forget thatparents will not know anything about SmartMusicunless you show them.

When you’re doing everything you can to improveyour music program, it can be easy to forget thatparents will not know anything about SmartMusicunless you show them.

They wont know about all of your great plans and intentions unless you tell them and you make surethat they know how this can benefit their children.

Take the time to plan an event and inform your parents.

Communicate all of the good things that children will experience in your music program, and their parents will become your biggest supporters.