The
three study activities, Naming, Writing, and Playing, develop three of
the four essential areas of music perception: Visual Recognition,
Written Notation, and Keyboard Skills. The fourth area, Ear Training,
is covered in the two Ear Training drills, which can also be practiced
in the Naming, Writing and Playing activities. Being able to switch
between the three study activities in every drill keeps you motived and
interested, while reinforcing the musical concepts being learned.
YOU'LL LEARN TO:
NAME chords you see in all keys, clefs, qualities, inversions, and open or closed voicings
WRITE chords on the music staff in all keys, clefs, qualities, and inversions, using the program&rsquos drawing tools
PLAY
chords in all keys, clefs, qualities, and inversions on the program's
two instruments (piano and guitar) or from an attached MIDI synthesizer
HEAR and identify chords in all keys, clefs, qualities, and inversions in the ear training drills.
MULTIPLE LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY
Each
area of study has three to four subdrills, and each subdrill has
multiple settings. The easier settings work well in the middle school,
while the advanced settings are suitable for college study.
CUSTOM DRILLS
Custom
drills are easily created to target specific areas of study. For
example, you could create a drill to work on the ii - V - I chords in
the keys of C, F, and G.
FIVE CLEFS
You
can work in treble clef, bass clef, alto clef, tenor clef, grand staff,
or any combination of these. In treble clef they can work with three or
four part chords in open or closed voicings.
PIANO AND GUITAR INSTRUMENTS
In
the Playing activity drills, you answer questions by playing the
on-screen Piano or Guitar instruments, or an attached MIDI keyboard.
DRAWING TOOLS
In the Writing activity drills, you answer questions using the program's built in music notation tools.
EAR TRAINING
Ear
training is a challenging area for most students. With MUSIC LESSONS
II, you can create custom ear training drills with a learning curve
that fits your needs.
ROMAN NUMERAL IDENTIFICATION
These drills help prepare for Advanced Placement Music Theory exams.
INTERACTIVITY
You
get immediate feedback with on screen scores, and you can work at your
own pace. If you don't know the answer, the program will show you. If
you don't understand the answer, the built in Help screens clearly and
completely explain every musical term and concept used in the program.
OPEN-ENDED DESIGN
Because
MUSIC LESSONS II is open ended, you can work on the drills in any
order. The software is easily integrated with any existing curriculum.
FLEXIBILITY
MUSIC
LESSONS II works with a wide range of learning styles and preferences.
Nearly every aspect of the program's interface is under the your
control.
HUNDREDS OF DRILLS
The
program provides hundreds of possible chord and harmony exercises
formed by combinations of the six areas of study, the three study
activities, the multiple levels of difficulty, the five clef choices,
and the piano and guitar instruments.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Progress
Reports provide a detailed record of student scores on every level of
every drill. It's easy to view or print the current assignment, any
assignment from the past, or the cumulative listing of scores for all
drills done in the past and up to the present. The cumulative score
listing provides an end of term assessment for each student. Progress
Reports can be printed and saved for an unlimited number of students.
BUILT IN MUSIC THEORY REFERENCE
A
comprehensive Music Theory Reference explaining all concepts related to
the drills is built into the program and is always available on screen.
System Requirements
WINDOWS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Win 95, 98, NT4, 2000, XP Sound Blaster and MIDI compatible
MACINTOSH SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Mac 68K or PowerMac MacOS 7.1.1 or newer, MacOS 8 or MacOS 9 MIDI optional