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PRACTICA MUSICA

Software Review By Susan Clarke (October 2005)

Originally designed for Macintosh, Practica Musica 4.576 is a cross-platform theory and ear-training program produced by Ars Nova. Practica Musica is difficult to review as there is no demonstration version but a comprehensive series of online movies on the Ars Nova website (www.ars-nova.com) demonstrate the features and usability of the software.

After unsuccessfully searching for an Australian Distributor of Ars Nova products, I purchased the Standard Edition of Practica Musica online from Ars Nova for $US100 as a download, which did not include the accompanying theory text. The software is also available for $125 USD on CD with the text. A site edition for use on five or more computers is available for $US600. Unlike its competitor Auralia, from Rising Sun Software, there are no education discounts, making it quite expensive, especially for students in the Australian market. The Standard Edition includes an instructor file, plus four student files that automatically save the grades and progress of each student in an easy to read format. Additional student files must be purchased from Ars Nova.

First released in 1987, Practica Musica is a drill-based program that develops skills in reading, writing, and recognizing pitch, rhythm and chords through eighty different exercises with four levels each. The interface includes a work area and a keyboard that can be used for playing answers or listening to examples. Answers can be entered on the staff using the mouse, by clicking on the keyboard or guitar fretboard, or through midi. Vocalis technology also allows students to use a USB microphone with voice or an instrument, which is an excellent innovation for non-keyboard players. An onboard synthesizer also allows the user to choose their preferred timbre. You can choose from guitar, grand piano, organ, pan flute, trumpet, voice or a range of bowed instruments. This is a huge improvement on the electronically generated sounds of early aural drill programs.

Figure 1. Work screen and keyboard entry screen.

Advertised as being suitable for beginners to advanced musicians, the interface could be difficult to master for a student with limited music technology experience.

From a pedagogical point of view, Level 1 in some of the activities is quite complex for most beginners. For example, Exercise 1.01 from Activity 3.2 Writing Rhythm (as pictured in Figure 2), includes rests in the dictation, which is unsuitable for beginners without prior experience.

Figure 2. Writing Rhythm 1.01.

This example highlights another potential problem I found when using the software. A relatively innocuous error, such as leaving out the end barline, incurs a penalty of thirty points. The program employs the principle of mastery learning, setting targets of over one thousand points before students move to the next level, so losing thirty points or more for apparently irrelevant errors (to the exercise, which in this case is testing pitch), could become irritating or frustrating for grades-driven students.

To mitigate some of these problems, every aspect of all activities, including the scoring, can be edited and customised by the instructor to suit their own students by clicking on the “create or edit activities” option in the file menu as pictured.

Figure 4. Choices for the generation of melodic examples.

While customisation of activities alleviates some of these problems, the user who purchases the software for self-education could still be left with some difficulty owing to the default sequencing of the activities. For these students, the text book that is included when purchasing the program on CD, should be available as a PDF document when purchasing the software as a download because without musical knowledge or an instructor, editing the activities would not be an option and the program could not stand alone.

To save time and to expand the range of possible activities, resource sharing in the form of instructor-generated activities are shared on the Ars Nova website. There is a vast range of supplementary activities that cater to all situations and student abilities. For further support, the only option is the online FAQ, the manual or the support department. A user forum for instructors to share ideas, experiences and problems would be useful.

The existing chorale literature is used for four-part chord recognition instead of computer-generation, providing excellent models for voice leading and voicing.

Practica Musica also has compositional tools for melody writing, two- and four-part writing, and even orchestral writing, giving students the opportunity to explore their own creativity. Music can be entered onto staves, played back, recorded, printed and saved. There is no guidance for these exercises within the program, but it is a useful addition to the program tools nevertheless, if a more suitable notation package is not available. The composition screen consists of the work area with staves as requested and the keyboard with options for selecting key, meter, clef and a range of rhythmic and note options.

Figure 5. Composition tools on the keyboard

There is no default position for key signature, time signature, rhythms or barlines, so students are able to write errors as they would on manuscript paper making nonsense like that pictured in Figure 6 possible, although this is also a good test of a student’s theoretical knowledge.

Figure 6. Possible “nonsense” in composition mode.

Performance activities to develop independence include rounds where students choose a line to play along with the other parts, also developing an understanding of simple counterpoint. As well as the several examples of rounds that are included, the instructor can also import alternative files for use in this section.

In spite of its few idiosyncrasies and shortcomings, I enjoyed using Practica Musica and consider that its flexibility, comprehensive range of activities and customisation features make it an excellent tool for students and musicians to develop aural and theoretical skills. However, given the cost, lack of purchasing flexibility and availability in Australia, l don’t believe that it represents the same value in this country as it does in the northern hemisphere, compared to our local product Auralia.

REFERENCES

Ars-Nova.

www.ars-nova.com

McGee, D (2000) Aural Skills, Pedagogy, and Computer-Assisted Instruction: Past, Present, and Future. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, 14, 2000, pp. 115 – 134. Viewed October 29, 2005.

http://www.macgamut.com/JMTPReview.html

Demoline, K (2002). Making the Most of Music Technology: Part Two of Three. Viewed October 29, 2005.

http://www.musicstaff.com/lounge/article40.asp

Poon, Caroline (2004). How to Use Practica Musica 4. Viewed October 29, 2005.

http://www.wellesley.edu/Computing/PracticaMusica/practicamusica.html

Kuzmich, J. (2001). Music Theory for All Students. Viewed October 29, 2005.

http://www.sbomagazine.com/sbomag/apr01/technology.aspx


Home About Jiltoa About Jiltoa Biography Susan Clarke Services Contact Us Resources Quote File Articles Teaching Music to Generation Y Flow and Musical Performance Resources I Can't Live Without The Practising Dilemma The Value of a Mentor Teaching With Laughter Music Fun Simple Tunes to Download Extending the Life of a Simple Tune Teaching Anecdotes Teacher's Faux Pas Kid's Oneliners Instrumental Music Posters Links Practice Diary Events Upcoming Events Testimonials	PRACTICA MUSICA Software Review By Susan Clarke (October 2005) Originally designed for Macintosh, Practica Musica 4.576 is a cross-platform theory and ear-training program produced by Ars Nova. Practica Musica is difficult to review as there is no demonstration version but a comprehensive series of online movies on the Ars Nova website (www.ars-nova.com) demonstrate the features and usability of the software. After unsuccessfully searching for an Australian Distributor of Ars Nova products, I purchased the Standard Edition of Practica Musica online from Ars Nova for $US100 as a download, which did not include the accompanying theory text. The software is also available for $125 USD on CD with the text. A site edition for use on five or more computers is available for $US600. Unlike its competitor Auralia, from Rising Sun Software, there are no education discounts, making it quite expensive, especially for students in the Australian market. The Standard Edition includes an instructor file, plus four student files that automatically save the grades and progress of each student in an easy to read format. Additional student files must be purchased from Ars Nova. First released in 1987, Practica Musica is a drill-based program that develops skills in reading, writing, and recognizing pitch, rhythm and chords through eighty different exercises with four levels each. The interface includes a work area and a keyboard that can be used for playing answers or listening to examples. Answers can be entered on the staff using the mouse, by clicking on the keyboard or guitar fretboard, or through midi. Vocalis technology also allows students to use a USB microphone with voice or an instrument, which is an excellent innovation for non-keyboard players. An onboard synthesizer also allows the user to choose their preferred timbre. You can choose from guitar, grand piano, organ, pan flute, trumpet, voice or a range of bowed instruments. This is a huge improvement on the electronically generated sounds of early aural drill programs. Figure 1. Work screen and keyboard entry screen. Advertised as being suitable for beginners to advanced musicians, the interface could be difficult to master for a student with limited music technology experience. From a pedagogical point of view, Level 1 in some of the activities is quite complex for most beginners. For example, Exercise 1.01 from Activity 3.2 Writing Rhythm (as pictured in Figure 2), includes rests in the dictation, which is unsuitable for beginners without prior experience. Figure 2. Writing Rhythm 1.01. This example highlights another potential problem I found when using the software. A relatively innocuous error, such as leaving out the end barline, incurs a penalty of thirty points. The program employs the principle of mastery learning, setting targets of over one thousand points before students move to the next level, so losing thirty points or more for apparently irrelevant errors (to the exercise, which in this case is testing pitch), could become irritating or frustrating for grades-driven students. To mitigate some of these problems, every aspect of all activities, including the scoring, can be edited and customised by the instructor to suit their own students by clicking on the “create or edit activities” option in the file menu as pictured. Figure 4. Choices for the generation of melodic examples. While customisation of activities alleviates some of these problems, the user who purchases the software for self-education could still be left with some difficulty owing to the default sequencing of the activities. For these students, the text book that is included when purchasing the program on CD, should be available as a PDF document when purchasing the software as a download because without musical knowledge or an instructor, editing the activities would not be an option and the program could not stand alone. To save time and to expand the range of possible activities, resource sharing in the form of instructor-generated activities are shared on the Ars Nova website. There is a vast range of supplementary activities that cater to all situations and student abilities. For further support, the only option is the online FAQ, the manual or the support department. A user forum for instructors to share ideas, experiences and problems would be useful. The existing chorale literature is used for four-part chord recognition instead of computer-generation, providing excellent models for voice leading and voicing. Practica Musica also has compositional tools for melody writing, two- and four-part writing, and even orchestral writing, giving students the opportunity to explore their own creativity. Music can be entered onto staves, played back, recorded, printed and saved. There is no guidance for these exercises within the program, but it is a useful addition to the program tools nevertheless, if a more suitable notation package is not available. The composition screen consists of the work area with staves as requested and the keyboard with options for selecting key, meter, clef and a range of rhythmic and note options. Figure 5. Composition tools on the keyboard There is no default position for key signature, time signature, rhythms or barlines, so students are able to write errors as they would on manuscript paper making nonsense like that pictured in Figure 6 possible, although this is also a good test of a student’s theoretical knowledge. Figure 6. Possible “nonsense” in composition mode. Performance activities to develop independence include rounds where students choose a line to play along with the other parts, also developing an understanding of simple counterpoint. As well as the several examples of rounds that are included, the instructor can also import alternative files for use in this section. In spite of its few idiosyncrasies and shortcomings, I enjoyed using Practica Musica and consider that its flexibility, comprehensive range of activities and customisation features make it an excellent tool for students and musicians to develop aural and theoretical skills. However, given the cost, lack of purchasing flexibility and availability in Australia, l don’t believe that it represents the same value in this country as it does in the northern hemisphere, compared to our local product Auralia. REFERENCES Ars-Nova. www.ars-nova.com McGee, D (2000) Aural Skills, Pedagogy, and Computer-Assisted Instruction: Past, Present, and Future. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, 14, 2000, pp. 115 – 134. Viewed October 29, 2005. http://www.macgamut.com/JMTPReview.html Demoline, K (2002). Making the Most of Music Technology: Part Two of Three. Viewed October 29, 2005. http://www.musicstaff.com/lounge/article40.asp Poon, Caroline (2004). How to Use Practica Musica 4. Viewed October 29, 2005. http://www.wellesley.edu/Computing/PracticaMusica/practicamusica.html Kuzmich, J. (2001). Music Theory for All Students. Viewed October 29, 2005. http://www.sbomagazine.com/sbomag/apr01/technology.aspx



			"Comprehensive but not Competitive"

"Comprehensive but not Competitive"