Theory Training with Musition
Musition is a complete theory and musicianship package, suitable for students of all ages. Interactive drill based teaching makes learning music theory fundamentals fun and easy!
Complete with 34 topics, a clean and simple interface and sophisticated yet easy to use record keeping features, Musition is the ultimate music theory tuition tool for your home or your classroom!
What’s New in Musition 4
Musition 4's features include courses, enhanced lessons and Solfege support. They are available on Mac for the very first time. The inclusion of syllabi supporting AP* Music Theory and Band programs make Musition 4 a compelling Music Theory solution for your classroom, music studio or home!
Musition 4 features a fresh interface, all while retaining it's trademark ease of use - simply select a topic and click start! All of your important settings and the record keeping and assessment features are easily setup via the setup wizard.
Courses
Musition's Courses feature will automatically guide you through the entire program! When you take a Courses, Musition will direct the sequence of Drills, Tests and Lessons that are most appropriate for your curriculum. For example, if you use the Theory Training Courses 1 - 6, you will cover all 34 topics, gradually building up your Music Theory skills!
Musition comes complete with 24 built in Courses that cater for students of all levels, and provide support for various Syllabuses.
Band Courses
There are nine Courses included in Musition 4 that have been specifically developed for students participating in Band programs. These courses gradually introduce skills and knowledge required by band students and have been developed with the assistance of distinguished Band Directors and Educators.
Cross Platform
For the very first time, Musition is available for Mac! And, even better, it's the same as the Windows version! For existing Mac customers who are running Auralia, you will able to enjoy all the data sharing and networking features that Windows users have been using for years.
Ease of use in all teaching environments
In addition to running natively on Mac and Windows, Musition 4 will also work very well in schools where mixed platforms are used. It doesn't matter if your computer labs are Mac and your teachers prefer to use Windows 7 laptops; they can communicate with the same network database. This means that all tests, syllabi and results are shared between platforms. Teachers on their Windows 7 laptops can easily monitor the progress of students working on the Macs in the computer labs!
Lessons
Each and every one of the Lessons screens has been refreshed, updated and expanded in Musition 4! There now hundreds of Music Theory lessons, covering all of the 34 topics. The enhanced notation and clean interface makes each Lesson screen enjoyable and easy to use.
Lessons allow students to work both in and out of their classrooms more effectively. For example, if a student is practicing their rhythm Beaming at home, after being taught the subject by their teacher that day, the Beaming Lessons allow them to quickly and easily consult quality instructional material that will explain rhythm beats and groups.
Enhanced Playback
Playback of most notation examples is now even quicker and easier - simply move your mouse over the notation and click! You can also playback individual parts in the more complex multipart examples.
Solfege
Musition now features an onscreen Solfege controller, allowing students to enter answers using Solfege note names (Do, Re, Mi, Fa etc). This controller also allows Musition to ask questions by highlighting sequences of notes (chords, scales etc) on the controller. Of course, Musition still features its popular Keyboard and Guitar controllers.
Solfege Variations and Notation
Musition supports Fixed Do, and two variants of Movable Do, with a customized syllabus provided for each of the three variations. Many topics have been specially modified and customized to support correct Solfege naming, and musical notation now displays Solfege note names underneath notes where appropriate. Students can therefore view their correct and incorrect answers using traditional notation as well as Solfege note names. Playback of questions and answers is also supported, completing the link betweek theory and aural. Solfege syllable names can be changed via the syllabus options screen.
AP* Music Theory Support
Support for AP* Music Theory is now built into Musition! Students and teachers alike can now use the specially designed Syllabus, Tests and Courses that support AP* Music Theory! All the level customization work and curriculum matching has been done for you!
Syllabus Support
The inclusion of an AP* Music Theory syllabus is the key part of this support. This syllabus has been specially mapped to the AP* Music Theory curriculum, saving you hours and hours of customisation work. Included are two preparatory levels in addition to the levels designed to help students prepare for the AP* Music Theory exam.
Tests
Tests that support the AP* Music Theory syllabus are also included in Musition 4. These can all be taken multiple times, with results stored separately for each attempt. Each time the test is taken, students are asked a different set of questions.
Courses
A set of AP* Music Theory courses complete the picture. These allow students to gradually work their way the relevant Lessons, Drill and Tests, slowly building their knowledge in preparation for the AP* Music Theory exam.
Interface
Musition has a crisp interface, which is still as easy to use as prior versions! Buttons on the main screen allow for quick access to Courses, Tests and Results, and starting a topic still takes just two mouse clicks! The Toolbar is now greatly improved, changing layout in the various sections of the program (Drills, Lessons, Courses etc) to display the most relevant information. Each of the drill and custom level screens have also been revised.
Administration Screens
All of the Administration screens have also been revised, with a heavy emphasis on consistency. Button placement, lists (Users, Classes etc) and options have, where possible all been standardized.
Welcome to Musition 4
Musition is by far the most comprehensive music theory software package! With 34 topics, comprehensive Lessons and the Courses feature to guide you through the program, Musition can easily help you with your music theory.
Designed for students of all ages and abilities, Musition is a fun and easy way to learn music theory on both Windows and Mac computers.
Why is Music Theory important?
Have you ever wanted to be able to:
- Read and write music
- Understand scale and chord structures
- Improve your sense of rhythm
- Understand instrument keys and transposition
- Comprehend musical terms and symbols
Music Theory will help you with all the above and much much more. Even if you 'play by ear', music theory will help you understand what other musicians are playing, increasing your awareness of their melodic, rhythmic and harmonic changes.
Who can benefit from Musition Music Theory Software?
Regardless of your musical style, classical, jazz or contemporary, the music theory exercies in Musition will help you reinforce and expand your knowledge, making you a better musician. Musition is easy to use and is perfect for beginners and advanced students!
How to Practise
When you open Musition, there are five large icons, each signifying a group of topics or modules. You can easily access any of the 34 topics using the buttons underneath.
Choosing a Topic and Level
Starting a topic is easy! Click on a topic, choose your level and then click the 'Start' button! Musition's topics all have a carefully graded level structure, starting with simple content and gradually getting more and more difficult. You can move up and down levels as required, a system that works well in classrooms, allowing advanced students to move ahead at their own pace while less advanced students reinforce their learning. The teacher or administrator has complete control over what topics are available to their students.
Some topics have multiple choice answers while others require you to click in your answers on a notation staff. Onscreen Solfege, Guitar and Piano controllers allow students to use note input methods that are most comfortable, and tapping back of rhythms using the spacebar or MIDI keyboard s also supported.
Choosing a Syllabus
Musition's levels are organized into curriculum linked groups - each of these is a separate Syllabus. You can choose your syllabus from the main screen or from the level selection screen. The Syllabus feature allows you to focus on content that is absolutely relevant to your curriculum; for example, Trinity Guildhall, AP* Music Theory or Band.
Lessons
In addition to the 34 topics full of drills and exercises, Musition also has comprehensive lessons! Each topic has its own customized lesson screen, containing notation and audio examples and details explanations of the relevant music theory subject.
Playback
Any of the musical examples can be played back; just move your mouse over the top of the relevant musical example and click!
References
Reference screens are available for the Terms, Concepts, Symbols, Chords and Scales topics. These reference screens, integrated into the lessons, allow you to view and play (if relevant) all the content that is available in those topics. These references screens will also automatically show any customised content (Chords and Scales) that you may have created in Musition.
Courses
If you have not studied Music Theory before, Musition's Courses feature is perfect for you! There are 24 courses built into Musition, which will automatically guide you through all parts of the program, through Drills, Lessons and Tests, covering all the 34 topics.
Music Theory Course
The Music Theory Courses 1 - 6 are suitable for ALL students of music theory. If you start at Music Theory Course 1, and finish with Music Theory Course 6, you will be guided through all parts of Music Theory that are offered in Musition! Lessons, Drills and Tests covering all 34 topics will all be completed! It's easy to check your progress, simply use the 'Check My Results' button on the main screen, or use any of the Course Reports.
Band, AP* Music and Trinity Guildhall Courses
For students who are taking Band, AP* Music Theory classes or Trinity Guildhall exams, Musition includes Courses that have been specially customized for those curriculums!
Syllabus Support
Musition's Syllabus feature allows students to practice areas of music theory that are relevant to the particular curriculum that they are studying.
Included Syllabuses
There are 12 syllabuses that are built into Musition 4. These include a Band syllabus for students participating in band based music programs, a syllabus dedicated to Trinity Guildhall theory examinations and a AP* Music Theory syllabus!
- Auralia 4 / Musition 4
- AP* Music
- Band
- Queensland
- Solfege - Fixed Do
- Solfege - Moveable Do
- Solfege - Moveable Do La
- Trinity Guildhall
- VCE Music
- Western Australia
The Musition 4 syllabus is perfect for any student that is not studying a particular curriculum. It covers all 34 music theory topics that Musition offers.
Create you own syllabuses
You can create your own syllabuses in Musition, customizing the program to suit your learning or teaching methods. You can create as many levels as you wish, across as many or as few topics as are required. Any topics without levels are simply grayed out.
If you only want to modify a few levels from an existing syllabus, simply make a copy of the syllabus using the syllabus editor (you can't modify any of the included syllabuses, but you can copy them).
Solfege, Piano and Guitar Input
The onscreen Solfege, Piano, and Guitar controllers allow students and teachers to deal with Music Theory in a way that is most relevant to their needs. These controllers are generally enabled by default, but can be easily turned off if need be, and are available in many of the 34 topics.
Solfege
The Solfege controller allows students to easily enter their answers using Solfege note names (Do, Re, Mi, Fa etc). Importantly, this controller is also used to ask questions in various Musition topics. For example, the notes of a chord may be shown on the solfege controller instead of on a score.
Three solfege systems are supported: Fixed Do and two variants of Movable Do. Each of these three systems has a customized syllabus supplied with Musition.
Solfege note names are now also shown underneath notes when notation is visible, allowing students to easily make the connection between solfege and notation. This can be disabled by turning off the Solfege controller if need be. If required, the names of the Solfege syllables can be changed via the syllabus options screen.
Piano
Students who are more comfortable working with a keyboard can use the onscreen piano keyboard to easily enter their answers in many topics. Middle C is indicated with a black dot, and notes that have been chosen are highlighted in blue.
Guitar
The on-screen guitar fretboard is perfect for guitar players! Note names are highlighted as you mouse over each string and fret position.
Topics to Practice
There are 34 music theory topics in Musition, divided into five groups. Topics all have a series of carefully graded levels while custom levels easily be created and practised.
Custom Levels
Custom levels can be used in any topic, giving students the ability to eliminate problem learning areas quickly and easily. For example, if a student has problems reading notes on lines, he or she can easily choose to only practice those, avoiding notes in spaces, and focusing on the specified problem area.
Pitch
The Pich topic area has 9 topics, covering note reading, intervals, scales, scale degrees and jazz scales.
Advanced Note Reading
In Advanced Note Reading, you will have to identify notes on a staff, or click in notes on a staff. Alto and Tenor clef are used.
Enharmonic Notes
In Enharmonic Notes, you will have to be able to identify enharmonic variations of notes.
Intervals
In Intervals, you will have to identify an interval that is shown on a staff, or click in an interval on a staff.
Jazz Scales
In Jazz Scales, you may be asked to identify a scale shown on screen, fix incorrect notes in the scale, or enter the scale on a staff.
Note Reading
In Note Reading, you will have to identify notes on a staff, or click in notes on a staff. Treble and Bass clef are used.
Scale Degrees
Scale Degrees tests students’ ability to recognize a key signature and then identify the scale degree that a given note is within the key.
Scale Home Keys
Scale Home Keys tests the ability to relate a mode to its parent major or minor scale
Scales
In Scales, you may be asked to identify a scale shown on screen, fix incorrect notes in the scale, or enter the scale on a staff.
Solfege
In Solfege, you will need to identify the displayed Solfege hand signs.
Rhythm
The Rhythm topic area contains 7 topics, each of which is concerned with reading notes from a score or recognising the meter and pulse of a rhythmic example.
Beaming In Beaming, a rhythm without beams is shown on screen, and you are asked to put the correct beams in using the mouse.
Drum Sticking
In Drum sticking, you will tap back a rhythmic pattern with your left and right hands.
Drum Styles
In Drum Styles, you will tap back a rhythmic pattern which is shown on screen. The pattern is one part (eg: Snare Drum part) of a rhythmic style that would commonly be played on a drum kit.
Meter Recognition
In Meter Recognition, you will have to be able to identify time signatures and their characteristics.
Rhythm Notation
Rhythm Notation tests the knowledge of note and rest values.
Rhythm Tapping
In Rhythm Tapping, a rhythm is shown on screen, and you are asked to tap it back using your keyboard. You may also tap the rhythm in using an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or wind controller, if connected.
Rhythmic Subdivision
Rhythmic Subdivision tests the knowledge of note and rest values, and the concept of subdivision.
Terms & Symbols
The Terms and Symbols topic area has 6 topics, covering musical concepts, guitar symbols, ornaments and terms.
Concepts
Concepts tests the knowledge of common musical concepts, the fundamentals of written vocabulary. Questions are multiple choice.
Guitar Symbols
In Guitar Symbols, you will have to identify the chord that is represented by the guitar symbol.
Jazz Chord Symbols
In Jazz Chord Symbols, you will have to identify chord symbols, and the structure of the chord that they represent.
Ornaments
In Ornaments, you will have to identify ornaments such as trills, acciaccatura, appoggiature etc.
Symbols
Symbols tests the knowledge of common symbols that are found on scores. Questions are multiple choice.
Terms
Terms tests the knowledge of common terms that are found on scores. Questions are multiple choice.
Harmony
The Harmony topic area has 6 topics. It covers topics such as key signatures, chords and modulation.
Chord / Scale Relationships
Chord Scale Relationships tests the ability to relate chords and scales, in a jazz context.
Chords
In Chords, you will have to identify a chord that is shown on a staff, or click in a chord on a staff.
Diatonic Chords
In Diatonic Chords, you will have to identify a chord that is shown on a staff, or click in a chord on a staff. The chords will be based on the scale degrees of the Major and Harmonic Minor scales.
Jazz Chords
In Jazz Chords, you will have to identify a chord that is shown on a staff, or click in a chord on a staff.
Key Signatures
The Key Signatures topic assesses your knowledge of keys, in particular, the number and type of accidentals that keys have and the order in which they appear on a staff. Identifying relative major and relative minor is also covered.
Modulation
In Modulation, a two part example is shown that will modulate from one key to the other. You will be asked to identify the type of modulation (eg. Major Tonic - Relative Minor) or identify the final key of the example.
Instruments
The Instruments topic area has 6 topics. It covers topics such as instrument knowledge, instrument keys and instrument recognition.
Clef Transposition
In Clef Transposition, you will have to be able to transpose short melodies from one clef to another.
Instrument Keys
In Instrument Keys, you are asked to identify the keys of various instruments, and identify the most 'common' key.
Instrument Knowledge
Instrument Knowledge is a topic that deals with instrument general knowledge. Questions have multiple choice answers.
Instrument Range
In Instrument Range, you are asked to identify the keys of various instruments, and identify the most 'common' key.
Instrument Recognition
In Instrument Recognition, instrument examples are played (WAV files) and you have to identify the instrument from a number of choices.
Instrument Transposition
In Instrument Transposition, you will need to be able to transpose to and from concert pitch and the correct key for a particular instrument.
Record Keeping and Assessment
Musition has the ability to track an unlimited* number of students results, on a single computer or across a network.
Users and Classes
Everybody who uses Musition needs to have a user name and password, under which scores will be recorded. Each user also belongs to a Class, allowing you to easily group students for reporting and testing. Classes also allow you to restrict the content that students can choose to practise, using settings such as minimum levels. These types of settings are invaluable when using Musition with students of varying age and ability levels.
Customisation and Tests
Musition has the ability to be completely customised; both the level of content as well as the type of content that is presented to your students. The Syllabus feature allows you to create and modify your own levels, while the Tests feature allows you to create electronic Worksheets and Exams. These are all instantly marked and graded for you!
Students and Users
Each person that uses Musition 4 requires a user name and password, enabling Musition to record each student's results individually. This system also allows you to prevent students using any of the Administration functions.
Adding Students
There are three ways to enter your students into Musition. You can add them by hand using the User Admnistration screen, they can automatically enrol using the Auto Enrolment feature, or, the easiest way - you can import them from a CSV file.
Access Levels
Each User in Musition has an Access level - either Student, Teacher or Administrator. Users with Student level access cannot access any of the administration functions – it is not recommended that you give any of your students Teacher or Administrator access.
Most schools choose to give all teachers Administrator access, whichis highly recommended. The Teacher level of access is rarely used and quite restricted. See the Manual for further details.
Sharing with Musition
Your User names and Passwords are also shared with Musition!
Classes & Classroom Management
Classes are an easy way to organize your students into manageable groups - in exactly the same way that you would in a brick and mortar classroom!
Using Classes
You generally setup your class list at the start of each year, typically mirroring the class arrangement that you would have in your school or music studio. It generally takes about 5 -10 minutes!
Once you have a list of classes in the program you can assign your students to the various classes, making reporting and testing a much simpler process. Note that you don't have to add your own Classes. Musition has a Default Class that all your students will be members of if there are no other classes.
Classroom Control with Classes
Each Class has various settings that you can use to direct your students to the most appropriate parts of the program. Minimum levels can be set for each topic, to ensure that students are not practicing levels that are too easy. You can also disable topics altogether, which can be very useful for younger students, who may not need to be practicing Jazz Progressions!
Possibly the most important Class option is the Syllabus setting. This setting allows you to change the Syllabus that is selected when students login. You may also choose to prevent students from moving from that syllabus, thereby ensuring that they are practicing areas that you need them to work on.
Sharing with Musition
Your Class list and associated settings are also shared with Musition!
Tests & Electronic Worksheets
The Tests feature of Musiiton 4 allows teachers to define a particular sequence of questions for their students to attempt.
How Tests Work
Test questions may come from any Syllabus, Topic or Level (including Syllabi and Levels that you create yourself). Scores from Tests are stored separately from regular practise results, and Tests can be taken multiple times if required. Tests are a very useful tool in the classroom, music studio or the home!
Tests are used for many tasks, but here are some common examples:
- Grading Tests
- End of Semester Exams
- Classroom Electronic Worksheets (no marking!)
- Exam Preparation
- Take home Digital Worksheets (still no marking!)
There is no limit to the number of Tests that you may create.
Importing and Exporting
Sharing tests with colleagues and students is easy using the import and export feature.
Create a test at school, export it to a file and then email that file to your students that use Musition 4 Student at home. Your students can then complete the test and email you a pdf file of the results!
Supplied Tests
Musition 4 includes tests that support the following syllabi:
- AP* Music
- Band
- Trinity Guildhall
- VCE Music
- Western Australia
Syllabus & Customisation
The Syllabus feature in Musition 4 allows you to easily customize Musition's content to suit your way of learning or teaching. A Syllabus is simply a sequence of levels across any number of topics: the content in any level is completely definable, in exactly the same way you would use a Custom Level for practise.
How Syllabi work
Although Musition ships with numerous Syllabi, which are suitable for most classrooms, it is understood that many teachers have particular ways of teaching and introducing new concepts.
These varying pedagogical requirements are easily handled in Musition 4. You can create a new syllabus and create levels that map to your curriculum, or you can copy a supplied Syllabus and modify its levels. For example, you can easily modify the type of Chords that are used in the Chords topic or the type of Scales that appear in the Scales topic. Any level in any topic can be customised.
Included Syllabi
Musition comes with numerous pre-built syllabi. You can easily copy these and make modifications.
- Auralia 4 / Musition 4
- AP* Music
- Band
- Queensland
- Solfege - Fixed Do
- Solfege - Moveable Do
- Solfege - Moveable Do La
- Trinity Guildhall
- VCE Music
- Western Australia
Legacy syllabi - these have been included to continue support for various textbooks and teaching methods.
- Auralia 2.1 / Musition 2.0
- Auralia 3.5 / Musition 3.5
Results, Assessment and Reports
Musition 4 has comprehensive recording keeping and assessment features. Results from Drills, Tests and Courses are all recorded, either on your computer or in a shared network database.
Viewing Results
There is a button on the main screen that students can use to view their own results and monitor their own progress. This allows students to make informed decisions when deciding the areas of Music Theory that need further work. Of course, it is possible for Teachers to control exactly what a student can do using the Class, Syllabus and Testing features. If not working on a network, students can export their results and scores to a PDF file, and then email the PDF file to their teacher.
Reporting and Assessment
It is easy to print out reports and lists using the Reports screen. Teachers can view reports on screen before printing, or export them to a PDF file. Results can be viewed by class or individual user, allowing scores to be broken down into smaller and more manageable lists. Test and Courses results are stored separately, allowing you to use those scores for school reporting and assessment.
Networking
Musition 4 can be easily networked, giving you a single, central database for all your results, syllabi, tests and customized content! If you are using a Multi User License or Lab Pack, then it is highly recommended that you utilize this important feature.
How it Works
When Musition is networked, students can use any computer that is connected to your server, via a network cable or wireless connection! This means that you won't have to gather and sort student results from multiple computers; all results will be safely stored in your networked database.
All of the features in Musition 4 can be utilised over your network. This affords you great flexibility. Imagine that you have 15 computers installed in your computer lab, and one computer in the music office. With a network installation of Musition, you can create your classes, tests and syllabus settings in the music office and all your students will be able to access this information in the computer lab!
Easier Setup
The network installation has been simplified in Musition 4. Generally, there are only 2 options that need be set on each workstation, but if your circumstances require it, you can still modify all aspects of the networking configuration.
Using Windows and Mac Computers Together
It is very common to find schools using both Windows and Macintosh computers. The networking in Musition 4 handles this with ease, regardless of the type of server that you are using. Windows and Mac computers running Musition 4 will both use the same networked database.
*AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
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Notes on academic/theological versions:
If you purchase a Multi User License or Lab Pack of Musition, please be aware that the record keeping facilities are completely networkable, elminating the need for gathering of results from individual computers. All results can be easily stored in one central database.
If you have use both Windows and Mac computers, they will happily use a single networked database, which can be hosted on either a Windows or Mac computer (preferably a server, but it need not be dedicated).
Note that Musition 4 Student cannot be networked, and is limited to 3 user record keeping. |
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200MB Hard Disk space
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Theory/Ear Training
