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127th AES Convention Coverage (New York, NY Oct. 9-12)
PRESS RELEASE
MarsMusic Launches On-Line Lessons
February 08, 2001
Advertisement MarsMusic.com is now offering lessons for guitar, online. Following that, approximately every 15 days a new instrument, such as the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano and bass, will be added – 15 in all. "While there are other lesson series available online, none have established the broad range of technology, content, curriculum and materials that Mars Music uses," said David MacBlane, president of MarsMusic.com. "Our lessons are unique because the software can tell the student that not only was a wrong note played, but what the correct pitch and instrument fingering should be; what rhythmic mistakes were made; and whether the note played was too early or too late, too long or too short." Mars Music uses some of the latest technology in video (Real Video) and interactive animation (Macromedia Flash), along with one of the leading innovators of pitch-to-MIDI technology (Audioworks Ltd.), to develop its leading edge instruction, added MacBlane. All online lessons meet the national framework for music education that has been established by MENC: The National Association for Music Education, who is largely responsible for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education. "Audioworks Ltd., package is the latest in technology available on the internet and we are pleased to be partnered with Audioworks Ltd., to supply this product to our customers" Randy DeWitt, Director of Education. After downloading the Audioworks Learn 2 Play,engine, the student connects their instrument to their computer either by attaching a microphone to it or by placing one in front of it. After starting the Mars Music engine and following the directions of the online instructor, a student will be able to play any exercise in step time (note-by-note) mode, or in real time at any speed. For difficult passages, the engine can let the student practice in loop mode, slowing down as necessary until the student is able to play the part perfectly, then gradually increasing the speed to playing tempo. "Taking music lessons to the Web allows us to extend the learning process outside the classroom," said Randy DeWitt, director of education for Mars Music. "In between lessons with an instructor, the student may lose some of what they learned. When they go home to practice then, they end up practicing something wrong over and over again without ever realizing they are doing it." "Online lessons allow someone to rehearse, practice and learn outside the classroom and around their schedule – whether it’s during the summer or during the school year, whether it’s nine at night or nine in the morning," added DeWitt. "Furthermore, and most importantly, this is another way to create an additional degree of excitement over learning." Much of the musical material utilized from the extensive catalog of Warner Bros. Music, a strategic partner. "Putting lessons on the Internet goes back to Mars Music’s philosophy of meeting our customer’s needs," said Mark Begelman, CEO & Founder of Mars Music. "Whether it’s online or offline, we want to be able to offer our customers the most accessible way for them to further their musical education." Lessons will cost $11.95 per instrument. They can also be purchased in packages of five lessons for $47.95. Recent Mars Music headlines
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