Music+Time+Deluxe

=General Information=


 * Title - Music Time Deluxe
 * Publisher - [|GVOX] (Formerly "Passport Designs Inc.")
 * Copyright - 1995-2009
 * Platform - Mac OxX, Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
 * Peripherals - "Sound Blaster" Speakers, MIDI Keyboard, MIDI Microphone, MIDI Adapter, MIDI Cable
 * Grade/Age - Junior HS/Middle School, High School, Adult
 * Type of Class - General Music, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Theory, History, Marching Band

=Teacher Support=

Music Time Deluxe comes with a very comprehensive Teacher's Reference Guide to assist with the teaching of this software. Additionally, various tutorials, samples, and reproducible student pages are included. The chapters in the Reference are set up as such:


 * 1) MIDI Setup
 * 2) Tutorial
 * 3) Selecting in Music Time Deluxe
 * 4) Moving Objects in Music Time Deluxe
 * 5) The Score Window
 * 6) The Palettes
 * 7) The Menus
 * 8) Voices in Music Time Deluxe
 * 9) Advanced Topics
 * 10) MIDI and Music Time Deluxe
 * 11) Printing with Music Time Deluxe
 * 12) Index

=Instructional Content - MENC National Standards Addressed=

__**1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.**__ In Music Time Deluxe, students are able to sing compositions they have created, as well as the compositions of others. Students are able to import any existing MIDI file, and sing from the reproduced notation.

__**2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.**__ In Music Time Deluxe, students will have the opportunity to import music from their MIDI keyboard.

__**3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.**__ In Music Time Deluxe, students can notate and improvise melodies, as well as work on variations of their compositions. They can also notate different accompaniments to go with their compositions, or play accompaniments with the MIDI keyboard.

__**4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.**__ Students will have the opportunity to compose their own music for specified instruments, in a specified context. For example, if the exercise is in F# minor and in 3/4 time, the student will be able to compose music within those parameters.

__**5. Reading and notating music.**__ As this is first and foremost a music notation program, students will have the freedom to explore the orchestral pallet. Notating music is made easier than ever with a highly intuitive interface.

__**6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.**__ Because of the wonderful playback function with Music Time Deluxe, listening to music is easy and enjoyable. Analysis is also easy due to an easy interface.

=Instructional Design and Pedagogical Soundness=

Music Time Deluxe is an award winning, outstanding program that has won the praise of teachers and students alike, primarily because of its intuitive, easy interface. Teachers find this program as a cheaper, easier-to-work-with version of Finale or Sibelius. Because of the direct approach, nothing is misleading or confusing to students. It is a highly readable program, able to handle the biggest symphonies while at the same time inspire the newest student. The graphics, while important to the success of the program, are not distracting to learners.

Students are able to explore the many sounds of the orchestra through simple MIDI selection. With 24 tracks available, students can create anything comparable in Finale or Sibelius for a fraction of the price. The difference which makes Music Time Deluxe stand out from the crowd would be its easy-to-use interface which combines MIDI technology and notation with ease in composition and playback. Students are quickly able to hear their creations come to life with sounds that resemble a real orchestra. Items that may seem cumbersome in Finale or Sibelius, like key change, tempo change, adding measures, deleting measures, adding accidentals, deleting accidentals, are surprisingly simple and straight forward with Music Time Deluxe. One will be left with the feeling - "Was it supposed to be that easy?"

The sequence of materials, pace of instruction, quality of interaction, and motivation for students all deserve "Excellent" ratings with Music Time Deluxe.

=Record Keeping=

Music Time Deluxe is not a game, and therefore does not keep track of records or scores. Students can save their work as an .MUS file, and return to work on their file at any time. Students may also export their .MUS files as MIDI files for general use on their personal computer as well as the internet.

=Overall Evaluation=

Music Time Deluxe lets anyone arrange music for orchestra, rock bands, jazz combos, choirs, marching bands, and other ensembles. As the student learns to use this program effectively, they will learn more about music by performing tasks themselves. It is one of the easiest ways to make music with a sound card, multimedia computer, or MIDI instrument. Professionals and beginners alike will find ease in many of Music Time Deluxe's notable features including the interface, playback, the MIDI keyboard, editing, and more. The only downside to this fantastic program is its capacity to print large jobs. Here, programs like Sibelius and Finale clearly have the advantage. This program was never meant to be able to print scores at a high quality, so indenting and dealing with margins will be a problem for the student. Other than this minor fact, Music Time Deluxe is a program all students will enjoy everywhere!

=4 out of 4 Stars!=

Created by Richard Nobbe on 11/13/09