MacGAMUT

=Citation and General Information=
 * MacGAMUT 6
 * Author: Ann K. Blombach
 * Publisher: MacGAMUT Music Software International
 * http://www.macgamut.com/
 * Copyright 2010
 * Designed for both Macintosh and Wintel computers
 * Requires no peripherals
 * Designed for high school students and older
 * This program is designed to work best in a music theory classroom.

=Teacher Support=
 * Teachers can program their own drills into MacGAMUT so that they can be sure their students are practicing some of the concepts they are teaching.

=Instructional Content=
 * Students can practice intervals, scales, chords, rhythmic dictation, harmonic dictation, and melodic dictation. There are also keyboard and written drills for intervals, scales, and chords. MacGAMUT contains an unlimited number of exercises that will test these skills.
 * National Standards:
 * Standard 6: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

=Instructional Design and Pedagogical Soundness=
 * This drill and practice software employs teaching strategy is appropriate for helping students to test their skills in ear training.
 * The screen is easy to navigate. The buttons are clearly labeld, and the screen lay-out is simple and clear.
 * The difficulty level of the quizzes can be adjusted to whatever level one might wish. Teachers may also program their own drills, which can be adjusted to fit specific parameters.
 * The only graphics in the program are those that are used to complete the tasks that one is asked. These graphics are easy to identify, but don't always respond properly and land in the wrong part of the staff one uses for completing the task.
 * There are some issues with being in control of this program. It will not let you navigate away from a screen unless you complete the task in one way or another. One cannot even quit the program unless you enter an answer.
 * Program Structure:
 * Drill and Practice
 * There is a fair amount of control over the level of difficulty in each drill. There is also no time limit for answering.
 * MacGAMUT has a simple feedback for both correct and incorrect answers. It will tell you what is correct and incorrect about each answer, including answers that maybe partly correct.
 * There is a similar response for both correct and incorrect answers.
 * Sequence of Materials: Good
 * Pace of Instruction: Good
 * Quality of Interaction: Fair
 * Motivation for Students: Fair

=Record Keeping=
 * One can view his or her statistics that concern his or her progress as well as save these results.

=Overall Evaluation=
 * John Blasko: "Personally, I had a lot of trouble trying to find a computer that MacGAMUT would work on. If one is trying to use a newer Macintosh computer, the user may encounter a set of problems with Classic mode that will not allow the program to start. Once the program starts, the user can choose what type of practice they would like, whether it is a melodic dictation, simple interval practice, or anything in between. There are also numerous difficulty levels that one can choose from. When one starts the drill, the screen is very cluttered with numerous icons and buttons. I found trouble trying to navigate these buttons and tools. Another part of the program that I did not like was how one could not exit a drill until answering the question. I could not even quit when I wanted to. Overall, if one can get past the technical difficulties, MacGAMUT has the potential to be a great tool when trying to polish one's aural skills."
 * Michael Robinson: "MacGAMUT's porting to both PC and Macintosh platforms makes it an ideal program for teachers to get used to, because they can use it in whatever school district they teach in, regardless of the type of computers the district owns. This versatility alone is enough to make MacGamut a clincher as software a teacher uses. MacGAMUT's work on aural skills is purely amazing. The potential it has to really train the ear is nearly limitless, and its ability to select the difficulty promises that no student will get bored with the program. In spite of all this, MacGAMUT does seem to have a few strange settings, such as the mentioned inability to quit without imputing an answer. Occasionally it is entirely unclear what should be done on a particular screen until you mess up and press the wrong button! Even with these small problems, however, MacGAMUT is still an amazing piece of software for music theory."
 * Erin Levine: "I found this program to be very good with a few set backs. I didn't like how you a user could not quit whenever they desired, nor did I appreciate the difficulty of the placing a note on the correct line or space of the answer graphic, but those are my only two major complaints. This program is wonderful for teachers to use in their classrooms to help their students understand the concepts they are learning in class. It is also great for at home drilling if a student needs extra help outside of the classroom. It is a simple, easy to use program that provides help with many different areas of music theory study."
 * ===Rating -===
 * ===John Blasko: Two Stars===
 * ===Michael Robinson: Four Stars===
 * **Erin Levine: Three Stars**

Michael Robinson (03/31/2008) John Blasko (04/10/2006) Erin Levine (10/31/2010)