Moosic Studio App: and the Winners Are...
Drum roll please.....the winners of the Moosic Studio App are:
Lucas Wood
Cindy Terhune
Congratulations! Please contact me at lviss@me.com to claim your code.
If I don't hear from you by Sunday, May 5th, I'll choose a new winner.
If you are sold on the app but didn't win, here's a link to purchase it now.
Let's not forget to thank Carlos Fontiveros! Kudos are in order as he kept an eye on the comments and chimed in with great answers to questions. In addition, Carlos supplied the free codes and one more huge THANK YOU FOR a TERRIFIC APP!
In some ways we are all winners as we can learn a great deal from the comments posted. Thank you for contributing to the lively thread about methods of providing feedback to students, your thoughts on using the iPad, issues with what system you are presently using, and the CONTINUAL search for the perfect solution for those pesky but important AND often ignored lesson notes. The Moosic Studio app certainly integrates a fabulous lesson-note feature. Please click here to view all the comments at the original post
Below is a small selection of comments you may find interesting:
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"I second everything already said in previous replies! I love the sound of this app, however, I have real resistance to making a commitment to such an intensive use of an iPad app. Leila, you are such a strong proponent of the iPad, but I find it frustrating in so many ways and have pretty much the opposite feeling about tech stuff as you seem to (smile). The main challenge for me with the iPad, especially with apps that involve a lot of text input, is the necessity of entering it with an on-screen keypad, rather than being able to use a regular physical keyboard. Possibly it’s my age, but I find using the touch screen on iPad and my smartypants phone laborious, slow and frustratingly inefficient, compared to regular touch-typing. It feels like I’ve gone back in time to doing ‘hunt and peck’ on my dad’s old manual typewriter as a kid, before I learned to touch-type in high school. Being a pianist, and with 40+ years of practice, my typing is nearly as fast and intuitive as my piano playing. This is not meant to be a negative comment, and obviously you are not in charge of how tech tools are designed! But I wonder if you have any suggestions or comments on this issue. I know there are little ports to set an iPad in, with wee physical keyboards, but the ones I have seen are smaller than a regular keyboard, so not really a true replacement. And the whole point of a tablet is that it is a small, single unit. Adding more equipment kind of negates the whole concept. Surely I am not the only person to feel this way? At this point, I guess what I would like is for MTH to get some of the great-sounding features of Moosic Studio added to their system! But I would be happy to be persuaded otherwise, as this sounds like a great system, and I too love the fact that the teacher’s husband created it for her. My sweetheart’s studio support is of a different nature: he keeps my bike running, makes dinner on days I teach, and vacuums! He is also my best piano student." -Kathy G |
I second a lot of the post-it replies–I find that students look at notebooks less and less each year, so have added post-its or flags right on the music many times. Older students in our area receive/retrieve lots of school assignments on line; I think paper is dinosaur-ish to many students. Planning on switching from just a paper notebook to paper and electronic delivery of assignments next year. Email announcements now. Just started using dropbox for videos and I’m very pleased with it; plan to expand my use of dropbox next year.
So glad you reviewed Moosic–I have been looking at it and love the additional info!
PS Didn’t get to read everything, but saw some comments about the itty-bitty iPad keyboards. I use a Bluetooth attached keyboard on my mini. There is a tutorial available to help you get used to its size, found it helpful.
-Andrea
Hey Leila, please don’t enter me in the draw because I’m already a happy owner of Moosic Studio. I can hardly wait for the next updates, especially the billing/invoicing update. This morning I was excited to enter the cheques I’ve received for next season’s book fee, only to realize it was a mock-up on Facebook that I was thinking of 
This isn’t one of those apps that I’ve already purchased & is now languishing on the last page of my screen – Moosic Studio is one of the few apps that’s right at the bottom of the screen (the one that doesn’t vanish when you swipe to the side).
At this busy time of year when everyone’s asking to swap lesson times, Moosic Studio has helped me keep my sanity with a great swap system. This is an amazing app that clearly demonstrates the informed collaboration between a piano-teaching wife & an app-developing husband. The developer has been fantastic, bending over backwards to consider the suggestions & questions of this teacher. Great review, Leila!
-mycgrimsby
Plug: Looking for more ways to use your iPad in your studio? Stay tuned for my book--coming soon!
One more plug...
To learn more about improvising in jazz and other styles check out eyeearrevolution.com
Looking for an opportunity to learn more about improvising for you and/or your students?
Consider attending an 88 Creative Keys Events held this summer in Denver, Colorado.
Check out this video for more details.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr9lZ_AJlsk&w=420&h=315]