Performance: SmartMusic
A project I began the second year of my performance degree was the creation of digital files that could be used with the accompaniment software SmartMusic. One of the problems faced by student musicians is the lack of pianists in the area who can accompany them, and when one is found the amount of time rehearsing is negligible compared to the time spent in the practice room.
This is where SmartMusic comes into play. This program allows students to perform with a MIDI-based accompanimental track, and includes the ability to attach a microphone for a more nuanced performance. There are, however, a few drawbacks. First of all is the sound quality, which I really couldn't do much about. The second, which is the lack of available repertoire to perform, I could.
Luckily SmartMusic is also owned by the makers of Finale notation software, Make Music. Because of this, Finale has the option of exporting scores for SmartMusic. While they are a bit more raw than the ones created by the developers, it still works marvelously. Thus, I set out to input the piano parts of some of the more modern and common pieces in the saxophone repertoire into Finale, and exported them for use in SmartMusic. If you would like to sample some of the results, I have provided links to the files below. To use these, you must have SmartMusic installed on your computer, along with an active subscription.
SmartMusic Files:
Piet Swerts: Klonos
Alfred Desenclos: Prelude, Cadence, et Finale
Raymond Allessandrini: La Boite de Pandore