iPAS Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When is Standard of Excellence Book 2 going to be available for use with iPAS?

A: Standard of Excellence Book 2 is currently available at your local KJOS dealer.

Q: I get a message that my midi file is not 240 ticks per beat or the Lesson wizard is not allowing me to select my midi file?

A: Your file is not formatted to 240 PPQ or pulses per quarter note. You will need to import the midi file to a sequencing software and change the PPQ to 240. There are shareware sequencing programs available on our updates section for windows and mac. Please click here to go to the updates page.

Q: After I create a lesson with the lesson wizard do I need to keep the midi file in the My Midi Files folder?

A: No, after a lesson has been created the midi file is copied from the My Midi Files folder and put within the lesson. You may remove any midi files that have been used to create lessons to preserve space on the hard drive.

Q: When creating a custom lesson is there a way to create a file with divided parts for Ex: (Trumpet 1, 2, 3)?

A: No, there is not a way to create one file with multiple parts for a certain instrument. You would need to create a lesson for each part of the piece.

Q: When creating a lesson with a repeat do I need to need to write out full exercise or can I use the repeat symbol.

A: In order for the lesson to display properly you will need to write out the full lesson with the repeat.

Q: I am connected to the internet but I receive a message that says unable to connect to the internet?

A: You are experiencing one of two problems. 1. You have a firewall on your computer that is prohibiting the program from connecting to the internet, you will need to access the firewall properties and create an exception for the iPAS program. 2. You are on a network that has a firewall, you will need to contact you systems administrator and ask for read and write access to www.ipasmail.com.

Q: What is iPAS?

A: Interactive Pyware Assessment Software (iPAS) is a unique and innovative learning tool designed to help you learn to play your musical instrument! Once iPAS is installed on your computer, simply play along with the iPAS accompaniment and iPAS will grade and even record your playing. The groundbreaking Schematic Notation utilized by iPAS indicates the areas where you need improvement or where you were 100% successful! The easy-to-use iPAS Tuner and Metronome can also be used throughout your practice session to further develop your pitch and rhythm skills.

Q: Who can use iPAS?

A: Woodwind and brass players who have access to a computer and their Standard of Excellence book can use iPAS. Since iPAS evaluates rhythmic duration and pitch, the assessment features of iPAS are not suitable for percussion instruments and Electric Bass. However, all instruments may make a recording of their practice sessions for personal review. Additionally, the iPAS Metronome is ideal for all instrumentalists and may be used at every practice session.

 

Q: What are the System Requirements for Windows?

A: Windows 98 or greater
64 MB of RAM or greater (128 MB recommended)
650 MHz processor or greater (800 MHz recommended)
50 MB hard drive space
External microphone - not included (computer's internal microphone will not produce acceptable results)
Internet access is required for some functions

Q: What are the System Requirements for Mac?

A: OS 10.2.6 or greater (10.3 recommended)
64 MB of RAM or greater (128 MB recommended)
650 MHz processor or greater (800 MHz recommended)
50 MB hard drive space
External microphone and USB interface (not included)
Internet access is required for some functions

Q: When trying to install on Windows, why do I only see the CD as an Audio CD?

A: This normally happens when your CD ROM drive is unable to correctly read the dual format CD. Please follow the steps below to confirm this problem.

1.    Go to the Start Menu.
2.    Choose Run.
3.    Type D:\Windows\install.exe (D:\ indicates the letter of the CD Rom drive that the CD is in.)
4.    Click OK.
5.    If this does not work, please reply to this email with the name of the method book you are using and your shipping address.

Q: Why can I not get my microphone to work with iPAS?

A: Make sure that the microphone is selected and that the volume is loud enough. Also be sure that the microphone is plugged into the microphone jack and not the Line In jack. (See steps below)

Windows:

1.    Click on the Start Menu.
2.    Click on Programs.
3.    Choose Accessories.
4.    Choose Entertainment.
5.    Click on Volume Control and the volume control window will appear.
6.    From the options menu item, select Properties. 7.    Click on Recording, and make sure the Microphone is checked.
8.    Click OK.
9.    Under microphone you will see a Volume bar. At the bottom of the bar you will see a check box that is named either Select or Mute. If the box is named Select make sure it is checked. If it is named Mute make sure it is unchecked. 10.   Restart the iPAS program.

If your microphone is selected and the volume is up then try the following to see if your computer is recording and the iPAS software still does not recognize the microphone then try the steps below.

1. Click on the Start Menu.
2. Click on Programs.
3. Choose Accessories.
4. Choose Entertainment.
5. Click on Sound Recorder.
6. Try and record through the microphone and play back the recording.

If you are unable to hear the recording then the microphone is not correctly recording on the computer. This could mean that the microphone is not working or is plugged into the wrong port on the computer, or that the microphone is bad. If this is the case please try a different microphone.

Mac:

1.    Go to the System Preferences on the Dock.
2.    Click on Sound.
3.    Click on Input.
4.    Make sure that you have your microphone selected. (This cannot be the Line In option.)
5.    Increase the volume if needed.
6.    Close the control panel.
7.    Restart the iPAS program.

Q: Why is the iPAS software measuring a pitch a half to a full step off?

A: When the program is consistently measures pitches very far off, the problem is normally because the sound card is sending the wrong frequency to the program. You have several choices to solve this problem. Install iPAS on a different computer. Run Windows Update from the Start Menu and choose Custom Update, and see if there are any hardware updates. Go to the sound card manufacturers website and check to see if there is a new sound card driver available.

Install a different sound card. We suggest the iMIC from Griffin Technology. This is an external sound card that uses USB and is relatively simple to install and use. Their website is http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic.

Q: Why does it say "Not connected to the internet" when I try to Register, Email, Update, or Send Assignment results?

A: This issue is normally caused by a firewall or antivirus software that is blocking the software from connecting to the internet.

1. This can be resolved by creating an exception for the ipas.exe file and the javaw.exe file that will allow all access to the internet. Please reference your antivirus or firewall help for instructions on allowing program internet access.
2. If you are on a School network you will need to contact your system administrator and have them give access to our websites ftp.ipassmail.com and ftp.ipasmailaa.com through port 21 using Passive FTP.

Q: I use the Drums & Mallet Percussion or Electric Bass. Why are there no lessons installed for my instrument.

A: Concerning the Enhanced percussion books, the iPAS Assessment Software, as specified on the back of every Enhanced book, is designed to assess woodwind and brass instruments only. All other instruments are able to access the metronome feature as well as the music accompaniments provided on disks one and two. Unfortunately, the technology is not available to be able to properly process the sounds produced by a percussion instrument or an Electric Bass to assess their performance the same way it does for the other instruments.

However, if your students would like to record their assessments using the iPAS Software, they can do so by simply logging in as a different instrument. Once logged in they can pick the exercise they wish to asses, and follow the instructions as provided.

Please note that the assessment grade received will not be an accurate assessment of their performance, but it will provide them with a recording of their performance that can then be e-mailed to you for evaluation. Though this is not an ideal solution, it does allow your students to utilize the software and gives you a chance to hear and judge their performance.