Adium Software has unveiled ET Smart Practice, a Mac-based aural practice tool for music students and musicians of all ages. It costs US$24.99, requires Mac OS X 10.9 or later, and is available at the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/ktqbgf5).

It consists of 20 practice areas covering a variety of rhythm, melody, and harmony skills. At the heart of ET Smart Practice is the Intelligent Practice Engine, which tracks users' progress, identifies strengths and weaknesses, and automatically personalizes each practice session.

For example, a user having trouble recognizing certain intervals or chords, need only add "Interval Recognition" and "Chord Recognition" to the practice session. ET Smart Practice takes it from there, selecting questions that focus on these particular interval and chords, until they are no longer problematic.