As this very difficult 2020 continues, I find comfort that in my tiny pocket of the world, students are continuing to make beautiful progress. They are even flourishing at times in the world of online music-making. Of course, the sense of unity, harmony (pun intended), and vivacity in playing music live together is unmatched. But, over the course of the pandemic, I’ve found many benefits and bright spots that we never would have encountered had we all not been forced to step back and change gears.
Improved Listening
In the before-times when my students were learning new solos, I sat down at the piano to accompany them. Now, I send them a recording of an accompaniment to practice along with. Students really must listen to the accompaniment recording many times to hear how their part fits in with the piano. They are gaining an improved understanding of rhythmic dialogues between solo and accompaniment. And they’re learning new practice techniques that are bolstering their listening skills and understanding the benefits of ear-training that go hand-in-hand with music reading.
Improved Verbal Communication
Our communication, particularly in learning how to verbalize changes in rhythm and pitch, is improving vastly. In that past, it might have been sufficient for me to grab my fiddle and play along with a student at a certain spot so they could match my rhythm or pitch. Now, the students are developing a better musical vocabulary with which we can talk through the changes we might like to make in their music.
Resourcefulness
Where do I begin with all the amazing tools available to us online? There is just so much sheet music and so many recordings available to us as musicians! One of my students is a huge fan of the musical “Dear Evan Hansen,” and requested that she play one of the DEH songs in the upcoming online recital. We found a piano arrangement of the particular song, and she learned how to use free online music notation software (MuseScore) to write out her violin part. She’s also going to record herself playing the accompaniment on ukulele and play along with it for performance. Had we not been seated in front of a computer for our lessons, we might not have previously considered these options.
All of my students are learning so many new techniques to develop their toolbox of musical skills. I’m delighted that when we are able to return to in-person learning, their competencies will have been bolstered, and they will come out of this in many ways as stronger and more thoughtful musicians.