The world has moved into a new virtual era due to the pandemic. Thanks to modern technology, work and education for most people has not come to a halt. Music education is coping with the new online trends too. But, everything comes with it’s own baggage of good and bad. Teachers and students everywhere have faced some difficulties with the online format and so have I. But I do find more pros to this system than cons. So let me take you through my thoughts.

As a music teacher, I will always want my students to do well in every situation. This lock down has unfolded so many different ways of going about tasks that we thought weren’t possible this way. What I particularly liked about online music lessons is that I was able to see their keyboard set-up and practice environment at home. A dedicated, comfortable practice place is a must for students to feel motivated to practice productively everyday. Many students did not have a proper place to mount the keyboard on and practiced on the bed or sat at a very low table with an absolute lanky posture. That’s when I realized why some students would turn up for a lesson without having practiced during the week at all. Laziness is a human trait, so why pick the keyboard, place it on the bed or table, set up the connections and then sit at the keyboard with a slouch in the back and end up having a back ache and then undo everything, everyday, isn’t it? Through video calls I have been able to guide parents and students to have a better set up and I can see that this has made a difference in the students’ performance.

Lock down has been a blessing in some ways. I am sure you agree that getting dressed and traveling to reach a certain location at a given time requires a lot of extra time. Imagine getting to step back from this mad rush and saving up to 2-4 hrs or more, every single day! This time and energy saved can be used to do something productive or simply rest for a bit. Time is money and health is wealth after all! Things have not been that easy for a lot of folks, especially for people who depend on work that is not based on technology. But looking at the brighter side, e-learning has kept education going, while giving us the opportunity to look after ourselves. Yes it does not give the classroom experience and keeps friends away sadly, but on the flip side, students do get some good amount of rest and home cooked food, which according to me is extremely important to remain focused. They are not fatigued due to the never-ending cycle of activities that go on without even getting a breather and are much more efficient at grasping than before.

Being spoon fed is something that I always loved as a kiddo and most children love it too. But, my physical absence due to virtual lessons has pushed them to not depend on me for every single answer. They look into the sheet in front of them and read the notes, since there is no way out and I am glad that this has improved my pupils’ sight reading skills. Moreover, with parents around almost all the time, students are on alert mode, making sure they do not play the fool during the lesson. They have become more responsible with devices and are now allowed access to mobile phones. So I receive queries or assignment submissions even before their lesson, which is absolutely wonderful because I know that the student is engaged. Corrections are done and submitted before the next lesson instead of dragging correction work into yet another week. All this has definitely ensured better progress.

What has worked for me personally, is that since academic schooling is online too, lessons can sometimes be more flexible without having to skip the lesson altogether. Students have learnt to set-up and be ready for class all by themselves and so do not miss lessons as often if a parent or guardian is unavailable to drop and pick. This saves a lot of my time and effort that I put in in rescheduling and sending texts back and forth making sure lessons are made up at an amicable time. Also, online lessons do give me the freedom to teach from wherever I am even if I’d be traveling. All I would need are my devices and good internet! Another plus for me as the sole proprietor of the music school, is that I am able to close accounting sooner and get that off my plate for the month since cash payments do not happen anymore and all transactions are made online, on time.

There are a few glitches that we do face like network problems, difficulty in hearing minute musical details through the device, not being able to see the student fully because the devices are either not placed at a proper angle or the video is just too blurry. Having too many options for online video platforms used to be a problem too in the beginning because I am not very tech-savvy and catering to every students’ need or request got a little overwhelming. But the kids were kind enough to help. Sometimes this virtual concept just feels too virtual altogether. Very young children find the need to be physically present alongside the teacher to be in the moment and feel connected to the task they are performing. Also, since most students have a synthesizer, piano students miss the chance to play on and get the feel of an acoustic piano at the studio and begin to lose practice of using full arm weight on heavier keys.

For me, the pluses are a lot more than the minuses, but the negatives cannot be ignored completely because they are important too. I have definitely learnt a lot in the past year and I think a hybrid of both virtual and offline lessons is the best thing to do going forward. Do you agree? What are your thoughts? Do put them in the comments section below.