School Update – 7/28

Greetings Guitar Shedders,
We are pausing reopening for in-person lessons. While we had hoped to start taking steps towards reopening in August/September, the events of the past month have forced us to reevaluate. We are still taking things one month at a time and hope to see some significant improvements soon. Until then, we will continue only offering online lessons. 

All holds on lesson times will be released on 9/1. We know several of you are adjusting to a new school/work schedule and will do our best to accommodate any time changes. Several of our teachers have added more flexible teaching hours so don’t hesitate to reach out if you need to switch times. Our administrative staff is continuing to answer phone calls and emails Sunday-Friday from 10-7 pm. 

This is a great time to double up on lessons (twice a week) or extend your lesson to an hour with your teacher’s permission. Thank you all for sticking with us through this period of virtual lessons. I’ve heard from multiple teachers that their teaching days are the best day of the week and give them something to look forward to. We hope you are enjoying your lessons as well. Stay healthy and…

Keep Shedding! 
Parker 

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School Update – 6/23

Our hope is to reopen for limited in-person lessons this fall (August/September), but we are taking things one month at a time. Students and teachers will be able to choose their lesson experience (virtual or in-person) when the time comes. For the month of July we will be continuing exclusively with virtual lessons. 

For those of you curious about what in-person lessons will look like, we have been researching and exploring options to ensure the safety and comfort of those who walk through our doors. We will be following guidelines from state health officials and the CDC. In-person lessons may include the following changes.

-face masks required for students and teachers
-plexiglass barrier for front desk-wiping down of materials and instruments after each lesson
-the removal of chocolate kisses (a sad day indeed) after your lesson
-hand-washing required before each lesson-no shared materials (i.e. bring your own drumsticks and tuners, you are still welcome to use our amps and cables) 
-thorough, frequent cleaning of shared spaces-plexiglass barriers in lesson rooms
-limited seating in the lobby

Group lessons prevent more of a challenge and we are currently working on ways to rehearse together safely. We know things won’t return to the way they were, but we are hoping to see you all in person soon when the time is right. Please feel free to share any feedback you may have with us.

We are so grateful for your flexibility, patience, support, and positivity during this unprecedented time. 

Keep Shedding!
Parker  

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, , , , Virtual Tween and Teen Band Projects

During this period of virtual lessons, our Tween and Teen bands have been hard at work collaborating on music video projects. Each band member filmed themselves playing along with the original recording of the song. Sean McMorris coached his bands and worked with them on the arrangement to create a cohesive final product. Chris Case mixed the audio and Craig Newman edited the video. We are very proud of both band’s videos and are thankful for the opportunity to still collaborate musically while we are physically apart.

The Tween Band performed “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac and the Teen Band performed “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore. Hope you enjoy watching the videos as much as we did making them!

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Recital Submission Guidelines – Individual Performers
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Bands and Ensemble Submissions

We have missed making music with you and are excited to announce a new collaborative project, “Operation Guitar Shed!” Over the past couple of weeks our teachers have been test driving a video collaboration that will be posted soon on our social media. We recorded audio and video of our individual parts separately to “Don’t Change Horses” by Tower of Power. We dubbed our band “Operation Funk” and had a blast doing it!  

All you need to participate is a pair of headphones. Each participant will record a video of themselves performing the song with headphones on. If you are interested in improving the sound quality of your recording, we recommend purchasing a USB audio interface for your computer. Audio interfaces are in high demand these days and you might have to check with a few different retailers for availability. There are also several more affordable interfaces for phones and tablets. 

Our teachers will be reaching out soon to coordinate which song each band will submit. Please note, since these videos will be edited together the submission process is different than our recitals. You will each receive an email with a file request from DropBox. You do not need a DropBox account to submit your video and just need to click on the link that you receive. We found this to be the simplest process. Once we have received videos from each band member, we will send them off to be edited and debut them at our Virtual Recitals. 

The deadline to submit all videos is 5/29.

While we can’t perform in the same physical space during this time, we can still make music together and keep our creative juices flowing. Thank you for participating in Operation Guitar Shed!

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, ShedFest 2020

We are organizing a live stream music festival on May 30th to raise funds for Lanta Gras. Watch your favorite teachers play music from their homes to keep you entertained and keep our chops sharp, all while doing some good for those in need. The schedule for ShedFest is TBD, but stay tuned for more updates on this inaugural event!  

We are raising funds for Lanta Gras so that our students on scholarship can continue with lessons. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Lanta Gras and you can tune in to our Facebook Page on 5/30 for the performances.
Special thanks to Brandon Marsolo for organizing this event! Click here to RSVP

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Don’t Change Horses

We’ve been hard at work on our new teacher band “Operation Funk!” Here’s our take on “Don’t Change Horses” by Tower of Power. Giddy up!

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, , , Summer Recitals + School Update 5/4

Click the poster to RSVP on Facebook!

Thank you all for participating in our first ever Virtual Student Showcase! The event was a success and we really appreciate everyone tuning in. We are planning on continuing with Virtual Recitals on the previously announced dates.

June 6 – 12 pm – Kids Recital (12 and under) – deadline to submit 5/29
June 14 – 7 pm – Teens Recital – deadline to submit 6/5
July 26 – 7 pm – Adults Recital – deadline to submit 7/17

All recitals will be broadcast on our Facebook Page. Below are some guidelines for submitting your performance.
-Please keep videos under 2 minutes
-Have your teacher send you an accompaniment track to play along with if necessary
-Dress up, play outside, setup a mini concert hall, play with family members, get creative and have fun with it!
-Make sure the video is well lit and the performer is clearly visible in the frame
-Upload your video to YouTube (if you are unable to upload the video to YouTube send us the file and we’ll upload it)-Join the watch party and share it with friends and family

Uploading your video to YouTube
1) Under Audience – click “No, it’s not made for kids” (this makes it possible to add the video to our playlist)
2) Visibility – click unlisted
3) Email the link to [email protected]
We hope to open our physical doors soon, but are waiting on more recommendations from the CDC for when the time is right. We are very fortunate to continue doing what we love and grateful to all of you for supporting us during this time. 
We look forward to seeing you at Guitar Shed soon!
Keep Shedding and May the 4th be with you!

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School Update – 4/14 – Spring Showcase / Summer Recitals

Hope you all are doing well. We are looking forward to our first Virtual Student Showcase which will be broadcast on our Facebook page at 2 pm this Saturday, April 18. Watch live and say hello in the comments! We have extended the deadline to send us your videos to this Friday, April 17. Remember to keep the video under 2 minutes, upload it to YouTube and send us the link. We will be giving away one month of FREE LESSONS to one lucky performer during the showcase!


We have been in contact with Eddie’s Attic, Venkman’s and City Winery Atlanta about our Summer Recitals and have decided to move our Kids Recital to a Virtual Recital. Our Teens and Adults Recitals will likely follow suit, but we are waiting to hear back from the venues. The Virtual Recital format will be similar to our Student Showcase this Saturday, but with a few extra surprises. If you are in a position to donate, please consider contributing to the GoFundMe campaigns for these local music venues – Eddie’s Attic, Venkman’s and City Winery Atlanta. They have been gracious to host our recitals over the years and we have so many great memories on their stages. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Keep Shedding!
Parker

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Greetings from Nichelle!
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