, , , , 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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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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School Update – 3/24

We have learned a lot after our first full week of virtual lessons. We have seen your amps, drum setups, toys, pets, living rooms, and even taught a few lessons outdoors. We have all gained greater insight into your practice environment. This shift in our lesson model has forced us to grow as teachers and our students to become more self-reliant. 

Many of you are wondering when we will reopen our doors, and unfortunately, we do not have an answer to that question. What we do know is that we will be continuing with virtual lessons for the time being. All group lessons are on hold and you will not be charged for classes until they resume. In the meantime, we encourage you to schedule private lessons with your group’s instructor. You are also welcome to schedule an additional lesson each week with your current instructor (thank you to the students who have already taken advantage of this!). 

To keep things as normal as possible, we ask that you continue to reach out to the front desk for any scheduling and billing questions. Our wonderful administrative staff is answering the phone and emails remotely around the clock. As always, you are welcome to remove one lesson before the 1st of the month and apply makeup credits to a future invoice. Please review our lesson policy below.

One lesson can be removed before the 1st of the month and email is the preferred contact method to remove lessons. Beginning on the 1st of the month, students can cancel up to 24 hours before the lesson and receive a make-up credit. Students that cancel within 24 hours of the lesson will be charged the full amount and will not receive a make-up credit. To cancel and/or reschedule lessons please use the student portal. To remove one lesson (so that you won’t be charged) or apply a makeup credit to your invoice, please email us before the 1st of the month.

Below are some benefits that we have seen from our first week of virtual lessons.

-Use your gear and educational materials 
-Flexible Scheduling 
-Help with your practice rig 
-Connecting with your teacher from any location 
-Record lessons and practice with them throughout the week 
-Our teachers are happy to use Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, and any other preferred video-conferencing applications 

We are very thankful for the opportunity to continue with virtual lessons and see our students each week. Thank you for sticking with us and….

Keep Shedding!

Parker

P.S. Please tag us on Instagram @guitarshedatl with pictures/videos of your virtual lessons! 
P.P.S. Gift certificates are available to purchase online here

“I just wanted to say everything was great. Skype worked well on our end and Finn was engaged and learned 2 new songs! Charlie had his lesson with Max today as well and Zoom was awesome. I loved how Max could put up the music on the screen instead of us having to prop it up next to him. Thanks for making online lessons work. Keeping some semblance of normalcy in our lives through all this chaos was really helpful. – Nancy

You and Guitar Shed have brought me so much joy. Thank you for all you do. – Sara

Thanks for making this an option, we very much want to continue to support the business (and instructors!) we care about and love having an option to continue. – Jessica

We are so happy that lessons are continuing online. It is something to look forward to that is not homeschooling! – 

Suellen
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School Update – 3/12

Greetings Guitar Shedders,

Hope this message finds you well. Starting March 15 we will shift to virtual lessons at Guitar Shed. We will be open for lessons today and tomorrow, however, you do have the option of video-conferencing your lessons effective immediately. Please reach out to your teacher directly to coordinate video lessons. Their contact information is available in the student portal under “Contact Info.” Our Spring Student Showcase will be postponed to a later date.

This was not an easy decision, but one made in the best interest of our local community. Rather than wait until the virus spreads to Guitar Shed, we are being proactive to prevent further transmission.

We are thankful to have access to video-conferencing technology (FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, etc.) that will allow our students to continue progressing on their instruments. I encourage you to please take advantage of this option as our teachers’ livelihood depends on it. Musicians have been hit hard around the globe and locally with festivals and gigs being canceled. Several of our teachers at Guitar Shed are gigging musicians that will lose out on supplementary income in the weeks to come.

Starting March 14 our regular lesson policy will be in place and you are welcome to cancel lessons with at least 24 hrs. notice and receive a makeup credit. Lesson times will remain the same. We are making one exception and increasing the maximum amount of allowed makeup credits this year from 5 to 8 for all students.  

Lastly, I would like to reiterate that this is not a notice of closure. We are shifting our model to a virtual experience for the time being until the situation calms down. We will be in touch with updates as to when in-person lessons will resume. Our staff will also continue to monitor the general mailbox ([email protected]).

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Thank you all for your support and….

Keep Shedding!

Parker 

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School Update – 3/10

Greetings Guitar Shedders,
Please read the following update carefully.
Our plan at Guitar Shed is to remain open unless Atlanta Public Schools (APS) decides to close schools in our area. I am meeting with local business owners and officials to determine the best plan of action going forward. We ask that you adhere to the following guidelines APS has issued.

-Stay home when you are sick, and keep your children at home when they are sick. As a reminder, students running a fever must stay home from school until they are symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication 
-Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. 
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick. 
-Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. 
-Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. 
-Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Disinfectant wipes are available in all lesson rooms and in the lobby. We are taking deep cleaning measures on all surfaces, instruments and common spaces. 

For the remainder of March, we are adjusting our cancellation policy to allow makeup credits within 24 hrs. only for students who are sick. 

We plan to offer Skype video lessons if we close down. Skype is a free service and works on most phones and computers that have a camera built-in. We will not make Skype lessons mandatory for students, but hopefully, this will make up for some lost income for our teachers. This is not ideal but will keep some semblance of normalcy and our students will continue to progress on their instruments. Lesson times will stay the same and the bonus is you can learn in your pajamas!

Your health is paramount. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other and if you or your children start to feel symptoms please stay at home to avoid any potential spread. 

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