As we prepare to return to the Shed for in-person lessons, we look back at the last year and what we have learned.

First and foremost, we learned that our students and parents are incredibly dedicated and adaptable. We switched to a completely virtual operation in a matter of days and our students responded with understanding, compassion, and appreciation to help make the best out of an unfortunate situation. There are a few things from our virtual stint that we should all take with us for the rest of our musical journey, whether as teachers or as students.

Communication Is Key
Many teachers and students have been much more communicative with eachother this year. Students have sent mid-week updates, videos of practice sessions, and even just “Hey, check out this band I discovered today!” This communication is very effective in not only building a relationship with your teacher, but receiving feedback and tips during the week in between your lessons.

Parent Involvement
With lessons taking place at home, parents have had a chance to get a closer look at how a lesson works and to be more hands-on in their child’s learning. The life of a parent is a busy one, but a little time spent helping with music practice can go a long way. One of the best ways to reinforce learning is to teach someone else what you’ve learned. Having your child teach you what they learned in their lesson can be fun and a great way to develop a more complete understanding of the material.

External Resources
Not being in the same room for lessons led us to adapt our teaching styles and include the use of many external resources like metronome apps, online music theory games, different method books, sheet music PDFs, YouTube videos, and so much more. There are 10,080 minutes in a week and your lesson takes up 30 of them – use some of the remaining ones to explore some other outlets and then discuss with your teacher and ask questions about what you have learned. Remember, if you have internet access then you have access to the collective recorded knowledge of the entirety of human history, inlcuding that of the greatest musical minds to ever live – use it!

While we can’t wait to get back to the Shed and see your faces(or at least your eyes, for now) in person, we will still be offering virtual lessons for the foreseeable future. We have “Hybrid” lesson times that can be in-person or virtual, as well as some “Virtual Only” lesson times. Remember to reach out to the front desk about whether or not you’d like to return to in-person lessons in May.

Keep Shedding!