Online Instruction
I wrote in my last blog entry that “The music must continue during this difficult time in our history — it is what connects us.” But how does one go about making music during a period when we are supposed to keep our (social) distance from others?
The violin solo from Verdi’s La traviata, played from my living room.
One way I am using this time is to revisit pieces I played in my youth — there is a certain pleasure of playing and working on them without the pressure of deadlines or a looming performance. Unaccompanied Bach has been a particular pleasure, not only since it requires no collaborators, but also because this music goes straight to the soul. Score study has also been a source of great satisfaction, especially with unusual amounts of time suddenly on my hands — again, it’s tremendous fun to pull something off the shelf and delve into it simply because I feel like it.
All of that is great, but what about connecting with others through music? Unfortunately, the social distancing takes playing with others completely off the table; but thanks to video conferencing technology, it’s possible to continue teaching and passing what I’ve learned on to the next generation. One of my regrets in keeping a busy concert schedule is that I have to turn down many more lesson requests than I’m able to accept. So one of the upsides of the current situation is that I’ve been able to connect with numerous students that I wouldn’t otherwise have to time to see.
The best platform I’ve found for online sessions has been ToneRow — the audio and video quality have been optimized for this purpose and are noticeably superior to that of other platforms. In addition, the lessons are recorded and stored in a video archive for future reference, so the student can track their progress easily. I’m happy to have joined the ToneRow faculty, so if you are interested in booking a session, you can visit my page by clicking the button below!