Learning Music Online & More

18.04.20 – Darrell Priestley

Some days I feel especially versatile, and ready to discuss all sorts with our lovely readers (is there anybody there?). So, possible subjects on the agenda include film reviews, with a nod to both the classics and international cinema, the current lamentable PPE situation, is the US really on the road to ruin, how is our national education system faring during lockdown, songs that defined an era, what we are all doing to cope with staying in, rediscovering nature, gardening for improved mental health, and much more. Challenge me, why not, and I’ll probably have at go at tackling most things. Just don’t expect me to have anything useful to say about sports, or indeed computer software – I know my limitations!

One subject that we are all interested in right now, and in which I am rapidly gaining experience, is online music lessons. If I started out with any preconceptions, they are becoming less relevant by the day as my esteemed students and I power forward together, discovering new ways to make progress, and learning to make the absolute best of the situation in which we currently find ourselves. This is a blog for another day, with a first instalment coming very soon, and the whole area promises to be richly rewarding. There are challenges aplenty, and I feel it is a huge advantage that the students and I know one another quite well already, so that the online relationship is not two dimensional.

It is a welcome aspect that so many parents of both younger students and even teenagers can be present for the lessons, and this may even bring helpful insight into the learning process for many parents who otherwise might have little inkling as to how their children learn music. Watch out for detailed observations of the story so far, it may be quite surprising.

See you soon!