BY M U P HI E P S I LON CON T R I BUTOR S
VIRTUAL OPTIONS Which one is right for you? For many since the start of the pandemic last year, online education and virtual meetings have become the norm. It’s how we learn and stay connected from afar. For musicians, the sound delays have been problematic, although some technologies seem to work better than others, depending on one’s goals. Here are a few platforms that Mu Phi members have used with good results. This is by no means a comprehensive list; be on the lookout for additional resources, improvements to existing platforms, and new ways to address this ongoing challenge. Word to the wise: Always check the specifications for your devices when looking at all of these options.
“About 13 to 14 years ago, I had a private student who was starting to make real progress. Her stepfather got a job in Idaho, so they moved. I did some research to find an excellent teacher, but she really did not connect with anyone. So we decided to see if we could make lessons work on Skype. Immediately, I discovered some important things about teaching in a distance learning situation. First, I made sure that I had a copy of her music, and we both agreed to number the measures in each of our copies. She was required to keep a pencil at the ready to mark in anything on which I commented. She was studious and an eager student, so she definitely complied. I knew that I would have to change my teaching style so that I could be very specific about where we were in the score. We also had to always keep in mind the time difference, which meant we were clear about that lessons were at 4 p.m. Central Time, 3 p.m. Mountain Time. Phrases such as, “In measure 5 (pause), on the and-of-3 (pause), the right-hand top voice is an A, not an A-flat,” became quite common. Next, I absolutely never could play together with this student due to latency, so rhythm was a very big challenge. Rhythm was a major challenge for this student, but ironically, this was an ideal situation because it made her count more accurately instead of relying on hearing what I 16 MuPhiEpsilon.org
was demonstrating. Additionally, I realized quickly that the student would need to overdo anything, whether that was articulation, dynamics, or phrasing. Again, Skype was ideal because it made the student really differentiate any musicality so that it would come through the internet. Unfortunately, she had to quit taking lessons due to some circumstances, but I was happy that we could continue her studies for a while longer than she would have otherwise. I continued to use Skype on a number of other occasions, such as when I went to Iceland for half of a year on a Fulbright Scholar grant. It meant that I could continue lessons with a number of my students. Ironically, the winter weather in the U.S .on the student end tended to be more of a factor for internet reliability than from the Icelandic side. All the same problems existed as they had a few years earlier with the first Skype student. When the pandemic hit, I tried Zoom, but immediately I found I was quite unhappy with the reliability of the application. Skype tended to be more reliable both for video as well as sound. Latency continued to be an issue, but I started combining Skype with another program, called CleanFeed, where Skype would serve as the video, and CleanFeed would provide the audio. This helped lift up the spirits of my students who otherwise found themselves feeling quite sad at the lack of good technology. When Zoom’s audio improved, I decided to start using it instead of FaceTime or Skype. My husband continues to use FaceTime in his private lessons with good results.” Dr. Kristin Jonina Taylor, Alpha Kappa, Lincoln Alumni, board member, Mu Phi Epsilon
