After resetting the studio in a way that is more conducive for video conferencing, testing our Zoom platform, and researching and brainstorming with colleagues about some of the best ways to approach our distance learning, we are READY TO GO!  Are you?!  

Let’s talk concrete ways you can be completely ready for your lesson and group class this week…  

•  Please familiarize yourself with Zoom.  Here is a great video explaining how to join a meeting.  
  • We will email an invitation to our Zoom meeting to all families who have a lesson on a given day prior to the start of our teaching day.  There will be no passwords for our meetings – hopefully this will make the process easier as we all adjust.  
  • Please use the invitation you receive to join our Zoom meeting a few minutes prior to your lesson time.  We will set up each meeting in a way that allows the incoming student to have no video or sound until we enable it.  This will allow us to know you are there, but it will not interrupt the lesson before yours.  
  • We ask that you please allow a few minutes of grace period between students as always so we have a chance for bathroom or stretch breaks – especially as everyone gets used to the new technology!  We will try to wrap up lessons a few minutes early as well, to be sure to keep things running on time.  
  • In the event that we will need to make a quick practice video for you, we will sign off of your lesson a bit early in order to make and send said video – enabling us to keep the rest of our lessons running on time.  
  • Zoom allows for recording during the session, which is one of the reasons we chose it, but we are also prepared to switch over to Skype, FaceTime, Gmail Chat, or WhatsApp if need be.  
  • We will send a separate Zoom invitation for group classes on Tuesday evening.  Parents who usually stay in group class, please plan to stay for the whole time.  

• Please set up your computer in an area of your home that is conducive for a lesson.  This will most likely be the same place you have designated for practice. If you do not have this already set, this is a great time to do so!  
  • Make sure you have all materials needed in one place (ie: pencil, music, binder, music stand).  
  • Parents who usually stay in the lesson should plan to continue to do so and take notes. 

• Please have your instrument tuned and ready to go.  I realize that for many of you this will be an area to grow in, but what better time than the present?  We recommend the Cleartune app, and this tuning demo.  We suggest you watch all of it, and the part with tuning to a tuner is towards the end.  This is much easier than matching a pitch on the piano or tuning to 5ths.  

As always, let us know if you have any questions, and we look forward to seeing all of your bright and shining faces on Zoom this week!

– Brad & Kirby