Letter No. 29 [establishing your music studio: teaching under COVID restrictions]
Dear Friend,
I don’t think anyone will deny the fact that our lives, and our livelihoods, have changed drastically this past year. I get tired of hearing phrases like that, but it is true, and with the semester starting up again, we want to take extra precautions to make sure we and our students and parents are comfortable.
I wanted to share just a few ideas and considerations for teaching under these new conditions. There are two primary ways to teach: online, or in-person, and I’ll talk over a few suggestions for each option.
Online:
If you or students are not comfortable teaching in-person, online teaching is now a very do-able option, as you can even do this with an iPad/tablet or smartphone now. You’ll want to test and set up a couple things:
-test your wifi connection in the area you want to teach, and move to the best location in your studio or home (if possible).
-make sure your screen and audio are set up so you are can be clearly seen and understood. You might need to add lighting to the area, or buy a different speaker or microphone.
-consider sending out an email to your online parent/student with a check-list for preparing their space for online lessons. This should include the same things you checked (lighting, audio, etc.).
-your audio connection won’t catch everything an in-person experience would, so you might want your student to send you recordings of them playing whatever you’ve assigned them that week before the lesson starts. This usually provides you with better audio quality in the recording, and will also give you a good idea of where your student really is in their progress.
In-Person:
The guidelines for teaching in-person will be different depending on which state and county you live in. You can check with them on your state’s official website. However, there are some general precautionary measures we can take:
-wear masks during your lessons and social distance (with piano this is a little more difficult, but you can try to keep more of a distance and remain contact-less during lessons).
-wipe down your instrument, studio space, waiting space, and bathroom in-between each lesson (particularly all the door-knobs!).
-create a cushion of time between each student’s lesson (like 10-15 minutes) to ensure students don’t overlap on the time they’re in your studio, thus limiting their exposure to each other.
-provide some kind of disinfectant for students to use as soon as they enter and leave the studio.
-consider creating a waver document for parents/students to sign. Also check your house/business insurance to see what is covered (which is a good thing to consider anyway).
Finally, make sure your parents and students know they can always ask you any questions or bring their concerns to you, and let them know how you are willing to accommodate them. We are here to teach and share what we love, and we want our students/parents to feel comfortable and safe.
Happy teaching and planning,
Tara