Latest Coronovirus news
Thank you for bearing with us in our efforts to protect visitors this last week.
We have now reluctantly taken the decision to stop music lessons taking place at our home until the Easter break at least, with immediate effect. Many parents are already deciding not to bring their children to extra-curricula activities, so it makes sense to follow this trend.
However, lessons can continue. It is important to keep students motivated and engaged over the next few weeks, and so for anyone who wishes to try it, I will be taking the online approach using either Video link or some other means... whatever works best for individual circumstances.
Video Link lessons
Lessons take place in real time in exactly the same format as in the studio, except that the student remains in the comfort of their own home using their own instrument (an advantage in some cases), and communication is via computer set up or other device. Instructions for setting this up can be found here.
Video lessons can be at the same time as your normal lesson or at a different time to suit you. They can also be the same length, longer or shorter, it’s up to you. The frequency of lessons can also be weekly, fortnightly or book as you go. Below is some guidance for online lessons.
To receive your piano lessons via video link, you will need:
- Either any Apple device with the FaceTime app
- Or any similar device (laptop, tablet, phone) with the Skype app or Facebook’s Messenger service.
During the Lesson:
- Please try to position the built-in camera on your device so that it shows your face and hands; make sure that there is sufficient lighting.
- Please remember to have a pencil to hand; you may need to write comments or fingering on the music, or in your practice notebook.
- Students up to the age of 18 must have their lesson using a parent’s account, and under their supervision
Online consultation and feedback
Another option if you don’t want to schedule an actual lesson, could be to record yourself playing a piece that you have been working on, or scan some written work, and send it to me for feedback. This gives you the flexibility to work on a specific agenda in your own timescale. Please note, for large files, it may be best to save them onto a cloud service and send me the link. We will advise on prices for this service shortly, but they will be consistent with usual lesson pricing.
I would like to thank you for your patience during this challenging time. In return we shall do our best to support you and ensure things carry on as normally as possible!
Kind regards
Carol and Anthony