Everything changed in March of 2020. Schools shut down. People stopped going out. A general sense of fear permeated the air and it was clear that life would not be the same, at least for a while. With the closing of schools and necessary social distancing involved as a result of Covid-19, it was obvious that sports and many other extra curricular activities many of my students enjoy would be put on hold. But what about violin lessons? Could we make the transition to online violin lessons in Raleigh NC?

Online Violin Lessons in Raleigh NC

When Wake County Public Schools made the decision to transition to remote learning, I thought, why can’t I? Certainly it would be a task, and my initial fear was that parents and students would not like the idea. Thankfully, absent much else to do as a result of quarantine, the families I teach were overwhelmingly onboard with continuing violin lessons, even if that meant meeting virtually. 

The first online violin lessons Raleigh NC were somewhat awkward as we figured out that we could not play along together due to internet lag, dealt with feedback from phone mics, and generally just learned the ins and outs of online learning together. As a private violin instructor working with one student at a time, I can honestly say I have a newfound appreciation for public school instructors who must manage all of these new circumstances with an entire class of young people.

As lessons began in earnest, I was surprised early on by the rapid progress my students were making. Certainly some of it had to do with the amount of free time they now found they had. Some of it also likely had to do with my record-keeping. Whereas before I would simply write instructions here and there in the student’s music, I now had to send a detailed email to each student each week outlining what we had gone over and what to do for practice. The end result was that most of my students accomplished in a matter of 2 or 3 months what would usually take 5 or 6.

Recital & Zoom Fatigue

Normally, the studio has a recital every May. As the days of March and April passed, word came that certain parts of the state would be opening up under various phases. Unfortunately, the time never came in May or in June where a recital could happen. The decision was made to hold the recital via zoom in July and then the complications began: From scheduling time with the pianist to students having to quarantine as a result of exposure, it looked as though the recital may not happen. Finally, on Friday August 28 we held the recital. Each student performed with the just the pianist and myself in the room, parents and others watching eagerly on Zoom. They performed beautifully- until the Zoom room closed. “No worries” I said to myself, “we’ll just restart the Zoom and carry on”…. until I realized that the Zoom meeting ID and password had changed. 5 minutes later and the recital was back up and running and the final students performed beautifully.

I recorded the recital on Zoom, and here was where disappointment set in: The sound quality was horrendous. The beautiful tone I had heard from the students was lost in the recording, as the sound faded in and out. I had intended to post the recorded recital on YouTube and the website, but instead ended up feeling the same as this young music instructor. Zoom fatigue had finally set in.

Post-recital, students have continued to perform well in online violin lessons in Raleigh NC. We are all happy to have made it through the recital and have started working on new music. Here’s hoping we can meet in person next May.