During the coronavirus quarantine, everyone’s daily lives have been upended. Many people are no longer going to work or are working from home. Those that do continue to work outside the home have to take extraordinary safety precautions.
Kids, too, have been affected. The school year ended two months earlier than planned, they can’t go out to see friends, and extracurricular activities such as private piano lessons have transitioned to virtual sessions.
What does this mean for those who are learning an instrument?
The Challenges of Homeschooling Music Class
For some parents, homeschooling music class may seem like a major challenge if they don’t play the instrument their child is learning or don’t have any kind of music experience. They may not know what the piano teacher was in the process of teaching or how to even go about selecting new pieces for their child.
Fortunately, there are resources available that can help overcome these challenges, just like there are homeschooling resources for math, reading, science, and other subjects.
Continue Practice as Normal
For some parents, homeschooling music class may seem like a major challenge if they don’t play the instrument their child is learning or don’t have any kind of music experience. They may not know what the teacher was in the process of teaching or how to even go about selecting new pieces for their child.
Fortunately, there are resources available that can help overcome these challenges, just like there are homeschooling resources for math, reading, science, and other subjects.
Learn About Music and Music History
If you’re not comfortable teaching them how to play an instrument, you can always look at music history and musical appreciation. There is a lot of information online about great musicians, and you can listen to many of their pieces online, too.
You can introduce your child to different types of music, watch performances together, and talk about what types of music you enjoy.
You could also spend time learning about different musical instruments or about the music of other cultures. Music has a very long and varied history, and it’s not always something that’s touched on in music lessons. This could be a great way of teaching your child about different composers, players, and new instruments.
Play Musical Games
There are a number of games that will help your child learn rhythm, identify notes, and work on other musical skills. Their teacher may have taught them some games that you can continue playing, or you can find some games online.
These games may be easy enough that the entire family can join in, making it a fun way for everyone to be involved. It could even spark the love of music in your other children, your spouse, or even yourself.
Continue Music Lessons Virtually
It’s always better to learn from a teacher in person (for example if you live in Atlanta, the best options is an Atlanta piano teacher) but during the quarantine, you may need to turn to online videos and tutorials in order for your child to continue their musical instruction.
Keeping up with their playing is a good distraction, so contact your child’s teacher to see if they can continue their learning with virtual lessons. This not only ensures they maintain their student-teacher relationship, but helps your child stay on top of their playing skills.
In light of the pandemic, teachers at Lessons in Your Home have gone through specific training for how to host online learning sessions with their students. Contact us today to begin your child’s virtual lessons!