How I teach

Like every other teacher, Covid 19 forced me to transform the way I taught. Six months later I'm confident that my online version embraces everything important about my violin teaching.

In fact, this transformation has enriched it and has given me a whole lot of new tools to use to help my students learn better.

I've retained the follow up email detailing the lesson content and the agreed expectations for the next lesson. However, now the email includes advice on general music apps, screenshots from apps explaining fingerboard configurations and recordings of how I want the lesson content to be practised.

Because of the audio limitations of ZOOM and other meeting apps, I ask that students record their practice results and send the recording to me via Google Classroom. As well as handling large files, Google Classroom provides libraries of resources and structured programs.

Students have a choice on how much technology they want to use but the online environment demands a minimum level of technical facility.

Students also have a choice on what they want to learn and how they want to learn. I am just as happy to teach jazz and folk fiddle styles using ear learning and improvisation as I am teaching violin grade structures.

I encourage students to direct their own learning through choosing their own repertoire.Learning syncopated jazz melodies is just as effective in understanding complex rhythms as bluegrass or vocal transcriptions of show tunes.

Nothing is off the table.