CONTACT: You can find and PM me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TartanTundraMusic/, email me at jeanofiddler at gmail dot com. Or call my cell phone at nine oh seven, nine seven eight, five eight seven nine. Be aware that when I am teaching, my cell is on quiet so that the student's lesson is not interrupted. Please leave a message if you get my voicemail and I'll call you back. Thanks!
I have been distance teaching for over 15 years! Long before this pandemic, I taught classes from Beaver to Tetlin and many other places. Distance lessons are old hat to this teacher, and I'm here to tell you what that means to you and your students.
For the time being, and for my own safety and the safety of everyone, I'll be teaching via Facetime, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts or whatever video conferencing application works the best for you. I prefer Facetime as it seems to be the clearest and most consistent. Zoom is starting to want to charge money (and that's their right) but there are many others that are free.
There is ONE exception in that occasionally we can do an outdoor lesson, physically distance and masked, in my driveway if it is NOT raining or too cold. A few times this summer this has worked out well, especially for neighbors (Goldstream Valley) who have really iffy internet. But this is not reliable (as I write, a lake is growing in my dog yard) so distance backup is truly required.
At this writing I have pretty good availability for lesson slots, but should my schedule fill up, I will keep a waiting list.
Age five is the youngest I teach and there is no upper age limit. However not all 5-yr-olds are able to understand the video teaching aspect of things, although some do. I'm willing to try, but parents should observe how young children do when video chatting to judge if their child is ready for lessons. I can do mini 15 minute lessons for the young ones, if you think that would work. Be sure to let me know if that is your preference.
One of the interesting things about online teaching is that students tend to be much more focused on the music, the teacher, and their instrument. We are sitting there, on our screens (and most kids love to look at a screen!) and we really LOOK at each other, far more than in the physical studio. Students learn from watching me, and then trying things out while I watch them. All the distractions of a room are gone and BAM! It's ALL about music!
Once a week, generally on Sunday or Saturday, I will send out new materials: handouts, songs, tunes, charts, etc. that will be needed for the next week. Sometimes nothing new is needed, but parents and adult students should be able to print out their materials, especially the worksheets that require pen or pencil to complete. I have links to music books that you can download for a nominal price, too, for instance the old standard violin book, The Scottish Folk Fiddle Tutor, can now be downloaded for a mere $4.50.
It's still a very good idea to have a folder or binder that contains all the music/materials that I send, so when it's lesson time the student has everything he/she needs. A music stand is a great thing for both holding music, and holding the phone or tablet on which the student sees me.
Payment is different now that we can't meet each other in person. My preferred method of payment is the Venmo app. It is as simple as sending a text, safe and free (owned by PayPal). I do not use PayPal because they charge a huge fee for each transaction. Another option is Zelle, which is a direct bank transfer and many bank apps have that in their online banking. Those are the preferred ways, though you can use Facebook Pay, or even mail me a check (my lease favorite way but if it works for you and you can remember to mail it, we're all good! Homeschoolers pay the same as everyone else, and I will send you a receipt so that you can be reimbursed.
Payments are still on the same schedule, on the last week of lessons of one month, you pay for the next month. When you start I'll send you all the particulars.
We are all going to get through this if we hang on and keep doing things that make us happy. Music can truly improve lives, both within a pandemic and life in general!
CONTACT: You can find and PM me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TartanTundraMusic/, email me at jeanofiddler at gmail dot com. Or call my cell phone at nine oh seven, nine seven eight, five eight seven nine. Be aware that when I am teaching, my cell is on quiet so that the student's lesson is not interrupted. Please leave a message if you get my voicemail and I'll call you back. Thanks!