Life as we know it has changed dramatically here at JMI.
Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, face-to-face lessons are unfortunately not available.
However in record time, our faculty and students were able to adjust and adapt to online teaching and learning more successfully than anticipated.
As a result, we are incredibly thankful to be currently offering Night Classes and Private Lessons online through Zoom.
We asked some of the teachers and students across our Night Classes and Private Lessons how they have been coping with online learning during COVID-19.
Here’s what some of our teachers had to say :
Tyler Cooney (teaches Private Guitar and Night Classes):
“When the whole Covid-19 situation arose I was unsure about how teaching my students at JMI was going to be affected. Since getting everyone on board with online lessons teaching has been a breeze and is as fun as ever. I can still deliver all the relevant information my students want and give them the guidance they need.”
Charlotte McLean (teaches Private Vocal and Vocal Night Classes):
“At first I was anxious about teaching online jazz classes and lessons with JMI students but once I had completed the first few, I realised how fun it is! Singing and jazz brings so much joy to people and in this context students can learn technique, improvisational, performance, band and theory skills all from the comfort of their own home. I love hearing the progress of students every week and doing online lessons also gives me the opportunity to provide feedback on videos and recordings throughout the week.”
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What Night Classes are available online at the moment?
Head to our Night Classes page to find out more about what kind of Night Classes are available for Vocal, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.
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Lee Brackenborough (teaches Private Saxophone & Piano):
“My lessons have shifted to online since the lockdown began. The technology has presented some challenges, and some changes to the lesson style were altered. The main issue for me is that playing together in real-time isn’t really possible, and I can’t show a technique/voicing/nuance like I would in-person but this has pushed me to be more concise with how I relay information.
I think having a creative art to focus on is a good stress release in these times. Lessons give you guidance and weekly goals to work towards that build on your overall ability to express yourself creatively.”
Davey Romain (teaches Private Guitar and Night Classes):
“Since the news of the dreaded Corona Virus and subsequent lockdown the world has changed over night, especially for us musicians and educators. Fortunately, in these times there has been some leaps forward in how education can be conducted and it fills me with joy to say that online lessons have been an absolute blast. I remember doing my first online lesson with a guitar hero of mine (Nick Reinhardt) several years ago. It was an amazingly futuristic concept, to communicate with someone in realtime as if they’re in the room, when in fact they’re over the other side of the world. I have been conducting private and group classes online since the lockdown began and I am finding it difficult to see any negatives bar one, latency means jamming in real time is impossible. Other than that small hang up everything is on the table. Watching, listening, explaining and working through all manner of musical concepts through the medium of a computer screen is still a bizarrely Sci-Fi concept to me.
I know long after the Virus is a distant memory that this method of teaching will live on for the people that are isolated, out of town or too busy to get down to the Uni.”
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Who is teaching Private Lessons online at the moment?
Head to our Private Lessons page to read more about the current faculty available for a lesson on Zoom.
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And here’s what some of their students had to say about learning online!
“Davey is a great teacher. Very clear, positive and generous with his time, genuinely wanting to motivate us to be better musicians. The teaching before the restrictions was wonderfully alive given we could play and learn together as an ensemble. The online mode was of course very different in that we weren’t playing together but Davey still packed it in with lots of key information, demonstrations and tips, and a helpful video.
Thanks heaps Davey and JMI. You’re awesome.” – Rob L (2020).
All together it is an effective way to learn — in fact I’ll be proposing that we continue this way after the restrictions end!” – Calvin S (2020).
Our ability to adapt fast, learn online technology quickly and take care of one another as a community has been a strong point amongst our students and faculty here at JMI. We are so thankful to know that online lessons are still entirely beneficial and have not completely hindered our ability to teach and learn under the current circumstances.
Head to our Night Classes or Private Lessons page for more information on how you can learn jazz with us online.
