Opinions please: Would you prefer this for September? Home music lessons!

[Nickelallergy891]

Hi all! I'm instrument teacher from home, based in UK.

I'm currently taking a break from teaching over the summer after many weeks of online lessons(!), but have been thinking about what to do with my back to back home students come September. I'd love to get them back to face to face but also want to make sure that everyone feels safe!

For the first term at least, my plan is to split my students into two groups: on the hour and half past the hour (they are mostly 30 minute students). I'll then alternate the two groups so that one week they are in person, and the next online.

Example:

Group 1 - in person week A and online week B:
4pm
5pm
6pm

Group 2 - online week A and in person week B:
4.30pm
5.30pm
6.30pm

This would mean that there will be no contact between students leaving and coming at the same time, and I can sanitise the piano/areas and my hands in time for the next in person student. As a parent, would you prefer this arrangement for easing back into face to face lessons post covid? Or are there any home teachers out there thinking of doing something similar?

Thanks and sorry for long post!

We stopped online piano lessons as the kids weren’t making any progress - singing and guitar worked okay. I said we’d start again when it was face to face.

I’d like your suggestion- sounds sensible plus you have benefits of both face to face and less travelling with the alternating schedule. Both my kids have music lessons and have carried on by zoom, looking forward to some face to face lessons again

@underneaththeash Out of interest, what was it about the piano lessons that your kids struggled with compared to singing and guitar? Of all the instruments I teach, I've found my piano students have made the most progress but I appreciate every child is different!

A couple of things (2 different teachers). It was difficult to see the most of our piano, and the children’s hands in detail, unless I stood there and zoomed in on the bit that needed attention. I play myself and the children are at a stage where things like pressure in the keys, Body positioning etc is really important.
We took a 3 week break after half term and they made more progress with me in that time (And I’m a pretty mediocre piano player).

Which aspects of online lessons do you think worked best? I can see a lot of benefit in an alternating schedule as you suggest, and would consider something similar for my own teaching if I had more students and thus less flex in timetabling. (Also I teach violin so there isn't the concern about all using the same instrument)

Depending on their level, I wonder if some subset of sightreading / playing back a phrase / music theory / developing musicality in playing a well learned piece might be more achievable online, and you could deliberately focus on the aspects that most need you in the room, when they have their face to face lessons. For me I think rhythm work, and for the earliest beginners, posture, have been the hardest to do well online.

I'd personally rather lose a few minutes of lesson time to allow you to sanitise between pupils and have everything in person. Of the three instruments studied here, piano was the hardest online and was really just a place holder rather than actual benefit. We are very pleased to be back to everything in person.