Assessing teachers’ perspectives on giving music lessons remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown period

Teaching music theory online

Several studies have analyzed the teaching and learning processes of online theory lessons and online refresher classes for existing music teachers (see e.g., Biasutti et al., 2019; McConville & Murphy, 2017).

With regard to lessons on theory, a number of universities in the USA have increased their numbers of virtual classes in topics such as musicology, music theory, the fundamentals of music, music appreciation, music education, or music technology (McConville & Murphy, 2017). The most common types of material used in online classes included video and audio samples, website links, slide presentations (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, and Prezi presentations), and handouts or written documents (McConville & Murphy, 2017). However, from 2013 to 2016—as assessed in a survey study which involved 58 schools of music in the USA in 2013 and 43 in 2016—there was a change in the percentage of classes that used these types of materials, with increasing use of videos (+11.4%), mobile apps (+6.3%), and social media (+6.1%). Conversely, there were decreases in the use of podcasts (-7.9%), slide presentations (-10.5%), and handouts or written documents (-14.4%). The changes in the use of materials for e-learning may be due to the increasing popularity of web social media, video clips on the internet, and mobile apps, as well as a predilection for more active rather than passive learning methods (McConville, & Murphy, 2017).

Regarding online refresher classes for professionally active music teachers, Biasutti et al. (2019) carried out a study involving 24 participants in professional development activities consisting of asynchronous lessons and face-to-face workshops. Among the positive aspects found were the choice of relevant topics for music teachers and student-centered methodology. The asynchronous format was appreciated because it allowed participants to choose when they did activities, fitting them into their work schedules. Other organizational strengths were time management activities, which balanced the workload over the course’s duration. Regarding technical strengths, participants appreciated the platform’s interactivity and user-friendliness, which supported social elements such as the development of a community of practice where teachers could discuss and share experiences. Conversely, negative aspects included pedagogical, organizational, and technical issues. Pedagogical issues consisted of some overly complex tasks. Organizational issues were mainly due to an overload of activities, whereas technical issues included getting access to the platform itself or mastering the page layout of wiki tools.

Teaching and learning a musical instrument online

Several studies have shown that it is possible to develop musical performance skills in virtual environments, both at the informal and formal levels (Bowman, 2014; Cayari, 2011; Kruse et al., 2013; Ruismäki, et al., 2012; Ruthmann & Hebert, 2012). Regarding informal processes, studies of asynchronous technology examined how a person could learn to play a musical instrument with individual homework (Ruismäki, et al., 2012). For example, the learning strategies of instruction, copying, practicing, playing, and evaluating were observed while participants learned to play an improvised blues with a musical keyboard, in an asynchronous, online, e-learning environment (Seddon & Biasutti, 2009a).

Other studies were carried out in formal educational contexts, examining how technological tools could facilitate music teaching including piano lessons, piano sight-reading skills and trumpet lessons (Dammers, 2009; Kruse et al., 2013; Pike & Shoemaker, 2013). Regarding piano lessons, aspects such as the practicability of online learning at a collegiate level and the strengths and limitations of piano lessons given via Skype as experienced by one student and one instructor were analyzed by Kruse et al. (2013). As they report, the strengths of these lessons included the development of imagination and motivation, a natural feel to lessons, and the mastering of equipment and music; limitations were mainly due to technological issues. Another study by Pike and Shoemaker (2013) examined the effects of distance learning on the acquisition of piano sight-reading skills among 19 beginner piano students split into two groups: (i) the experimental group learning via live online video, and (ii) the control group learning sight-reading using traditional face-to-face methods. No significant differences between the groups were found, suggesting that teaching sight-reading online could be a worthwhile alternative to face-to-face training or a valuable supplement to regular lessons. In similar vein, a case study of nine lessons following an entry level videoconferencing approach using personal computers, webcams, and Skype videoconferencing software was conducted by Dammers (2009). Findings demonstrated that the format was functional on a basic level. However, the limitations of video delay, impersonal dynamics, limited visual controls, restrained movement and sound control presented sufficient challenges that virtual formats appear to be only a supplement for face-to-face lessons. Conventional face-to-face instrumental lessons are based on a one-to-one relationship, which was apparently easily simulated in virtual environments. That said, several studies highlighted a number of issues about synchronous online activities, such as delay and audio quality (Biasutti, 2018; Koutsoupidou, 2014; Lancaster, 2007). Delay depends mostly on technology and broadband internet connection, which enlarged the need for independent student practice in a study by Pike and Shoemaker (2013) focused on online piano lessons. In addition, delays exclude any possibility of performing duets in lessons—a common teaching technique—because synchronization becomes too challenging (Kruse et al., 2013). Audio quality issues could nevertheless be alleviated by using external microphones (Burrack, 2012). The general quality of audio and video has been found to influence instrumental music tuition in areas such as modelling, feedback, and assessment (Burrack 2012; Koutsoupidou, 2014).

Other issues concerning online instrumental lessons were their visual component, posture, and communication. An instrumental lesson requires elements of performance such as posture and finger position to be monitored visually (Pike & Shoemaker, 2013). There are additional specific problems related to the type of instrument, such as bow movements for strings and embouchures for brass and woodwind instruments. Webcams must be placed carefully so that teachers can assess students’ posture in detail (Kruse et al., 2013). Regarding tactile communication, the teacher cannot correct a student’s posture via touch during online lessons, and modelling is the preferred teaching strategy. Other techniques, such as playing pieces for piano using four hands, are essential for demonstrating sound, rhythm, and phrasing, but they are not feasible in virtual environments.

Other research has focused on the tools and resources that might facilitate e-learning. Teachers have employed multimedia materials, such as video clips downloaded from YouTube or other databases (Cayari, 2011; Waldron, 2013), to support music lessons.

Summary of the theoretical background

Despite numerous difficulties, it is possible to learn music theory and acquire important instrumental skills via online lessons. Notably, most of the issues raised to date have been of a technological nature, especially audio quality and real-time synchronization (Koutsoupidou, 2014; Lancaster, 2007). Communication issues have also been reported. In addition, several studies in this area have been carried out in the specific contexts of informal learning (Ruismäki, et al., 2012; Seddon & Biasutti, 2009b) and private lessons (Kruse et al., 2013; Pike & Shoemaker 2013), rather in than more formal settings such as conservatories. Online examinations, which require musicians to demonstrate complex abilities (Antonini Philippe et al., 2020), were not tested. These studies often adopted a case study methodology, involving few participants, which limits the generalizability of their results (Kruse et al., 2013; Pike & Shoemaker, 2013). It should be noted that, to date, conservatories and music schools have not developed large-scale, online music learning activities, although several projects such as Lola, Swing and Intermusic and Open University music modules are in progress.

Aims and research questions

This study aimed to examine the practices and strategies developed by music teachers when they were obliged to move to virtual teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. We used a qualitative technique based on semi-structured interviews with music teachers in different European countries and the USA. A qualitative methodology, rather than a quantitative approach, was considered best for capturing an overview of the situation and the pedagogical dynamics. Semi-structured interviews were used because they are a versatile method for revealing the overall picture and they place major emphasis on participants’ thoughts and personal experiences. We aimed to distill their perspectives on the potential strengths and limitations of using technology to teach music online, considering both general and applied music lessons. Aspects such as curriculum planning, lesson implementation, assessment, organizing examinations, and time management skills were covered. The driving research questions were:

Participants

Fifteen (10 male, 5 female) teachers of particular instruments or music theory participated in the study. Participants were aged from 38 to 72 years old (mean age = 56.6 years; SD = 8.6) and all held a music degree in their respective field from a conservatory; they were active teachers in schools of music or higher education institutions in Europe and the USA. A convenience sample was used. Participants were recruited because they were known to be teaching music online and had been identified via personal contacts. They each had at least 15 years’ experience of teaching music (mean years’ experience = 30.7; SD = 10.7), and some of them held relevant positions such as departmental director, director of a school of music, head of technology or of international relations. Participants were teaching piano, strings (violin, viola, and double bass), guitar, wind and brass instruments (flute and trumpet), music pedagogy, music theory, music composition, chamber music and string quartets, and singing and choral music (see Table 1).

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Table 1.

Participants’ subject(s) taught.

Participants	Subject(s) taught
T-I	Flute
T-II	Choral music
T-III	Composition, double bass
T-IV	Violin, viola
T-V	Trumpet
T-VI	Chamber music and string quartets
T-VII	Trumpet
T-VIII	Music pedagogy
T-IX	Guitar
T-X	Violin
T-XI	Choral music and music theory
T-XII	Music theory
T-XIII	Violin
T-XIV	Piano
T-XV	Piano

Semi-structured interview and data collection

The semi-structured interview protocol was designed to highlight participants’ experiences and perceptions of the strengths and limitations of virtual technology tools. Questions focused on their practices during online teaching, with a special emphasis on elements such as curriculum planning, lesson implementation, assessment, examination organization, and time management skills. The full list of questions is presented in Appendix A. The latter also includes an initial section aimed at collecting information about the participant’s background, which was filled out by the interviewer.

Participants responded voluntarily to the semi-structured interview. They were aware that data was to be collected anonymously, and they were encouraged to give accurate answers, which would only be used for research purposes. Data collection was carried out one-to-one via Skype or Zoom meetings, with each interview lasting from 35 to 70 minutes. Interviews were recorded directly onto a computer as .wav files. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and participants were given the option of reviewing their transcripts to ensure the accuracy of their comments and correct any misrepresentations of their views.

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, 2013) and the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the British Psychological Society (2009). The University of Graz’s Research Ethics Committee granted ethical approval for data collection, and all subjects gave their informed consent before taking part in the study.

COVID-19 and the music school

This category explored how music schools reacted to the lockdown period and reorganized in order to be able to work through it. The four codes were institutional support, teachers’ teamwork, teachers’ feelings/skills, and support for students. Institutions had limited time in which to move to e-learning, and the switch from face-to-face to online lessons was implemented quickly, without an adequate preparation phase. However, many music schools tried to provide e-learning carefully and attentively, which consisted of defining school policies and guidelines for teachers and students. “There was initial chaos. After that, guidelines were made available, and each teacher reorganized their work” (T-VIII). In some cases, platforms had been available for several years, but teachers had not used them; they suddenly had to learn rapidly. Technical support was offered, including technicians to set-up computers so that teachers could work remotely and information on how to use the pertinent platforms. Frequent updates and additional information were provided when necessary. Some basic guidelines included uploading relatively light-weight data files on to platforms in standard formats such as MP3, MP4, PowerPoint, and PDF.

Departmental meetings were held more frequently online, typically once a week, to foster feelings of mutual support among staff members. In other words, their focus was not entirely on real administrative or organizational needs, as one participant reported:

It’s voluntary . . . but we’re getting a lot of people . . . We’ll just get online and I’ll see how everybody’s doing and talk. I think it’s important to keep that up because we need to stick with each other and communicate with each other and keep each other informed of what we’re doing and what’s happening. (T-III)

According to another participant, “The pleasure consists in being with your colleagues, that feeling of being part of a community” (T-IV). These quotations demonstrate that departmental meetings had become occasions for fostering relationships and developing a sense of community inside the music school.

Participants stated that their teamwork was based on solidarity, collaboration, helping each other, and sharing practices in how to use technology and manage virtual lessons. “There is more collaboration for timetable organization and lesson content” (T-VI). However, they also reported that, in some cases, the lockdown period was an occasion to isolate more: “For some, it is an opportunity to be more isolated and manage time and things, without networking with colleagues” (T-VIII); “Negatively . . . my impression is that everyone was focused on solving their own problems related to the new situation and had no intention of interacting with other teachers” (T-VIII).

Participants reported feelings of fear, helplessness, disorientation, discomfort, and stress, whereas the lockdown revealed their skills and attributes, including resilience, adaptation, problem solving, and reflection. They were more frequently in touch with students on technical issues, organization, and to provide them with emotional support. The lockdown resulted in a heightened sense of responsibility among both teachers and students, and students expressed their motivation for virtual learning.

Technology

This category was characterized by three codes focused on platforms, plug-ins/software, and limitations. Participants reported that several platforms were available for learning music online, but some of them were not specific and offered limited support for music. Becoming confident in using platforms was very time consuming, as reported by one participant: “At the beginning, it was very hard to understand all the functions and we spent a lot of time in becoming confident with the platforms” (T-XV).

Participants mentioned several plug-ins and pieces of software that were useful to their work, such as the possibility of sharing the screen. However, they wished to see improved tools for teacher-student interaction. Among the limitations reported were the use of low-quality devices such as mobile phones, computers with poor speakers and microphones, and limited bandwidth, which led to signal freezing and poor audio quality.

Curriculum planning

This category comprised the following six codes: curriculum design/objectives, methods, individual instrumental lessons, ensemble lessons, theory lessons, and composition lessons. Teachers had to find solutions to adapt their teaching methods to virtual tools. “Personally, I’ve had to completely rethink my work. Totally. What I’m doing now is never done exactly the same way as before . . . Again, it is much less concrete, much less applied” (T-III); “I had to really completely redesign and rethink the curricula” (T-V). There was a call for more lesson design, with less content and better organization. One participant said, “I have to give less content and wait for returns from others before moving on—that is, making sure it is well understood” (T-II), while according to another, “I needed to carefully prepare my lessons before giving them, perhaps thinking in advance about new pieces to assign and making the corresponding videos” (T-VII). Some teachers spent a lot of time preparing video clips demonstrating posture and aspects such as the embouchure of specific instruments. For example:

At first, I prepared a set of pieces in PDF format and a corresponding set of videos specifically made by me. Then I sent them to all of my students, inviting them to study their own pieces. Every student or set of students had a specific piece, according to their own skill. (T-VII)

Goals were designed according to students’ needs and were frequently redefined because students required more time to reach them. In addition, minus-one audio recordings were prepared to allow students to practice ensemble pieces. In other cases, video materials were selected from the internet.

Regarding pedagogical approaches and the use of technology, there was an awareness that new processes were being developed:

I think teachers adapt the technology to their way of thinking, to their way of teaching . . . Conversely, it is important to understand the potential of virtual tools: doing online lessons also means changing or adjusting your teaching in accordance with the tools available. (T-I)

Participants explained that they had moved from a nonverbal teaching method, based on modelling and demonstrations, to a verbal method consisting of explaining things orally or in writing. This was not simple because they had to find the correct words for describing processes and behaviors. Educational methods were characterized by a different type of interaction, one grounded in instructions, communicating one command at a time, and remote modelling. Participants also promoted cooperative learning, individualized teaching, and active learning:

I also have studio classes where we play for each other, and we do that virtually too. So, I’ll have 20 people there, and they’ll play for each other and comment . . . I think it’s nice for the students to have the simultaneous experience, even if it’s imperfect. (T-IV)

Participants described how individual instrumental lessons were impossible for particular instruments such as the organ, forte-piano, harpsichord, and percussion, and that instruments such as drums, the harp, and the grand piano were not always available in students’ homes. Other limitations included the unfeasibility of teachers playing duets with their students or using the same instrument, for example playing piano pieces with four hands, or at the octave. In addition, it was impossible to accompany students on the piano, which is a common pedagogical method. “I usually do a lot of work in student–teacher duets and small ensemble groups, but now I had to stop that” (T-IX). Individual instrumental lessons had had to be reshaped around these constraints.

Ensemble lessons based on collective performance, such as chamber music, string quartets, choirs, and orchestras, were impossible online. For small groups such as string quartets, an online lesson could be based on individual study followed by a collective online lesson with the four members, which was designed for verifying the study of the individual parts. For chamber music, individual performances with a metronome were planned, with a final audio montage of the separate performances to check intonation and other musical parameters. Unsurprisingly, however, this approach lacked the characteristics of dynamicity, expressivity, and interactivity, all of which are crucial factors for enhancing students’ performance feedback skills. Participants argued that this type of individual practice could only ever be surrogate training and could not completely replace ensemble practice, which is based on the development of processes and skills in synchronization and entrainment.

One participant described their experience of an online choir workshop, reporting that it was very boring and time consuming because each singer repeated their part individually with no opportunities for an ensemble performance. Another participant mentioned that “old choirmasters said that your voice works well inside the section, when you don’t feel that you are singing” (T-II) and this was impossible online. In the case of large ensemble classes, one participant reported that performance lessons had to be completely redesigned, with a different focus and more content involving theory, music analysis, and the history of composers:

We completely changed the assignment for chamber music. Since it is Beethoven’s birth year anniversary, they’re reading biographies, listening to recordings, and one teacher will present an analysis for them next week—just different kinds of things consistent with the mission of studying chamber music. (T-IV)

This quotation highlights the change of focus from applied performance skills to the acquisition and development of knowledge.

Participants reported that theory lessons such as music history could be delivered quite well in virtual settings. However, for music education, a virtual setting worked for theory but not for workshops and practice sessions, for example on Orff instruments, which had to be replaced by video analysis. Large live classes of 25 students or more were divided into small online classes of 10 to 12 students.

For composition lessons, participants reported that it was impossible to write in a student’s exercise book or demonstrate face-to-face on the piano. They used different strategies and adapted previously assigned tasks:

The students are not working on their pieces and writing actual compositions. I am really working more hypothetically, more critically, giving listening assignments or working on other things. (T-III)

This participant also reported experimenting with collaborative approaches:

I’m convening students once a week as a group and I give them a topic. For example, if you took this number of triadic structures, in what other ways could interact them in writing a piece that’s eight bars long, a piece that’s 16 bars long, that’s a minute and a half and we’ll talk about it. (T-III)

These quotations demonstrate that teachers revised tasks and adopted different pedagogical approaches.

Managing instrumental lessons

This category contained the seven codes of home setting, synchronous strategies, asynchronous strategies, time management/scheduling, communication, feedback, and assessment. Participants reported that during virtual teaching, students effectively entered into their homes: “It was like welcoming students in your home and it is very different than teaching in the music school” (T-XV). Setting up an appropriate home setting avoiding noise and distractions was crucial.

Participants reported several synchronous strategies, such as not interrupting students and waiting until the end of a piece before commenting, providing clear explanations, and using modelling: “I want them to play exactly this much and then stop. And then we’re going to talk, because it’s tiring to try to interrupt them all the time” (T-IV). Content had to be clear and focused. In addition, one participant developed a collective online lesson that they named Studio, involving cooperative learning activities with 20 students listening to and commenting on each other’s performances.

Regarding asynchronous strategies, several tasks could be assigned, such as finding videos of well-known performers, listening to other performers’ interpretations, and making a video of one’s own performance. Some participants wrote notes commenting on students’ videos, whereas others commented on the video, live-sharing the screen with their students:

I ask them to send me a recording that they’ve made, and then, on Zoom, I share my screen, and then I can stop and start the video and talk about what I’m hearing. Actually, that’s very productive because I can go back and forth. (T-IV)

Time management was challenging because online lessons were shorter than face-to-face lessons and had to be focused and fruitful. One participant argued that “it’s hard to get the students’ attention” (T-VII) and that online attention spans were shorter than in face-to-face activities. Lesson schedules required revisions for several reasons; for example, one cannot play the trumpet or a grand piano at 2 pm in an apartment—one has to wait until 4 pm. In some cases, one-hour lessons were divided into two 30-minute lessons so as to offer students more time to learn. Participants were available during normal lesson times but on more days of the week, and overlapping online activities was an emerging problem.

Online teaching involved somewhat less interaction because of the lack of nonverbal communication, less physical proximity, and reduced eye contact: “There is a lack of physical connection, the lack of being able to see clearly what the student is doing and to be able to interact” (T-V). Furthermore,

Another problem is just not being able to touch the student. So, if you’re trying to work out a physical issue, you have to describe it very carefully, and you can show it, but you can’t touch the person. You can explain where the tension is physically, but you have to really get the students to notice it themselves. (T-I)

These quotations highlight the difficulties of online communication and reduced interaction. Participants reported that teaching online was more stressful than teaching face-to-face because constant attention and concentration is required to compensate for the lack of nonverbal communication. The decreased level of empathy and lack of communication were compensated for by more individualized lesson design.

Online feedback was problematic because it was difficult to verify whether the student had understood, and the student’s fingers or posture could not be corrected manually. In face-to-face lessons, feedback occurs in real time, whereas online feedback is less frequent and slow, mediated by the devices used. Sometimes the feeling of not being able to understand each other emerged. Online feedback required more time and was different, with shorter messages, with one command at a time, and with continuous questioning of students.

Participants argued that with the different conditions and contents of music lessons, it was difficult to maintain the same assessment criteria. Although assessment criteria are decided upon by each teacher, it was difficult to evaluate the expressivity and interpretation of online performances. Chamber music and performances with accompaniment were impossible to assess, and different content and musical pieces had to be considered.

Examinations

Participants spoke about issues regarding the contexts, environments, and organization of examinations and conditions, settings, and formats were the three codes. Each institution exercised great autonomy in deciding how to proceed. Wherever possible—for example, for bachelor’s degrees—examinations were postponed to the fall semester. For examinations involving technical aspects such as the performance of fragments of orchestral pieces, teachers reported that they had worked quite well online. Conversely, in examinations where expressive and interpretive elements are crucial, several constraints were highlighted.

Regarding settings, whenever possible, our participants reported that taking examinations at home was considered. However, for instruments such as the organ or percussion (e.g., timpani), not all students have adequate musical instruments at home and performing on an electronic keyboard is not the same as performing on a grand piano available in a conservatory of music. Besides, not every student at home would have the high-quality devices and fast internet necessary for fair real-time examinations. Another possibility was setting up a video and audio studio in the music school where students could come to perform while the examination committee worked remotely. This scenario resolved issues of the quality of the instruments and the audio. Other examinations include such mandatory conditions as 6 to 12 hours of isolation for candidates doing a composition examination—an exercise most often completed within the walls of the music school.

Some schools offered the possibility of taking an examination in the form of a video recording. Although students cannot make takes, they could repeat the performance 1000 times until they reached a satisfactory level. A multi-step interactive examination was also proposed, with students sending in a video recording, waiting for jury assessment, and then having the option of revising their performances. Moreover, the video recording format was considered for entrance auditions, but this is already frequently requested (and used) by several music schools around the world.

Strengths

This category included the three codes of flexibility/time management, space, and organization. Regarding flexibility, participants reported that time management had improved for asynchronous activities, but also as a result of the travelling time saved by both teachers and students.

Regarding space, virtual teaching meant that music schools had more free rooms:

My department is big in terms of people, but it’s very small in terms of space . . . we could design . . . many of our music theory classes to be all done online. That would free up an enormous amount of space . . . for ensembles . . . and those classes that need physical connection and direction. (T-III)

Participants reported becoming more organized in the management of their activities. Internet platforms were useful for sharing material, exchanging messages, communicating, and keeping records of all the teaching and work done. Participants learnt to use video clips systematically for modelling and teaching. “I was able to enhance my abilities to search for music online and make instructional videos. I have improved my time management skills” (T-IX); “I discovered the importance of using video material” (T-XIII). They also highlighted the development of strategies for assessing practice through video clips. “I do more written responses, so . . . I’ll make notes in more detail than I would do live” (T-XIII). These notes were useful pedagogical material that could be used in other situations. “Since a lot of the work we do is about very, very fine details, I must try to achieve that” (T-IV). Having materials and video recordings of lessons on an internet platform has advantages for students too because they can use the materials again later to know exactly what was said during the lesson and what was provided as educational material: “The students have all their materials on computer” (T-VII).

Online music teaching itself was considered future-oriented: “Technology can certainly be an advantage, but you must know the technology you are going to use, otherwise it isn’t . . . it could be the future, but we have to improve the technology” (T-XI).

Limitations

The last category included codes for time consumption, unsatisfactory work-life balance, and different perceptions of reality. Participants argued that online teaching was very time consuming with regard to planning activities, preparing teaching materials, and exploring the new possibilities of technical tools. They reported that it was stressful to have lost the separation necessary for a satisfactory work-life balance. They felt that they brought more troubles home with them, that their days were very long and lacked periods of rest, and that they spent all day in front of the computer. During online teaching, impressions on screen could be very different from the reality:

I taught a student for a year on Skype before I met her. And when I met her, she was much bigger than I thought and she’d sounded very, very small, and I didn’t know that! It was because she had a terrible violin. That was actually a big lesson for me! (T-IV)

This quotation demonstrates that music teachers should consider their professional perceptions carefully when online.