Exploring perceptions and experiences of students, parents and teachers on their online instrumental lessons

ABSTRACT

This holistic multiple-case study sought to examine how students’ learning changes when transitioning from face-to-face to online instrumental lessons in a one-to-one setting. Specifically, as this was a pilot research, it explored the students’ sight-reading, aural skills, lesson engagement, and motivation to practice. The participants interviewed in this study were ten young, London-based students at beginner and intermediate levels, who had been taking online piano lessons – led by the same teacher as for their previous in-person classes – for four months. Furthermore, five instrumental teachers from the UK were interviewed so as to gain their reflective insight into teaching and learning processes, and to discover their online teaching experiences. The findings revealed that, while most students became more independent, both the students and their parents reported that the teacher’s physical absence had influenced the learning. The absence of such factors as non-verbal communication, gestures, scaffolding, and a tactile approach had affected not only the learning but also the students’ levels of engagement and motivation. While most of the teachers were satisfied with teaching online, the students and their parents preferred face-to-face lessons, reasoning that the lessons were more productive and beneficial when conducted in-person.

KEYWORDS:

• Online instrumental lessons
• online music education
• beginner and intermediate music students
• teacher’s absence

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the students, their parents and the teachers who participated in the interviews and would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by Dr Dave Camlin.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

Ethical approval for this project was given by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, United Kingdom.

Informed consent

The author confirms that informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or their parents or legal guardians prior to participation, and participants were free to withdraw from the study at any time without explanation.

Notes on the contributor

Dainora holds a BMus (Hons) degree from Goldsmiths University, where she succeeded in developing herself as a pianist, composer, and music arranger. Since 2015, she has been teaching 40–60 piano and Music Theory students each year. She has also obtained an MA degree from The Teaching Musician at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. While completing her Master’s degree in music teaching, she researched the principles and psychology of teaching as well as online teaching and learning. She also applied many teaching methods and insights to her practice. Recently, Dainora has accepted an offer from the Royal College of Music to complete her PhD at the Centre for Performance Science under the supervision of Dr Tania Lisboa.

Notes

1 ‘Coronavirus: Most Children Struggled to Learn at Home during Lockdown, Survey Finds’, Sky News, Accessed August 25, 2020. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-children-struggled-to-learn-at-home-during-lockdown-survey-finds-12033938.