Sunday Musings.... The Online Model of Teaching Indian Classical Music

I think as of June 2021, other than the pandemic itself, another thing that has become much too real is "Pandemic Fatigue". I am sure all of you are as tired as listening to the various different aspects of the corona virus, how the numbers are changing, how you can't do the many things today, that were just normal in the past, etc. etc. etc. I know, I am so let's stop that thought in it's tracks RIGHT HERE!

I am a musician and I teach music to enthusiastic learners, both young and young (well, when you get connected to music, you're always young :-)). This is something that I immensely enjoy doing and have always been thinking of how to disrupt this space with a new approach to do things. As of 2020, the corona virus has actually pushed us into an entirely new way of imparting music education - ONLINE. 

Until recently, teaching music (especially Indian Classical Music) online was scoffed upon by many people (teachers as well as learners). I feel one of the dominant reasons for this was that it was never done this way. And nobody even wanted to try it. Come 2020, slowly and grudgingly, many have at least opened themselves to this possibility and today in 2021, I am glad to see that the majority have accepted this mode of learning as "normal". In fact, now the quest is around how to make this experience better and bring it as close as possible to the original "guru-shishya" exchange.

Now, that we are here, the way forward is to evaluate and adapt some best practices, to make the most of this format of learning. There is no doubt that this medium has thrown up it's own share of challenges that we must overcome. And I feel, we as a generation, are quite capable of addressing these concerns and overcoming them. 

1. One of the most common issues faced by teachers and learners is availability of the internet. We do make a lot of noise about internet penetration across our country but the quality of the internet still remains sub-par. It is only the big cities, that tend to boast of reliable internet connection. This is something that seems to be improving gradually and with the introduction of 5g speeds, soon this should not be a cause of concern.
2. The technology - Many of us musicians are not as technically savvy to be able to independently manage a LIVE online learning experience. It is recommended that the artists make an effort to traverse this learning curve so that they can reduce dependency on others, to run their classes. As of today, technology is quite simplified and easy to learn and implement. Do explore and you are welcome to send me a note asking for help. I'd gladly share my experience.
3. The type of student itself has changed A LOT! Today most learners no longer hold  the teacher in unquestioned reverence. The whole experience (in most cases) has been reduced to ₹x in exchange of y classes/month. And in India money talk has always been more awkward than it needs to be. This has to change. Both artists and patrons need to realize that money is a very real element and needs to be discussed and handled with mutual respect. There is no need or expectation to work for free. And at the same time, the artist also need not feel guilty or "dirty" for imparting knowledge in exchange for money. Just view it as a modern day "guru-dakshina".
4. Imparting the knowledge itself is now much different from what it was in earlier times. Now there is a greater need for a finite structure around what is being taught. Sure, one can be flexible with how much is taught and how, but a certain basic structure is required to enable both teacher as well as student to have the ability to track progress clearly.
5. Riyaz (Practice) - This is still very very important and just because the model of learning is online, it doesn't mean that this element can be diluted.  Since the model is online, the frequency with which one would interact with the guru is limited to once or twice in a week. Beyond that the student is on their own. One should be willing to make use of available technology so that the best possible learning outcomes can be achieved. For instance, students can record short videos of themselves, practicing the lesson learned during their interaction with the teacher, and send it across to the teacher for them to evaluate. This way, one can really see if the lesson has been learned correctly or is there anything that needs improvements/corrections.

Well those are the top things I could think of at the moment. I have been successfully running music classes online for a little over a year (since the Q2 of 2020) and I have been fairly successful in doing so. Perhaps one advantage that I possess is a solid 2 decade background of the IT software industry, before going 100% professional in the music field. 

Do share your own thoughts and questions if any. I am also planning to do a FREE FACEBOOK LIVE session for music teachers, who have moved OR are looking to move to the online model of learning. If this interests you, then kindly fill out the form (link below). I will send out a plan as soon as I have at least 10 inquiries. 

Link for registering - Click Here