Diana Springford – Head of Music

Online learning for Music

This week has seen us transition to online learning for classroom music, including our compulsory Years 3 – 6 Instrumental Program, as well as the K – 2 Infant Strings Program and our private music lessons.

It is very important that we keep music routines going throughout this unusual time, for the continuity of music learning, for our health and wellbeing, and for fun.

All our Music Tutors have embraced the new platforms and new protocols with great enthusiasm. There has been a great collegial spirit amongst our Music Tutors, who don’t often see each other in person, as they teach on different days, but who have been training together online. Their ages range across four decades and it has been morale-boosting in these challenging times to see everyone sharing tips and encouragement in the process. As anticipated, our marvellous Gen Z students have taken to the new Zoom app with customary zeal and our High School students in particular took one look at the new tech and promptly launched into a master class of how to navigate the various menus and options.

Learning an instrument, learning to sing, learning to read music, getting to know music from the inside, developing a music practice routine, are healthy activities, which activate, expand, refine and develop the social, cognitive, sensory-motor, emotional and perceptual aspects of people. In the event of a physical shutdown of school, and the associated reduction of real-life socio-physical interactions and engagement, continuing music practice at home is especially beneficial. It is important that we keep Music routines going, and support the learning of our instrumentalists and singers. Also, co-curricular tuition is an essential support for our elective music curriculum program and our elective Music students must continue to have access to Music Tuition online as part of their online learning of Music as a subject.

On behalf of everyone in the Music Faculty, we would like to thank all parents and carers, students and colleagues for their huge support over the past two weeks as we developed and launched online music tuition.

Private Music Tuition and Infant Strings Program

Thank you to those who have already advised us of changes to private tuition and Infant Strings Program enrolments for next term. All students currently receiving private music tuition and ISP will be automatically re-enrolled into tutor schedules for next term along with students commencing lessons for the first time. The deadline for new enrolments, notification of changes or intention to discontinue for Term 2 was 13 March 2020. If your child intends to discontinue, formal notification in advance must be received by the end of term to avoid being committed to the full term of lessons and liable for fees. 

A note about new enrolments to ISP: in the case of the K-2 Infant Strings Program, we are regrettably unable to add new enrolments into the program during this period of online learning. As soon as the situation changes, we will let you know.

A note about new enrolments to private music tuition: in the case of private music lessons, we will need to review on a case-by-case basis new requests to enrol into private instrumental or voice lessons. For example, it is necessary in the current online environment for the enrolling student to have access to the instrument which they wish to use for private tuition and new ventures in online private music tuition are more likely to succeed where the student has a pre-existing experience of learning with a tutor (e.g. the student has been learning the instrument in IP, or is resuming private lessons after a break). However, we are open minded, so please ask.

Parents should enrol or discontinue using one of the online forms accessed from the links below: 

Please contact Matilda Grieve at music@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions.   

The schedules for Term 2, 2020 will be created at the end of term and emailed in late April.

Links to online forms  

New enrolment requests for private tuition here

To discontinue private tuition for Term 2 here 

To enrol into the Infant Strings Program here

To discontinue Infant Strings Program for Term 2 here