Sorry, good people – I know it’s been an extended hiatus from the website. Much has transpired since my last visit with you all – the passing of both my parents (Dad in June 2017, Mom just before Christmas 2019); the settling of their estates; the manic excitement (if we can call it that) of the current COVID-19 pandemic; the impending reconstruction of the basement of my house (MAJOR surgery, brought on by the rainstorm of 28 June of this year – looks like another mortgage to pay off…); the downright frightening turn of political events south of the border (And they call it “Democracy”)… the website, I must confess, has not been on the front burner of my mind.
Anyhow: madrygaguitar.ca is back, just in time for a new school year, one that promises to be unlike any that have come before.
If there’s one positive thing that will come of the current pandemic, I expect it will be the stimulation of advances in both real-time communication technology and the ability of the average music teacher to use it. I didn’t think at the beginning of the social lockdown in March that there would be any really viable on-line substitute for the in-person guitar lesson – Six months later, I find myself getting more comfortable with the technology, and more receptive to teaching in the digital environment. If the technology can get close to the point where simultaneous back-and-forth communication is possible (i.e., to the point where I could play along with a student in real time), it will be the next of Howard Goodall’s Big Bangs* in the history of music – Music Notation, Equal Temprament, Opera, The Piano, Recorded Music, Instantaneous On-line Music Instruction. I still look forward to the day when I’ll see my students in-person again, but the fact that Suzuki teacher-trainers are starting to run teacher workshop sessions on-line is certainly a step in the right direction.
From this moment, let it be known that I’m accepting students into my roster, regardless of where you live. Can’t find a teacher where you are? Have you heard my students play (or for that matter, have you heard me play, even) and like what you hear? Drop me a line. Distance is less of a problem now than what we thought – time zones pose much bigger problems, but getting out of bed at an earlier hour wouldn’t do either of us any harm. Let us self-caffeinate as needed and face this future of ours together!
That’s it for now, friends – stay safe, mask up, wash your paws, and be kind to your fellow travellers.
(*Look it up on YouTube if you’re not familiar with this series – totally worth your time!)