SCHOOLS OF rock
Those who can’t perform live, teach online
As local musicians struggle to stay productive during shutdown, many are turning to teaching instead of performing. Moving their classes online can open up a new set of challenges, but sometimes there are new rewards as well.
“I’ve taught guitar lessons for years, and I do it via
Skype now because I live in Vermont,” said Roger Miller, the legendary Mission of Burma guitarist who’s lately playing with Trinary System. “It works well and lessons have increased lately, I think because people are looking for something to do. Also, it’s quite hygienic.”
Others are having a tougher time with the transition. Peter Moore is a triplethreat musician who fronts the popular Count Zero, plays keys with John Powhida and others, and does audio production. He also teaches online, but that’s harder when you’re a pianist. “It’s not ideal. If someone is a beginner, you have to listen really closely, because you can’t even see their fingers. They might play a sustained chord and the sound cuts off after one measure. So it’s slower, but it’s not undoable — It helps if they can frame their fingers well on camera, and wear headphones so we know what we’re doing. And I do appreciate the fact that I don’t have to smell nice.”
Ajda Snyder has been a performer (doing elegant pop as Ajda the Turkish Queen) and a voice teacher for two decades, and until recently most of her teaching was done in person. Though she’s had no trouble moving her classes online, it’s been tougher for students who have to practice their singing (and the flute she also teaches) in their homes. “Passing the torch to them is a huge part of my identity, something that adds meaning to my life, so this is tough. One of my students wanted to learn a song to surprise her fiancee with at their wedding. Now they’re stuck together all the time, so there goes the surprise.”
On the other hand, she says, some people are embracing this as a time to learn new skills. Meanwhile she’s starting to perform online. As part of Somerville’s virtual Porchfest last weekend, she played solo for two straight hours — something she’s never done in real life (it’s still on her Facebook page). “I figured that if I was going to play, I’d do everything at once. I like long workouts too.”
Another artist/teacher who misses the personal element is Mark Cutler, once known as the frontman of the major-label band Raindogs and more recently a solo artist. “I’ve done some online lessons and it’s working OK, especially when I teach songwriting. Most of the people I work with are on the same wavelength as me anyway. When I do guitar I’m not teaching them high level stuff, just showing a few licks and helping them get some feeling into their playing. I try to help people write their song and tell the truth, just communicating rather than trying to get technical.”
Cutler too is doing streaming shows; he’s on Facebook at 7 p.m. every Wednesday. What he really misses are the community songwriting projects he’d been doing, both in Cranston, R.I., and at the Narrows Center in Fall River. “I was running some interactive workshops with folks from different walks of life, and right now I’m devoting my energy to finding ways to do it virtually.” One thing he’s managed to do is a songwriting project with graduating high-school seniors. “It’s just a way to make their graduation year special, since they’re going through something that nobody’s ever gone through before.”