As we live in these unprecedented times, businesses are having to do what they can to quickly adapt to sudden changes in how society functions. The music lesson business is no exception. For so many years, we at Music Lab Rocklin have thrived on the one-on-one relationships we have built with our students and we have had to figure out how to continue building on those relationships while either doing the lesson virtually or making sure safety measures are in place the make the lesson safe and enjoyable in person during this pandemic. Today, I want to describe our mindset handling the pandemic and what actions we have taken to continue adapting to these changing times.
Virtual Lessons
When the initial shutdown was ordered across all non-essential businesses, we had to immediately switch all of our lessons to the virtual format via Zoom/Skype/Factime. Instructors had to use their own iphones, ipads, and laptops and give lessons from their homes. To our surprise, it worked out for our students better than expected. Although not ideal, most of our students had a pleasant experience in smoothly being able to take their lessons from their homes virtually. What we also learned is that our students were not willing to give up the amazing relationship they had with their instructor due to a virtual lesson as opposed to having their lesson in person.
Once we were able to have lessons in person again, many of our students opted to keep receiving their lessons virtually. Not only did it help them feel safe for the time being but it’s also extremely convenient for many of the parents that realized virtual lessons save them time and a car trip they no longer have to take. With this realization we decided to purchase equipment that would help the virtual lesson feel more professional. We purchased mics, mixing boards, etc… to makes sure the sound quality coming through to the student is optimal. Amazing products such as the Yamaha EAD10 allows us to mic up the entire acoustic drum kit, connect it to a phone or laptop, and adjust whatever levels we need as far as volume and tone via a module that is attached to the high hat. Huge thanks to Yamaha Drums for making the product! So far, our students have been loving the experience and really enjoying virtual lessons.
In-Person Lessons With Safety Measures
Although many students preferred to stay virtually, we had many students wanting to get back into the student to have face-to-face lessons as soon as possible. With many students coming back, we knew we had some work to do in implementing safety measures to help parents feel comfortable. Fortunately for us, our rooms are very large and they allow for plenty of social distancing so we knew that wouldn’t be an issue. Even our drum rooms allow for more than 6 feet of social distancing with two full acoustic drum kits that are far apart from each other. Furthermore, we added hand-sanitizing stations in our lobby and require students to sanitize their hands prior to entering the lesson rooms. All our rooms are equipment with Clorox disinfectant wipes so that the instructor can wipe down the equipment between lessons. We also have contact-less temperature thermometers to check the students’ temperature prior to each lesson and require all of our instructors to wear a mask at the facility. Lastly, we are having parents wait for their kids outside instead of in the lobby to maintain only 8-10 people in the facility at any time separated in rooms of two.
In conclusion, the changes we have had to take on have not been comfortable for us to implement but we got it done and are seeing the fruits of our efforts. What motivated us the most was seeing how many students were willing to stick out this crazy time with us even though we had to switch everything to virtual lessons practically overnight. The safety measures we had to implement and the equipment we had to purchase was a large expense but we are now seeing it was very worth it. Not only were students willing to go virtual to stay with us but we received emails of parents telling us they would keep paying the tuition even if giving the lesson wouldn’t be possible due to the lockdown. This was incredibly encouraging to us and we are forever grateful to such loyal students and will continue to do our best to adapt to changing times so that we continue to be our area’s leader in quality and value for music lesson offerings. We love our students and our community!