As Covid-19 cases grow, the Ovid-Elsie High School needs to think about their next moves. This means that the high school band needs to think about how they would do class online. When we closed school last spring, Jeanine Ignash, the band director, used a program called SmartMusic which allowed students to read music and record themselves to see how they did. Ignash will plan on having Google Meets with each section of the band to work on their music with her physically talking to them as well as using SmartMusic.
This allows Ignash to see her students work even when she doesn’t see them play their instruments in person. It also allows Ignash to see their improvements and give them educational feedback just like she would in the classroom.
Although it would be harder for the students to understand the music and not have instruction in person, it will keep the students safe and limit the spread of infectious germs.
Senior Amanda Bensinger says, “I think band will be difficult. I feel as though we’re not going to be able to get together as a band to rehearse our songs and people won’t practice. Normal things like concerts and festivals won’t go well. However, I like using SmartMusic. It seems to benefit us with slight separation from the rest of the band.”
Sophomore Sydney Denniston says, “I think that it wouldn’t be that bad, but I would prefer to be in person because being online makes it harder for me to learn and ask questions. And I like being able to ask my friends about things I don’t understand in the music.”
