ARE IN-PERSON MUSIC LESSONS BACK?

Are in-person music lessons (and performance opportunities) coming back?

Short answer: yes

And actually with the exception of the recent pause that was in accordance with the lockdown measures put forth in May, we’ve been able to host small numbers of in-person lessons at both Resonate locations since last July and have done so without one single covid-19 incident. Not one.

Now for the long answer:

Obviously the safety of our students, clients, and staff has always been paramount, long before this pandemic, but how we worked to ensure that safety definitely changed. Out went the iPad bars, coffee and hot chocolate machines and in came the sanitizing stations and specialized air filtration systems. Bustling lobbies suddenly felt like ghost towns by comparison and the limited few of you who could join us could only do so masked, while the rest either transitioned their learning online or put things on pause indefinitely, waiting for normalcy to return. Well for the first time in what feels like a long time, that normalcy may now be approaching. As the restrictions on small business finally begin to lift and protection from this virus continues to improve, we’re cautiously optimistic that we can resume our plan and begin returning to form, instilling again those special components of an experience that made you choose Resonate in the first place. It may take some time and we’re going to ease things back in, regardless of how quickly the world around us opens up. We can only control what takes place within the walls of our studios but we try our best to do so with every realistic precaution we can because we know that both lives and livelihoods have depended on it.

Being able to still offer personalized and guided learning throughout this entire pandemic via online platforms has been hugely beneficial and the progress that our students continued to make kept our spirits up and gave us hope that there would be a chance to weather the storm. And the ability to take a lesson online is here to stay, proving to be a great option moving forward for students who may have moved outside city limits or who can’t make the drive in when those inevitable Alberta snowstorms come to visit .The option to toggle between online and in-person lessons on demand clearly has a lot of value to our students and staff and we’re going to continue offering it for that reason. But we know, now more than ever, the value of real, in-person, human connection when it comes to music lessons. We also know that for many of you, online learning just wasn’t an option and our limited availability for in-person lessons over the last year meant that so many could only be waitlisted until we could bring back more teachers. Well soon those teachers can return and that means so can you. And so can the ipad bars and free hot chocolate. And after the return to our studios comes a return to the stage. Recording sessions, recitals, and rock concerts were a regular occurrence at Resonate that generated a near constant buzz of excitement and the team here has been chomping at the bit to not only bring it all back but do so better than we ever have. New ideas and new opportunities are just waiting in the wings and hopefully for not too much longer.

I believe music and human connection are healers of our minds, our bodies, and our souls. The pause button has been stuck for far too long and I for one can’t wait to smash play and crank the volume back up to 10.

So whether you’re a current member looking to resume or somebody new looking to get their start, reach out to us today. We’ve got a lot to look forward to so let’s make it happen.

–

Michael Cathrea

Co founder, Resonate Music