At NCKP this year, there was a new feature called Ped xi. This session was supposed to mimic the “ideas worth spreading” mantra of the TED talks. Since I love many of the TED talks, I attended these sessions and was inspired by several of the ideas shared. While listening to the 2nd talk by Kristin Shoemaker called “Mud Huts, MIDI, and Light Bulb Moment,” my attention was immediately piqued when I heard my name from the podium! Evidently, there is a student in Zambia Africa who loves to play “Cherokee Lullaby” from the Hal Leonard Pre-staff Piano Recital Showcase series. Kristin showed a video of the young girl named Beauty as she played this piece and it just made my day!
Later, Kristin shared with me that another student named Merel is featured on her website “being creative” with the same piece (click on Photos and Clips). She does a beautiful job of singing, playing, and transforming the 4/4 piece into triple meter. As you know, I’m all about encouraging students to be creative, so this just thrilled me. I’d love for you to listen and see the kind of impact that Kristin is having in Africa.
If you think that only tech savvy teachers like Kristin can do this kind of distance teaching, then you would be wrong. Kristin herself admits to not being that tech savvy when she started. Here is a great interview with Robin Pfeiffer about how she does this. I’d encourage you to watch this if you need any encouragement that you too could teach from a distance. If nothing else, distance teaching can allow you to do lessons with your own mildly-sick students or students who don’t come to lessons due to weather issues. I have done phone lessons and Skype lessons with students in the last 2 years and this has greatly helped my students to continue to be faithful in their practice even when their lives might be temporarily disrupted. It is a great time saver and I look forward to using it more and more in the future.
