SHAWANO, WI – Learning at home in the Shawano School District is including music.
With students being forced to learn virtually, Shawano Middle School Band Director Chad Bromeisl is using video and technology to keep his Middle School band students involved.
“I gave out assignments and they are going to email me videos of themselves playing.”
He says much of the work that he is doing is more lesson focused, since it is not as easy to work on full band virtually.
“The kids emailed me some kind of test run like a B flat concert scale. They recorded it and I gave them some comments back like mainly, adjust the angle of the camera so I can see their fingers.”
Bromiesl says so far, he has been able to get a lot accomplished.
“The basics were to get it started to make sure everyone’s video worked and then we take it to the next level and I will just keep working with them.”
Band Directors around the state are all in the same boat with the school shutdowns. Bromisel says there may be an oppertunity to use technology to get more than one person playing at a time. What that looks like, it still a question.
He says there is technology out there that can get dozens of people on the same video chat at one time. He hopes that maybe he will be able to at the very least get everyone to play something together that they can record or perform virtually. Bromisel says that would be the ultimate goal, but for now, as long as kids continue to play and get one-on-one education, there is growth taking place.
“Everyone is learning and everyone is trying new things, so we will see.”
The end of the year music concerts were canceled due to COVID-19.
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