With a city that turned “touch smart” several years ago, perhaps it is time to make a directory with email and Skype ids of musicians and teachers. Everyone teaches online. There are music classes over Skype, G-chat and even WhatsApp. Apart from Apps where one can get basic lessons, there are also videos on Youtube in which seasoned musicians teach music for free.
Teachers use technology to teach not just students abroad but also those within the city. “If you are learning from abroad, online classes are the best things to have happened since students can choose the style and school and teacher. And according to their affordability, there are very senior musicians who are willing to spend time teaching,” said musician Radha Bhaskar, who takes classes over Skype even for local students sometimes.
Singer P. Unnikrishnan sends audio recordings to his senior students, especially if he is travelling a lot and does not have time for one-on-one classes. “They learn and send a recording in return and I make corrections if any. Apart from regular classes, my teacher Savithri Sathyamurthy used to give me recordings to practice,” he said. “The only issue is that students cannot get contacts online for top artists. Many wait for teachers to come to the U.S. and perform and then get in touch with them to learn,” said R.P. Darsini, a Chennaiite who now learns over Skype from the U.S.
Vocalist K.N. Shasikiran, who started giving classes over Skype as early as 2000 to students abroad, said he teaches people in the IT industry from Chennai and Bengaluru over Skype. “They have different shifts and they learn only for their own satisfaction and so, it is okay to not have regular one-on-one classes. However, for beginners, it is better to see them face to face,” he said. Mr. Shashikiran sends recordings to students by mail when it is a symphony. “They learn it and when they come over for practice, we fine-tune it,” he added.
Senior musician Prema Hariharan, 80, who has been teaching music for over 50 years now, teaches her students over Skype. “These are students who have learnt directly from me either here at home or when I used to visit the U.S. They say they prefer to see me when they learn and so I started classes over Skype,” she says.
Face-to-face
For beginners, learning online will not be enough, say teachers and parents alike. “Nothing will come close to face-to-face teaching for your sarali varisai, jhanda varisai and geetham, etc,” said ‘Abaswaram’ S. Ramjhi, who has trained hundreds of students for his Issai Mazhalai programme.
