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Hello Parent and Students,


During this moment of uncertainty and change, I wanted to greet you all and explain our temporary transition to online lessons. With our schools currently shut down and without a clear indication of how long this newly adapted policy may be in place, the district and teachers have been instructed to prepare to teach their students online for the time being. I have spoken with our choir directors and other voice teachers and will carry on with voice lessons as usual via online video conferencing using the ZOOM platform. 


Now that your student is registered here for their lessons and a time has been secured, please make sure that they have the following items ready in order to facilitate a (smooth as possible) online lesson:


  1. A Laptop or Desktop computer with a built-in or external webcam and microphone (A cell phone in this specific situation is needed as well, as they will need to access other applications while simultaneously being connected to me via ZOOM. )
  2. Vocal Music Binder, containing everything we have been working on together up until this point.

NEW STUDENTS, PLEASE READ!!!

 

Preparing for an online voice lesson is very similar to preparing for an in-person lesson!
 

- Please be dressed for your lesson, ideally in "real clothes" that you can still move and stretch in. Being clean and dressed demonstrates to me and to yourself that you take your lesson seriously. Professor Francis T. McAndrew, a specialist in environmental psychology (and author of The Psychology Behind Why Clowns Creep Us Out) says: 

“If you look at how you are dressed, that signals something about what you are prepared to do. If you are dressed professionally and you’re dressed up, in some ways that raises your own opinion of yourself, and you want your behavior and demeanor to match the clothes."

 

- Wake up with adequate time to be ready to sing. If you're still feeling groggy, you won't do your best work; I suggest waking up at least two hours before your lesson. Optional: Enjoy a nice cup of tea and consider a little yoga or light stretching!

 

- Gather up everything you'll need for your lesson. We will talk a little more about this in 'preparing your space,' but getting everything ready in advance of your lesson will save stress.

- Remember that attitude is everything. These are difficult times, and it is easy to get discouraged. Take care of yourself, self-affirm your own value and worth, and have patience with your progress.


Choosing and preparing your space for online voice lessons matters! Here are some guidelines for adult clients and student families...


- As mentioned on the previously, be sure your space is equipped with everything you need to be ready to sing. A few items to consider:

  • Pencils (sharpened!)

  • Your sheet music in a physical format or on a tablet (separate from your Zoom device)

  • Water or unsweetened tea (whatever you prefer)

  • Notebook for lesson notes during the lesson

  • Chargers for any devices you use during your lesson


- You may also wish for your space to have a few additional items to make it really singer-friendly. My recommendations:

  • Some houseplants! Houseplants improve indoor humidity -- humidity has a measurable impact on singers -- and help clean the air. (Got a brown thumb? Try pothos, philodendron, or bamboo.)

  • Consider a warm-mist humidifier for your space

  • Full-length or vanity stand mirror

  • Music stand

  • Digital keyboard or piano for independent practice and music theory study

 

- Be sure you have enough space to stand comfortably, allowing both of us to see you clearly in Zoom. Open Zoom or your webcam app to be sure you aren't cutting yourself off in the picture.


- Position yourself so that you are lit from the front, not lit from behind. "Backlighting" makes it very hard to see others in Zoom, and I want to see your wonderful singing!

 

- If you can't do everything, do what you can. We are all making the best of a difficult situation as lockdowns and self-quarantines continue. The important thing is that we stay as safe as possible!


This next part might be the part that is the most anxiety-provoking for new students: technology! If you love gadgets and you want to invest in some fancy equipment, go for it! But if you want to keep it simple, here's how to optimize a basic set-up for online lessons.

- Enable 'Original Sound' in Zoom. This is one of the most important things you can do for audio quality while singing in Zoom. Zoom has a noise-canceling feature that searches for long tones in order to eliminate them -- the hum of a refrigerator, the whirr of a computer fan, the dulcet tones of a soprano sustaining a note... Wait, no!

 

To eliminate this noise-canceling feature, we need to preserve original sound.

 

If you get stuck on this, I will assist you!

 

- In Zoom, change both “Suppress Persistent Background Noise” and “Suppress Intermittent Background Noise” to disabled . This is in the audio settings for the desktop app.

- Have a second device handy for playback of karaoke tracks, recorded accompaniments, etc. I find that a mobile phone works well for this!

And that's it! You've seen all the steps for preparing for your voice lessons over Zoom -- looking forward to seeing you soon!

 

I have budgeted 5 minutes in between every student's lesson time in order to troubleshoot any difficulties associated with accessing and logging into our virtual meeting. Please make sure they are prepared and waiting for the beginning of their lesson time and are either in the “waiting room’ feature or have Zoom opened and are ready to connect with me. This will ensure that our lessons begin as promptly as possible.



In addition to our Paypal payment option (the document explaining this option will be re-attached to the email.) I will also be accepting lesson payments via Venmo and Zelle to help give my parents more options. Please try your absolute best to send any payments directly to me via whatever option available to you that avoids the processing fee if possible, as this could truly add up if every student is sending payment electronically. Thank you for this consideration.


I understand this will be all new territory for many or most of us (myself included) We will all do our best to continue showing grace and understanding to each other, while not ceasing our time together. Now is not the time to become silent….as we practice necessary precautions and safety measures in hygiene and physical distancing, we cannot lose the opportunity to make art with one another. I strongly believe that postponing our vocal instruction would not be in the best interest of our student’s musical growth, mental health, their weekly routine and normalcy in place for their education. I know this community is one that prioritizes our children’s music education and that is the main component why Mrs. Trammell and I moved to San Antonio to become a part of this team. I am excited to see what this new platform will allow us to experience together, help us learn from utilizing, and tackle old and new concepts in an alternative and ever evolving way. I will be posting more resources to my website as things develop and become available. I am always available to my students and community to talk and discuss any questions and concerns you may have. I do not have every answer, but I am here to serve and educate to the best of my ability.


In short for Trammell Voice Students:

  • Weekly Lessons will resume online via ZOOM on Wednesday March 18 th    , 2020.
  • Verify for your lesson time via my studio website or any email correspondence.
  • Make sure you have the necessary items and prepare yourself to facilitate these lessons online succesfully.
  • Download ZOOM on your laptop/desktop/phone if you have not already done so.
  • Contact me with any questions you or your parents may have and we can navigate this together as a team!

Thank you all for being my community, I have faith we will weather this storm together and I wish everyone a safe and secure week.

Respectully,

Mr. Trammell