This is our second teacher spotlight in our blog series about virtual teaching early childhood music in the wake of Covid-19. Today, we interview Anthony Williams, Director of the Early Childhood Music School in Williamsburg, VA., and certified Musikgarten teacher.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little bit about your experience teaching the Musikgarten curriculum?

Anthony: Our program was established in 1989 by Cindy L. Freeman and we recently celebrated our 30th school year! This year will be my 4th year teaching Musikgarten classes. I have worked with all keyboard levels, Around the World, Cycle of Seasons, and the Family Music for Toddler series – Sing (Play, Clap, Dance) with Me. However, I would say I spend most of my time teaching the various keyboard levels.

Please share with us how you came about offering Musikgarten classes online, and what influenced that decision?

Anthony: Like many of us, our program was forced to stop in person classes – so the pivot to online classes was a must. Our school staff has leaned on a shared Google drive for years to help teachers find resources for lessons, well written home assignments, and much more. Since we had to pivot to an online platform we built from what we had, creating Google classrooms for each level and providing a shared folder for those enrolled in the class.

Did you offer in-person Musikgarten classes before the pandemic? Did you have previous experience with an online video “production”?

Anthony: Yes all classes were in-person pre-pandemic. I would not say I had any video “production” skills. However, I do have an extensive background in sound design and working with studio style recording. These programs have similar layouts and principles, but there was still a learning curve.

What would you say were the biggest challenges or hurdles around transitioning from an in-person children’s music class to an online format?

Anthony: Communication! Not that I wasn’t sending emails, calls, and text, but that the parents were getting slammed by their school systems being closed and doing things online. So many of our families were in survival mode that I would constantly hear back the words “Sorry it took me so long to get back with you.” I felt that the best thing was to say “I understand” and ask how we could help.

What technical advice could you offer to someone who has never created or provided an online children’s music class?

Anthony: Take advantage of what you can do instead of what you can’t! Not everything we do in class translates online. I found pre-recorded lessons in smaller clips and short skits to be family favorites. Don’t expect each student to sit in front of a screen the same amount of time they would participate in class. In fact, Musikgarten prides itself on limiting visual learning and focuses on other skills. So, if you have to use a video, use it with the intent to enable them to do something away from the screen.

How do you think the interaction between teacher and parent/child differs for online classes vs. in-person? From your experience, what tips can you offer to make that interaction meaningful?

Anthony: I have felt that there has been more time for parent “coaching.” I have tried to show how they can use this time of social distance to dive into the lessons with their own children more regularly. For the kids… the smaller the virtual meeting the better. This allows for more interaction between each student and myself, as well as the kids with each other.

 What things do you think are lost or gained from an in-person classroom setting to an online format?

Anthony: Dances, ensemble develop, and group singing are all difficult things to achieve online. However, making sure that a grown up is present for dances, providing opportunities to build virtual ensembles, and call and response singing between two people have been the substitutes we have used.

Do you feel like once it is safe to do so, that you will go back to in-person classes only, continue with online only, or a mixture of both? Why?

Anthony: I feel like we will keep components filmed teaching points as part of our resource material for parents. We found that some of our keyboard families that were struggling in class found this very helpful because the adults had a better idea of how they could help. Since our program runs several classes at once, it is not uncommon for a parent to be in a parent and me class with a younger sibling while older children are in Keyboard classes.

Musikgarten would like to thank Anthony again for sharing his experience and advice into how childhood music education teachers can continue offering inspiration and instruction to children when in-person teaching is not an option. Stay tuned for another insightful interview in our next blog post.

Anthony Williams is Director, and an early childhood music instructor at the Early Childhood Music School (ECMS) a weekday ministry of Williamsburg United Methodist Church. He holds a B.A. in Music from Randolph-Macon College and a Masters of Music in Composition from George Mason University. He currently is the director of the Children and Youth Music Program at Williamsburg United Methodist Church. To find out more about Anthony and ECMS, please visit here.