How do you teach music during a pandemic?

The coronavirus has disrupted just about every facet of academia, especially music education. Like concerts and jam sessions, teaching music is a shared community experience, but the pandemic has prompted several educators to switch instruction from in-person to remote. How can a teacher help a student improve when they can't be in the same room or even play together? Philip Edelman, an assistant professor of music education at UMaine, tried to make the best of a less than ideal situation. He and Shianne Priest, director of music at Leonard Middle School in Old Town, developed a pilot program that gives music education students at UMaine the opportunity to provide remote lessons to middle school students via Zoom. The program has yielded some surprising outcomes that may improve music education in the future.