MUSIC students are returning to face to face lessons after weeks developing their talents behind a computer screen.
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The Riverina Conservatorium of Music made the decision to cease lessons just after Term 1 began and COVID-19 restrictions were enforced, but as these restrictions ease, there's new hope to get back to the music room.
"Online learning is a great way to do things when you have no other options, but some students have struggled and there are definitely difficulties we face," RCM director and CEO Hamish Tait said.
"Especially for younger students, explaining concepts without visual representations can be hard, and even things like postural correction is really difficult because you don't have a three dimensional view."
Mr Tait said their was a definite "eagerness" to come back to class.
One teacher who adapted to the new way of working is Harold Gretton, who said it was surprisingly similar to business as usual.
"The change to online went remarkably smoothly, and the children seemed really quite excited about the novelty of it all," he said.
"One of the main challenges of course was not being able help them with their fingers and things, and not being able to play together at the same time, and we are all absolutely excited to get back into it.
"We are really lucky we could keep up that normal teaching the entire time, though, even if it was online - It was a joy to continue to be able to make music with the kids."
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Mr Gretton's guitar student, 13-year-old Rohan Masson, said he enjoyed the new way of learning, but was glad to return to a normal routine.
"It's been really good and worked really well," he said.
"I am excited to be back though, just the environment is a lot more enjoyable."
Mr Tait said the process of switching classes to online means was a good lesson for both staff and students, and the results seen over the past few weeks have been positive.
"With public school programs now back too, the reports are that kids have relished the opportunity to come back together," he said.
"We were anticipating some decline in skill sets over time, but we haven't really seen that which is a real credit to the teachers who have maintained skills and grown them despite the incredibly difficult learning environment."