Pianist Ineke Hellingman and violinist Angelina Georgiadi run the non-profit association Euphonia in Vienna. They organise inspiring house concerts as well as cultural crossover events. Before the lockdown, MUSEDU spoke to the two young musicians about their projects. Corona put their activities on hold. We hope they will be continued soon. In the meantime, read about the philosophy behind their musical events – and support them on Patreon. (The full article is available in the German version.)

Meetup groups bring people together who share a common interest. At local piano meetups worldwide, people make music and meet fellow (amateur) pianists. In times of social distancing, some of these groups organise online activities. MUSEDU spoke to hosts based in Canada, the UK and the US about their experiences with this format.

Read moreA virtual piano community

Before the lockdown in March 2020, we enjoyed a last backstage tour at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the famous concert hall in Vienna. Small concerts have become possible at this venue again from June onwards. Guided tours will probably only be resumed in autumn. Read our report of this fascinating location in the German version.

(Photo credit: www.lukasbeck.com)

During the summer holidays, many amateur musicians spend extra time with their instruments. Some book a music holiday: lessons by excellent teachers, set in a beautiful landscape, together with like-minded people… A wonderful experience! But this year, everything is different. Providers of piano summer schools like Pianoweek, Chetham’s Piano Summer School and the Summer School for Pianists have moved their programmes for 2020 online. Read the full article in the German version.

Recently, MUSEDU looked at the experiences of various music teachers with online lessons. But what do amateur music students – children and adults – think about the current situation? Do they enjoy taking online music lessons – or are they frustrated? Find out about the experiences of a choirboy, a violinist, a flutist and two pianists in the German version of this blog article.

Most aspects of our daily lives have been moved to the virtual space – this includes music lessons. While some music teachers have been offering virtual lessons already for a while, this is new territory for most of them. MUSEDU has spoken to teachers for saxophone, piano, drums and vocals. What are their experiences with online teaching so far? Which difficulties did they encounter? What are the advantages and opportunities? Are they planning to continue this form of teaching in the future – or do they see it only as a temporary solution? Read the full article in the German version.

Most musicians will agree that it is nearly impossible to learn an instrument simply with the help of online tutorials. However, we are currently in a special situation – so let’s find ways of staying motivated as hobby musicians, using all available channels. We could use the time without regular music lessons to evaluate the way we practise – instead of trying to learn new pieces by ourselves. For pianists, Graham Fitch and Josh Wright offer excellent videos with practise tips on their channels. Both of them have made a lot of content available free-of-charge (full access is subscription-based). Useful videos including practise tips, at least partially, are available for other instruments as well. Find MUSEDU’s selection of resources in the German version.

How can I keep learning my instrument until I see my teacher again? Should I take online lessons? What kind of music knowledge can I study easily at home, by myself? Many adult amateurs struggle with these questions in the current situation. MUSEDU has looked at suitable ways for self-tutored music learning. We will start this little series with the topic “music theory”. There are a number of useful, high-quality online seminars available free-of-charge! You can find some of them in our links section. The full article is available in the German version.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, all exhibitions, concerts and live events for Beethoven’s anniversary have been cancelled for the time being. We hope that we will soon be able to enjoy all these again in “real life”. Until then, a number of libraries and other institutions are showing their collections of Beethoven’s original letters, compositions and other interesting items in online exhibitions or videos. The full article with all relevant links can be found in the German version.