3 Things I’ve Learned Since Making Music Online

Prior to 2020, I taught a small number of lessons online, mostly to speech clients, and I think I had one opera rehearsal where our stage director Skyped in. That was the extent of my online music making.

​Here are three things I’ve learned from spending the last year making music online:

1. Take my time 
   I am not a supercomputer. I operate at the speed of a human being. I learned that taking my time is not only OK, but it is necessary.
2. I have time
   In the before times, if my commute was 30 minutes and I arrived 1 minute later than intended, that was OK. Now, if the commute from my kitchen to my work area is 6 seconds, then running 1 minute behind is UNFATHOMABLE, comparatively. But let’s be real, my brain needs more than 6 seconds to switch over from eating mode to working mode. I have time to be human, and if that means arriving 1 minute later than intended, maybe that’s still OK.
3. People will wait
   I sang on a Zoom concert a few weeks ago, which was lovely. It wasn’t my first, and I knew what to expect from the technology. Except this time, my song had no piano introduction. I had ⅓ of a second from the time I hit play on my phone to when I started singing. (Literally, I’m not exaggerating.)
   ​Once I was up, I needed to make sure that I had everything set, that I was 100% in the song, and that I started taking my breath before I hit play. People were OK waiting for me to compose myself before beginning – they still loved the performance and boisterously applauded afterwards.

If nothing else, I’ve learned to take my time, that I have time, and that people will wait.

What have you learned from spending the last year making music online?

​- Alexandra Plattos Sulack, Co-founder and teacher