When the COVID-19 pandemic forced music teachers in Hamilton County and some other area schools to reconsider classes that involved singing, they didn’t have to look far for an alternative.
They just had to change their tune a little bit.
Singing involves a lot of inhaling and exhaling – in many cases, in proximity to others – so things such as voice and choir lessons have been put on hold. Playing the guitar, on the other hand, can be done solo or at safer social distances from others. And it can be taught online, so the teaching can be done whether schools return virtually or in person.
The Songbirds Foundation has been creating a digital teaching program for almost four years, long before the new coronavirus hit, and it has already been implemented in several area middle and high schools. With that in mind, Hamilton County Schools will be partnering with the foundation to further ramp up its Guitars for Kids program when classes begin.
It will expand its operations in Knoxville, Memphis and parts of middle Georgia, as well.