{"id":83002,"date":"2021-01-25T16:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=83002"},"modified":"2022-04-04T10:31:45","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T09:31:45","slug":"interview-with-nubiyan-twist-teaching-music-in-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/interview-with-nubiyan-twist-teaching-music-in-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Nubiyan Twist \u2013 how to teach online music lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Image Credit: Nubiyan Twist<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s it like to start again as a music teacher when you\u2019re used to life on tour? We asked two members of the band Nubiyan Twist how they\u2019ve coped.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Musicians worldwide have found themselves looking for alternative income as the pandemic\u2019s stranglehold on live music continues.<\/a> Are you a musician whose life has been put on hold?<\/a> Passing your wisdom on to eager students and watching them progress as a result can be very satisfying. But how does teaching online actually work? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spoke to Jonny Enser<\/b> and Denis Scully<\/b> of band Nubiyan Twist<\/a> about the frustrations and rewards of teaching music in the brave new post-Covid world. Usually they\u2019d be bringing the noise as trumpeter and tenor sax player in the nine-piece afro-jazz<\/a> band but they\u2019re currently both focused on work as music educators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We chat to the pair just as Nubiyan Twist are gearing up for the release of their third album Freedom Fables<\/a><\/em>.<\/a> The sprawling, magnetic collective\u2019s latest single “If I Know” featuring K.O.G.<\/a> is taken from the album \u2013 an exhilarating Afrobeat stomper with energy barely contained by speakers. You can imagine the heat from the stage \u2013 but that\u2019s not something that\u2019s possible right now, as we discuss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for what to expect as an online music student, advice for new teachers, Zoom tips, how to stay switched on in lockdown as both student and teacher, and what the future holds for Nubiyan Twist, one of the most exciting live bands<\/a> creating music in the UK at the moment. Turns out there\u2019s plenty of rewards from music teaching, when you least expect it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks for taking the time to talk! We\u2019ve all had to adapt to\nthis crazy new world we\u2019ve found ourselves in, and musicians have been hit\nespecially hard. How did you find the adjustment when the first lockdowns\nkicked in? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonny:<\/span> <\/b>Impossible. It honestly felt like the rug had been pulled out from under my life. I had never planned for teaching to be my primary career and before 2020 it only made up about 30% of my income. So\u2026 the financial adjustment was severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denis:<\/span> <\/b>Yeah, it\u2019s been tough. I actually wasn\u2019t doing any teaching before. I was just gigging, and then Covid hit and kind of forced my hand. So all the students I have now I\u2019ve picked up since the start of lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonny:<\/span> <\/b>For me, in an average year teaching is part of my expression as an artist. It also helps provide financial consistency when gigs are slim, and for emotional and inspirational consistency when touring is intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denis:<\/span> <\/b>It\u2019s really just kind of helping me to supplement a crappy income<\/a> right now, so I\u2019m not purely surviving off it. But it definitely helps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonny:<\/span> <\/b>Routine is how I\u2019m getting through this time. I\u2019m trying to be kind to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n