Abstract:

The study aims to determine reflections of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergency remote teaching process on the instrument training carried out in a conservatory of a state university in Turkey. In line with this purpose, the perspectives of lecturers, students, and parents within the Music Department were gathered using qualitative research methods. The study revealed that the emergency remote teaching process presented challenges, particularly in technical aspects and student interaction, and proved to be ineffective for instrument education. Given that, it also provided students with opportunities to explore alternative learning methods, such as utilizing audio and video recordings. Despite efforts to address practice-related issues, participants believed that face-to-face training would be more effective in overcoming deficiencies. The study concluded that the problems encountered during emergency remote teaching primarily stemmed from the ineffective implementation of distance learning and insufficient participant experience in this domain. Consequently, for distance education to be considered a viable option in music education, music educators need to undergo well-planned and comprehensive distance learning programs in suitable conditions. Such experiences could potentially reshape their perspectives and foster a more favorable view of distance education.