With his classes back in person, guitar instructor Mathew Kulikosky said it’s time to get out of the bedroom and onto a stage.
After playing behind a screen for a year, guitar ensembles are back in the classroom.
“Being by yourself and playing the guitar isn’t necessarily a disaster, but not being able to be together, collaborate, and do the things that we’re used to doing definitely was a shame,” Kulikosky said.
Guitar ensemble member and junior Sam Peden said being back in person has helped him get better acquainted with his classmates and find his crowd, as far as his musical interests go.
“This year, [class is] really good, especially now that we can do shows again, we can all sit down, and we’re all forced to play together,” Peden said. “People I didn’t even know existed turned out to be in my class this year, so we’ve collaborated outside of guitar too,” Peden said.
Kulikosky said it was difficult to assess if students needed help in class while teaching to black boxes rather than faces.
“It was hard to see, especially [with] the less experienced players, what they’re doing,” Kulikosky said. “[To] see if they’re doing anything wrong and to try to fix it.”
But with students in person, the ensemble is back to playing, listening, and learning beside each other once again.