The experience of music teachers from Portugal and Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic: hard times and creative solutions

Abstract

The effects of the Corona pandemic that started in March 2020 in music classes all over the world most certainly present similarities and also national or local differences. Several months after the outbreak of the virus, music teachers started realizing that the same phenomenon that was isolating them and separating them from students and colleagues was also bringing them closer together in different ways, in digital ways, and was also generating new contacts across borders and across languages. Following the suggestion of the network of Music Teacher Associations in Europe three researchers from Portugal and Germany decided to take a closer look at the changes brought about by the pandemic in music classes in both countries (Portugal: schools; Germany: universities). The goal was not so much to compare changes in similar groups and classes, but to explore the deeper meaning of those changes and the reactions of the Portuguese and German teachers by putting them into perspective: an international perspective.