The students of the degree of Instrumental and Vocal Practice (Ensemble Vocal Component - Vocal Ensemble) of the Escola Superior de Educação (ESE) of the Polytechnic of Porto did not interrupt their joint activities, because it is in ensemble that everything happens.
Waiting for happier and sunny days, professor Luís Castro encouraged the Distance Learning initiative - in quarantine we also sing, with a note of hope, represented in the Beatles' success, Here Comes the Sun, and the video is online for those who want to peek.
Involving students from the three years of their degree, Luís Castro considered that the skills to be developed could work remotely, with the platforms provided by the Polytechnic of Porto. "The process took about three weeks" - he says - "involving synchronous classes in which we technically analyzed different videos until reaching this result."
Everyone participated, even those who did not have the appropriate technology at home appear in the video represented in photography. "They recorded with as much as possible," he says, noting that much of the technology was nothing more than the smartphone's headset microphone.
For the teacher, also a multi-instrumentalist musician, arranger and pedagogue with specialization in singing, this experience proved that it is possible to work using digital platforms and this may even happen in a normal period. "Students are excited about the result, so it is crucial that there is a balance between the practical training work developed and the work released later."
For the rest, the experience is to continue, very soon, with another repertoire and perhaps even in other subjects of the course.
For now we all wait for the Return of the Sun… And I say, it's all right!
