When Online is Not Enough?

In the previous unit we discussed the importance of building an understanding with, empathy for or an affinity with others online. In this unit, we will consider a key question – are they limitations to our musical interactions with others online?

As time allows, watch some of this masterclass with the Benjamin Zander and the young cellist Daniel Hass. Whatever time you have, make sure you watch the final five minutes of the session when Benjamin talks to Daniel and the audience about the power of music and how it connects us together as humans.

Zander concludes with some of the following words:

“You touched a lot of people today with your playing. And that’s what this is about. Perfection is great but it is not enough. It’s a terrific thing to aim for. What you did today was you created relationships. There are people in this room who will never forget you. We are like preachers. We teach people about life and what is available to us as human beings”.

Watch this short video where Clive talks about Zander’s masterclass:

Clive suggests that there may be limitations to the interactions we can have with others online. The lack of physical touch is one such limitation. Touch could be considered a powerful feature in certain contexts like the tone deaf choir that is discussed in the second half of the video.

Do you agree with Clive that there are limitations to our interactions and musical interactions with others online? What do you think these might be? What, if anything, can we do to overcome these? Can you imagine dancing together online? What would that be like?

In the final unit in this six part series we will be considering what the future might hold for musical activities in the online sphere.