Music Organizations Go Virtual

This spring, many music organizations found creative ways to transition from in-person sessions to digital classes in response to the global pandemic. At Soundtrap, we’ve been inspired by our community of educators, band and choir directors, and music makers who persevered and continued making music online. Check out these three music education programs from coast-to-coast that are working with students online to continue making music:

Dept. of Sound | Sacramento, CA

Just two weeks shy of their Spring Music Producer Academy Series in Sacramento, the Dept. of Sound learned that schools would be shutting down in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The nonprofit had been planning their eight-week intensive workshop for months until that point, only to realize they, like many, would have to restructure their game plan in a matter of days.

Using Soundtrap, the nonprofit was able to reshape its program from in-person sessions to an entirely digital classroom. The program consisted of live webinars that were hosted twice a week to review pre-recorded lesson videos. Further support was provided through help links and virtual office hours twice a week in which students could message an instructor. The students were creating original songs and podcasts using Soundtrap’s extensive collection of beats, presets, effects, while also recording their own unique sounds into the studio. Tune in to the students’ final beats and podcasts on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/deptofsound

Check out their Spring 2020 Music Producer Academy Series recap:

NYC Guitar School | New York City, NY

NYC Guitar School, the largest guitar school in New York City, moved its music camps online in response to COVID-19 closures earlier this spring. The organization serves music makers of all ages and ability and offers a range of music programs including guitar, vocal lessons, drums, bass, piano, and more.

To date, NYC Guitar School has run numerous camps and classes for digital production and virtual bands. Using Soundtrap, students rehearse and record their song parts digitally and collaborate to record and edit complete songs together. Participants can use a mix of physical instruments and digital music composition to create their own music. Students are able to connect virtually to their instruction and each other using Zoom and work collaboratively in the online studio to record, mix, and edit their sounds.

Check out some of their work and learn how to enroll in their next virtual music camps and classes:

Academy of Musical Performance (AMP) | Palm Springs, CA

The Academy of Musical Performance (AMP) is a non-profit that offers contemporary music education programs to youth in Palm Springs, California. Each year, the AMP spring program brings together students from different schools to create bands that work together to write, rehearse, and perform live on stage. After COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the nonprofit had to find ways to transition its music-making program online.

AMP used Soundtrap’s online music studio to provide students with a digital audio workstation that would allow them to continue rehearsing songs that they had started with their bands prior to the shutdowns. Each band was instructed to select one song they were rehearsing and record it in Soundtrap. Using a few of the lesson plans available in Soundtrap, students learned how to record, edit, and mix their own songs. Then, for the last three weeks of their sessions, the bands worked with coaches to record a song or two from the comfort of their own homes.

The final result was AMP’s first album which includes tracks by students and band coaches, all recorded in Soundtrap’s online studio! Check it out at: