OffSet Out of the Box

Hey there, welcome to OffSet’s Out of the Box. Out of the Box is a music education podcast where we not only interview some of the most interesting and innovative music educators in India and around the world. But also share resources and comment on the current music education climate in our country.

My name is Nush Lewis. I am the founder of OffSet Education. 

And I am Shanelle Rodrigues, founder and teacher at Shanelle’s Piano Studio.

Together , Nush and I embark on a journey to understand and introspect the foundation and future of Music education. And we’re so glad you’re here with us.

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

For our final episode of Season 1 of Out of the Box we have the very accomplished, Annette Philip. Founder and Director of the Berklee Indian Ensemble and Artistic Director of the Berklee India Exchange. Annette is someone who has always believed in whole music education in the form of group and community learning. She walks us through her production process for the Berklee Indian Ensemble and also stresses on the role of the student in such settings.

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

We were lucky enough to host and curate a workshop with Vasundhara last year and after we experienced a workshop like that it was only fitting that we ask her to be a part of Out of the Box. In the episode Vasundhara talks at length about the technique that she teaches and practices. She talks about how the concept of "the mind is the body" plays an integral part in letting the body do what it has to do for the voice to work at it's best.

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

Episode 6. We had the pleasure of interviewing the very accomplished Rudy David of Thermal and a Quarter fame. A songwriter and composer who has worked with some incredible names in the industry. But here with us, he is the founder and creator of Hum Drum. An incredible music program built for neurodiverse children and adults. He walks us through his journey of how Hum Drum was created and how it was the autistic children and adults who pretty much told him how they learn.

Note from Nush Lewis: What stood out for me while interviewing Rudy was the fact that he WAS NOT a special educator. He took help from special educators, therapists, parents and most of all the children themselves. Learning how they learnt was what gave rise to Hum Drum. In my experience as a music educator, I've seen a lot of music institutions deny education for children/adults with special needs because they didn't have anyone "qualified" for the job. The point I'm trying to make is, it doesn't take much to equip yourself to teach neurodiverse people specially when we have the internet at our fingertips. I hope this interview inspires you as much as it inspired me.

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

For our fourth episode we had the lovely Kamakshi Khurana, co-founder of The Sound Space. The Sound Space is music school that has changed the way Hindustani classical music is taught. Inspired by the Kodaly and Orff method they make learning Hindustani classical music more fun and approachable for children.
Here Kamakshi gives us an insight into how they came up with this concept and today lead a fantastic team of teachers who teach at various schools all over Mumbai.
In the student performance segment we're showcasing a performance from their student recital, "Aamad", with Taufiq Qureshi.

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

Our guest for this episode is drummer and educator, Karun Kannampilly .
Karun is an experienced drummer who is currently a part of The Koniac Net. He also plays with artists such as Raghav Meattle, Kamakshi Khanna, Bhrigu Sahni and freelances for multiple other projects. Karun began his teaching career at the Mumbai based True School of Music, and then in 2017 he founded Drum House, an educational enterprise that provides unique residential-format drum camps and drum classes.

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

For our second episode we spoke to the lovely Shanelle Rodrigues who is an incredibly innovative classical piano teacher. She is known for her quirky approaches to teaching not just kids but adults as well. She spoke to us very candidly about examination trends and advocating for students, because lord knows we didn't have anyone to advocate for us. She was also kind enough to put together a bunch of resources, which are below:
Websites: 

• https://www.playfactile.com/: For online group games! (jeopardy style)
• https://www.teachmusic.online/: Carly Walton has generously offered her course on online lessons at a ‘whatever you can afford’ rate! She also holds webinars to help with the transition. 
• https://composecreate.com/: Wendy helps with studio advice during this time (business, scheduling, policies etc). She also has some nice resources such as flashcards or repertoire
• https://www.teachpianotoday.com/: Andrea has SO many games and resources to use for kids and teenagers. She has even created keyboard, staff pdfs (to use when you share screen) and virtual stickers to send out to your students! 

Facebook Groups: 

• Music Games for Online Music Classes: Creative ideas shared by educators for continuing games online 
• Teach music online: Carly's Facebook page about the course and some freebies
• WunderKeys For Piano Teachers: Specifically, for the ‘teach piano today’ wunderkeys curriculum, but filled with cute resources mentioned above 
• Top Music Teaching: Webinars, videos and lots of discussion on conducting smooth online lessons 
• The Curious Piano Teachers: Webinars, videos and lots of discussion on conducting smooth online lessons 
• Ready to Play: Started by Sally (founder of Curious Piano Teachers), and has some really great resources for young kids that include singing (solfeggio), general music appreciation etc. She puts up videos and worksheets to use! 

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here

Meera Fernandes is a trumpet player and elementary music educator from Melbourne, Australia who is currently based in Mumbai, India. She is the founder of Music Generation, a music education company that has done a significant amount of work between Melbourne, India and Nepal. 
For the first episode of Out of the Box, which was recording during the first wave of the pandemic, we thought it fit to speak to an educator who works with a very young age group. We discussed challenges of moving from offline to online classes with young children and their parents along with how children adapt quickly to a new model. 

Credentials –
Produced and Hosted by – Nush Lewis & Shanelle Rodrigues
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by – Hersh Desai
Executive Production by – Jai Dev Gupta 

Follow Offset Education on linktr.ee/OffSet

Sign up for their emailer to get first exclusive announcements by clicking here