In conversations with the researcher, the students elaborated on how they experienced the value of the different components of the hybrid chamber music course setting. In Table 2, these thoughts are summarized. The students highlighted particularly positive experiences (+) and they commented on issues that should be improved (-). Some positive experiences seem to be a direct result of online technology, and they are written in bold in Table 2:

Reflective texts

Let us look into some details of these experiences. First, to write reflective texts was new to all five students, and they valued the opportunity to both write these texts and read the texts of their peers. It ‘widens the perspective’, as one of them said, and gave them a chance to reflect on important issues (mainly concerning the rehearsal process and ensemble development). They also valued the distance the textual format creates (compared to live discussions in the ensemble or class). ‘Distance is important’, they say, and elaborate further:

The text gives you the chance to see yourself from distance in relation to others in the group. You can be more honest in writing, and work on how to formulate tricky issues. It is easier to deal with critical input in writing, since you have time to digest and think it through. (Student focus interview)

The students here point at two important points, in my opinion. First, the perhaps surprising fact that they had never written reflective texts before, but found them valuable when they were given a chance to try it. Second, the asynchronous nature of written texts (writing it and reading it do not happen at the same time) opened up a new and valuable space for thinking, reflection and learning. In other words, to communicate and reflect through texts have qualities that are different from face-to-face discussions about ensemble issues. Not the least when it comes to ‘tricky issues’.

Uploading and commenting recordings on CANVAS

The students uploaded several rehearsal and concert recordings of the quintet, and the teacher occasionally uploaded recordings of other ensembles’ interpretations. The students valued both. The commentary field created new feedback possibilities and the same kind of positive distance as mentioned above. It gave the teacher the chance to comment on performances that he was unable to attend in person. It also made it possible for the students’ main instrument teachers to comment, and generally, CANVAS made it possible to do coursework outside lessons. In sum, this study component created more feedback possibilities, and gave the teacher more time to think about what to comment and the students more time to digest the comments, because of the asynchronous nature of online communication. The students felt the difference. In fact, they said that ‘all of this is taking the chamber music course to the next level’. It requires planning, though, according to the students. ‘There must be a reason why you should spend time listening to recordings online, it must have a specific purpose’.

Still, the students were not entirely happy with CANVAS. They pointed at several technical challenges and shortcomings of the system, and revealed that they often used other digital platforms instead, such as Google Docs and Messenger.

Number of concerts and rehearsals

According to the students, ‘concerts are what you learn the most from’, and they acknowledged that they did more than what was required in the course curriculum. In fact, they did not think about what was required, they said. Their activity level was probably regulated by other factors, presumably by their interest and motivation for ensemble work and chamber music in particular.

The role of the chamber music teacher

The student appreciated the role and efforts of the chamber music teacher during the project. What was particularly motivating, they said, was the question he asked them before the course started: ‘Are you ready to invest properly in chamber music?’ This was according to the students the right question at the right time for them. The students also acknowledged that the teacher spend much more time on them than a typical chamber music teacher would do in a regular course. ‘He was there one hundred percent’, they said, and ‘yet he gave us students a lot of responsibility.’ He went in and out of the instructional teacher role, and operated as well as a facilitator and supervisor.