With the COVID-19 outbreak, universities worldwide have moved towards online learning or distance education. Despite pioneering work by distance learning institutions globally, the digital platform remains unexplored, particularly for online music teaching and learning. Face-to-face teaching for practical based subjects is challenging due to COVID-19 protocols.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been declared a global pandemic forcing many countries into a widespread lockdown. In South Africa, contact higher education institutions were forced to develop and introduce online learning and teaching platforms. Considering the fourth industrial revolution, patterns of digital access are unequal across South Africa whereby rural areas are likely to be most disadvantaged. Students who returned home during the national lockdown may not have been equipped for online learning due to a lack of resources.