Online Lessons
We offer music lessons online using video conferencing services (Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, etc). This is an excellent option for students who are unable to take in-person lessons. We have students from all over the US and even some overseas!
Contact us today to learn how online lessons can help you reach your musical and educational goals!
Equipment
To ensure success in an online environment, just make sure you have a few basics:
A device (computer, tablet, or smart phone), preferably a computer connected to webcam mounted on a tripod and connected to a computer.
A good internet connection.
A video conferencing platform such as Zoom, Skype, etc. (nearly all are available for FREE)
That is all!
If you like improved audio or video quality, you can invest in high quality equipment, but this is certainly NOT necessary. An external microphone and external speakers will certainly improve the over-all experience, but these are certainly not requirements for high quality online music lessons.
Experiencing Online Lessons
Online lessons are much like in-person lessons. Students play assigned pieces and share their weekly assignments for feedback. In addition to video and screen sharing, we have students (and for young students, a parent with them) keep pencils handy (including a few color pencils) to mark down notes in their scores and music assignment books. For completed theory pages, students can send a photo of their completed work or share their homework pages via video.
Online lessons have been extremely effective for many years. The New York Times even touted the benefits of online lessons. Read the article here.
Midweek “check-ins”
We love it when students send practice videos of their assignments and images of their theory homework between lessons. This is a wonderful way to ‘document’ progress between lessons - and we have had students make amazing progress by doing this on a regular basis!
View from Webcam
Setup for Online Recitals, Recording Exam Videos, and Online Masterclasses
For Online Performances, making Exam Videos, and Masterclasses, we use Zoom. There are a few other things that will make for a much better Zoom experience.
VIDEO: For a good video, please use a computer and a webcam. And, ensure that you can see the computer so that you can see it when sitting at the piano; and set your webcam so that it can ‘see’ your profile when you are sitting at the piano.
Use the picture to the left as a model of what your webcam should ‘see.’
AUDIO: To ensure that you get good sound quality in Zoom, set the Zoom audio settings to ‘Original Sound.’ There are a few steps to enable this feature in Zoom, but it is well worth doing. To do this:
FIRST: Go to Audio settings.
If you’re in Zoom's main menu... Click on the Settings icon under your profile photo in the app's upper-right corner. Then, in the Settings window, go to the Audio menu...
If you’re in a Zoom call... Click on the little caret beside the Mute icon at the lower-left corner of the call window. Then, select Audio settings...
SECOND: Once you’re in the audio settings menu do the following:
1. Under Audio Settings, scroll down to ‘Music and Professional Audio.’
2. Tick all the boxes under this option, ensuring that Show in-meeting option to enable ‘Original Sound,’ and make sure ‘High fidelity music mode,’ ‘Echo cancellation,’ and ‘Stereo audio’ are all selected.
3. Deselect ‘Automatically adjust microphone volume’ (this will help with a consistent audio gain).
4. Close the window and go into your Zoom call.
5. You should see the ‘Original Sound: Off’ button appear in the upper-left corner of the call window. When you click on it, it should say ‘Original Sound: On.’ This gives you better audio quality while you’re on a call.