Your First Virtual Music Lesson
Teaching by video from my piano
What is a virtual music lesson? Most of us are familiar with this use of the word “virtual”—it means using the internet to communicate by video. There are definitely advantages to taking your music lessons by video: you don’t have to leave your house, there’s no waiting by the driver for the lesson to end so everyone can travel home, with no lost travel time.
Zoom is the application usually used for video lessons.
In the event that you aren’t familiar with Zoom, you will need to download the app onto your device. From there, the rest is easy.
You and I will agree on the day and time that are most convenient. I will email or message you a special link that is your lesson link for the rest of your time as a student—you will use the same link each week.
When that day and time arrive, you’ll simply click the link, and we’ll be connected by video!
There are a few things you can do ahead of time to make our lesson time flow smoothly.
The camera on your device is best set up at one end of your piano, in such a way that I will be able to see the student’s hands as well as their upper body. This means the camera will view will be looking along the full length of the keyboard.
The current version of the Zoom application has a setting for music lessons. It may be called “original sound for musicians” or you may need to toggle off the default noise filter. It is necessary to set this in order for me to be able to hear the instrument or the upper pitches of vocal music—Zoom automatically cancels those sounds out unless you have adjusted the settings.
And that’s it! We will get started on the lesson right away, and it runs pretty much like a regular in person lesson from here—except that you are in the comfort of your own home, taking your lesson on your own instrument, and you can even be in your pajamas if you want—you’ll get no judgement from me!
If you’d like to know more about how the actual lessons work, you might like to read this article.
