Better Practice Blog- Why remote music lessons?
Why remote music lessons?
You may have heard of “Skype lessons” or online lessons, but it’s a fairly new area, taking off only in the past decade or so. A remote lesson is, basically, using video conferencing technology to give/take lessons. Mainly, it's used by teachers and students who live a long distance away from each other, but there are many other reasons this would be preferable which we will dive into below. Today, we begin our Remote Lessons series where we will explore 1. Why do it? What are the benefits and challenges? and (in a later post) 2. How can you get started?
Benefits
1. More students. Your income is no longer limited by the amount of students who live within driving distance - anyone can find you across the globe. You can make time for students who want lessons at odd hours - maybe older students who work during the day and are only available at night, or those who live in different time zones. This is also great for times when you aren’t usually at your studio and wouldn’t otherwise want to make the trip for one lesson (especially if you live far).
2. Keep students who move away. In the past, students moving away meant that lessons would discontinue. Now, if the student wants to continue lessons with you, you can offer remote lessons and the relationship can continue.
3. Cut out travel. This will save both parties a significant amount on travel expenses and time! I’ve had teachers who live an hour away from the studio - so this would be a great option for those who want to fill some of their free time without having to make an extra trip. This is also great for students who are homebound, either physically, because no one is available to drive them, or other transportation issues.
4. Emergencies. Issues like getting sick or inclement weather no longer have to affect your lesson. Given that both parties feel well enough to participate, you can continue as usual without the fear of germs spreading to other students/having to brave harsh weather conditions and getting sick in the first place.
5. Live in your dream location! This is the dream. If you’re able to go fully remote - you can live anywhere you want in the world (given you still have good internet!).
Student Benefits
1. Wider variety of teachers. Find the best fit! With remote lessons, the entire world of teachers are at a student’s fingertips. Usually, the teacher search is limited by geographical location/how far they’re willing to travel each week. Students can be more motivated to learn with a better fit.
2. Practice immediately. Similar to in-home lessons, students are able to practice the new material directly after a lesson, while the teacher’s notes are still fresh in their mind.
3. Recording lessons. Recording and replaying lessons are a breeze. No need to furiously jot down everything the teacher says (who has time for that during a lesson, anyway?) or have a recording device out on the stand in-person (that can be a little distracting/intimidating). With the teacher’s consent, remote students can record each lesson with ease.
Challenges
1. Internet connection. Unfortunately, your ability to connect with the student depends entirely on both of your internet connections. Invest in good internet/router and hopefully you nor the student live in too remote of an area where connection is very on-and-off.
2. Sound quality. How important is sound quality/tone to your lessons? If very important, students will need to be willing to invest in a high(-er) quality audio equipment than their laptop mic. Sound can be slightly distorted and reduced through cheap mics, although for most lessons, this should be fine.
3. Performance opportunities. Online students don’t get the experience of being a part of a collective studio and having recitals. They will have to be proactive in finding their own performance opportunities.
4. No duets. Due to the inevitable lag/delay you will experience, duets or ensemble works are out of the picture. You also won’t be able to play along with the student for the same reason.
5. Physical limitations. Things you can easily do in an in-person lesson such as pointing to a specific spot in the music or manipulating a student’s hands to a certain position are no longer options. You’ll have to get creative in the way you explain things, and you’ll have to be clearer. It also becomes more difficult to model behaviors, since your student can only see you from one angle.
6. Extra step to get sheet music. It’s important that you both have the same files when teaching remotely, especially when you need to refer to page numbers/measures/sections quickly. It’s good to have music with measure numbers and/or sections labeled (A section/B section, verse/bridge/chorus, etc.) to keep things running smoothly.
PRO TIP: Uploading files to Better Practice keeps them organized and up-to-date for both you and student. It’ll be easy to pull up the same file your student uploaded during the lesson, and vice versa.
Many thanks to Mark S. Meritt for his input in the subject. Mark is a Master Simply Music Piano Teacher who’s taught lessons in person and online for almost a decade. He created the Tune Toolkit Comp & Improv Program which is available exclusively to Simply Music students, and he co-created Play With Simply Music, a self-study online introduction to the Simply Music Piano method. Through Songs By You, Mark uses a facilitated songwriting process he created to help people write original music and lyrics, whether or not they have any experience as musicians or songwriters.