People often react with a bit of shock upon learning that a person can make a living as an “online” piano teacher. The fact is, this format works amazingly well for lessons. Keep reading to learn all about online lessons!
Online Lesson Benefits
Online lessons offer a special blend of convenience, comfort, and independence. The student gets to learn from their very own piano in their own home, and this reduces distractions the need to adjust to an unfamiliar instrument. Online lessons also allow for more flexible scheduling, including the ability to take a lesson while traveling or after a move.
This format requires us to lay a super strong musical foundation, as students must take greater responsibility for their learning. Students must navigate the score, finding measure numbers, composer directives, and other features, without the help of a teacher pointing. Rote learning is still possible, but we are more likely to verbalize and less likely to “point” in an online lessons. All of this leads to higher levels of musicianship as well as musical fulfillment.
The technological benefits include the easy sharing of notes, scores, links, educational games, and videos. Screen sharing allows for a whole other layer of collaboration, including work with engraving software for composition. I use Google Docs, Sheets, and Asana for assignment tracking.
Movement Learning
Body awareness is best gained through experimentation and exploration, which of course can happen equally well online or in-person. In my studio, students learn to improve coordinate movement completely from their own unique body knowledge, which leads to movement outcomes that are organic and holistic.
There has been a recent push by experts in the field of piano technique to offer retraining opportunities in a remote format. This way people can access this super important aspect of injury recovery regardless of where they reside.
Tech Requirements
Most modern computers and phones contain high quality cameras and microphones, so the student rarely needs to purchase anything else to attend a virtual lesson. An addition of an external microphone can help a lot. My own online setup includes two Logitech Webcams for an overhead and profile view, as well as an audio setup with a direct line for the Kawaii piano and a high quality vocal mic. When needed, there are tricks for improving audio beyond the basics. An in-depth guide to setup for online lesson can be found here.
