Teaching Music Lessons Online: What I've Learned So Far
It has been just over a year that I have been offering music lessons online and I have learned so much in the process! Of course I had considered the possibility for much longer than that, and for good reason – An online studio gives you flexibility! I have friends like Suzanne of Vibrant Violin who exclusively teach lessons online. Other colleagues taught violin online to students who were on extended vacations or had moved away, which is how the door opened for my own studio. A particularly fun student I’d taught for five years moved half way across the country and we said our goodbyes with promises of staying in touch and eager to hear about her music experiences in her new town. Imagine my surprise when this family I missed and loved teaching emailed me almost a year after they’d left and asked, “Would you consider teaching us again, but online?” This was the final push I needed to really figure out how to add this into my studio.
I did my research, asked around to other teachers for their experience and tentatively started the process. Since then I’ve learned it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I thought and it has been such an asset to my studio! With a bit of preparation, I would encourage other teachers to consider what online lessons would look like in their studio and how it could benefit their studio families while protecting their income as well.
Here are some of the areas I was initially worried about, as well as how they actually look in my business now that I’ve integrated this into my private music studio.
Platforms
For online music lessons with my students, I use FaceTime and Zoom. Families who own Apple products are already familiar with this platform and there is no additional website or app to download. In my experience, it’s connectivity is among the best for video conferencing, too. Students without access to FaceTime use the website Zoom. Free for you to download and set up, you can hold an unlimited number of one to one meetings and students can record their lesson if they’re interested in reviewing what you talked about later in the week. After I set up an account, I was able to create a virtual meeting room and provide the link to all my students as they need it. Easy!
When Do I Use It?
While regular lessons are still held in person, I offer online lessons for all students to make up missed lessons with notice or for days of inclement weather. This really alleviated my usual winter load and has been a big help as students travel in the summer months. I’ve also used online lessons for weeks when students are unable to physically make it to the studio in cases of broken down cars, when parents’ schedules are running behind, and more. This keeps your lesson slot exactly the same and has worked well!
Now is a good time to address when I don’tuse online lessons as well. Starting out I was concerned about how accessible students and their families would expect me to be outside of regular teaching hours. Adding online lessons was an effort on my part to be more flexible and understanding for cases when students couldn’t make their slot – We all have conflicts from time to time after all! Just like our studio families, we have other responsibilities to take care of outside our teaching time, and the fastest way to burn out is to give that time away too freely. So be mindful of how flexible you are in re-arranging lesson times and try to keep those make ups during teaching hours!
As for my own personal experience, I’m happy to report my students and families have been incredible about not abusing this option and understanding when I am still not able to find a time to meet online! Admittedly I work with some truly wonderful and compassionate students and families, so this should not have come as a surprise. For other teachers, I would recommend running through your roster for any potential issues in your individual studio. Be clear in how you want it to function, how you intend to use it and then stick to your guns.
Benefits
For the students, I feel this has greatly impacted my students and their ability to continue to improve! In winters past I’ve had to schedule make up dates on weekends to keep up with cancellations for inclement weather or illness, but this year I didn’t have to add a single day! Keeping our set times has been more convenient for my busy families, too. This was huge for me and the difference was enough to keep the option in the studio. There is something about meeting once a week with my students that keeps progress moving. Our lessons in February and March would often stagnate due to weather and it could be hard to build up momentum again once the end of the school year approached. I’ve also noticed a significant impact in my summer lessons as well. I’m glad that I can better serve my families while keeping our weekly meeting routine. Students do better when they have consistency – Simple!
I’ve also noticed online lessons have forced me to observe silently and to let students play more in their lessons. Teachers can sometimes be eager to correct the first thing they observe and start to correct it without stopping to take in more of the bigger picture. When we started online lessons, I started to realize how I would interrupt as students played during lessons. Teaching online has made me more intentional about listening to students both for in person lessons andonline.
From the perspective of the teachers, we benefit from having another way to maintain our consistent schedule and income. We run a business where students are paying us to hold a weekly slot for their use which prevents us from offering that time to someone else. When we can’t meet at the agreed upon time, we can’t always turn around and offer that time to someone else. A teacher’s product, in our case time on our schedule, is still being used up. Many of us struggle to find the balance of being compassionate to students and protecting our livelihoods. I’m not going to pretend it’s easy. I have found offering online lessons allows us to keep the time we hold for our students and it strikes a good middle ground for me.
Disadvantages
For some teachers, online lessons may require you to find new ways to communicate techniques. This is especially difficult for teachers who might use more touch or physical guiding, or students who prefer that method of learning. I do think teachers should have more than one mode of communicating an idea, so missing one week of being able to do our preferred method shouldn’t throw us off. I try to view it as a challenge instead – Besides, some of the best teachers I’ve ever had seemed to have a thousand ways to help their students get to the same idea and isn’t this just another to test ourselves?
Other disadvantages? Some students don’t have reliable internet connections, so it has not eliminated the need for in person make ups. But it is still a much lighter load than in years past and I can often find solutions for these few students in my studio. There is also some work involved in getting students to properly frame themselves so I can see all parts of the violin body and bow arm. Typically we can address these points during the first online lesson and from there on we are good! You will also need to consider how you are set up and viewed by your students as well. Below you can see an ideal set up one of my students recently had during her lesson that allowed me to see all parts of her playing.
In the above picture, you can also see the left hand side of the screen where I have Google Docs pulled up. I type up a practice sheet and send it at the end of each lesson, just like I do during our in person lessons!
These are pretty much the extent of the disadvantages in my experience!
Sample Communication with Students and Families
To help you create an outline for how to communicate with your students and studio families, I am including a sample of what I send out to help everyone prepare. Often the day before any bad weather is forecast, I send a heads-up email to everyone who could be effected. This allows students to charge devices and download any apps that are needed should we go online. One important piece of information I will also include is the time I will send out the final update and how they will be notified. An example of this initial email can be found below:
Preemptive Online Lesson Email
Good evening everyone!
I just wanted to send a short email regarding the potential weather for tomorrow afternoon. Everyone's safety is my top priority. I will be in touch with those working on campus/at the school/music store tomorrow morning and hope to have a final decision made regarding lessons no later than 1:00 PM.
Should lessons be moved online for tomorrow, below is a couple reminders about our options for lessons! Below you can find the two platforms we have for our use for private lessons:
·FaceTime: This app comes pre-downloaded on Apple products such as iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. Students using Facetime should direct video calls to [insert your Apple ID or Phone Number] at their lesson time.
·Zoom: Zoom is a video conference service available through a website for all computer types and smart devices. Zoom users should use the link provided here[Insert your Zoom conference link] at their lesson time. This will direct you to my personal conference room. It is possible to use either an app or the website link provided for this platform, so you may want to visit that website now to view your options and see what you would prefer to do before our first lesson through this service. When I first used this website a year ago it was easy and quick to set up, but I was glad I did it before the online event I was participating in.
In the event that lessons are moved online tomorrow I'll send some more detailed information with tips and tricks for a successful lesson.
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
I find sending a little information ahead of time can help everyone feel prepared should we need to go online! Once I have made the final decision to move lessons online, I send the following email with more details and reminders for my students. Take a look and see if there’s anything else you would add!
Good morning everyone!
Given today's forecast, I have decided to reschedule lessons to our online platform options. This will give everyone time to adjust their schedules, set up their space at home for the video call and prepare for our lesson today. Below you can find the two platforms we will be using for private lessons:
·FaceTime: This app comes pre-downloaded on Apple products such as iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. Students using Facetime should direct video calls to [Insert your AppleID or phone number] at their lesson time.
·Zoom: Zoom is a video conference service available through a website for all computer types and smart devices. Zoom users should use the link provided here at their lesson time. This will direct you to my personal conference room. It is possible to use either an app or the website link provided for this platform, so you may want to visit that website now to view your options and see what you would prefer to do before our first lesson through this service. When I first used this website last fall, it was easy and quick to set up, but I was glad I did it before the online event I was participating in.
Once you've determined which service will be easiest for you, please confirm which method you intend to use so I can be prepared and ready to answer your call at our lesson time.
Some tips and tricks I've found to be useful while conducting lessons online are:
·Frame your instrument and body in your video's feed. I need to be able to see both your left hand fingers and bow hand, so you may need to adjust how closely you stand to your camera to get both in the frame. I will be happy to trouble shoot this with you during our lesson time, but a little prep before our lesson goes a long way.
·Come to your lesson time with a pencil, tuner and metronome in the room and easily accessible. You may find a set of head phones to be useful as well.
· If you are using a phone for this call, please be sure your connection is through the Internet and not your cell phone's data service. This makes a big difference in our call quality.
·Please be mindful of your lesson time, so that I might have enough time to review your practice sheet with you before I send it to you in an email at the end of your lesson. This will also help me be available for the next student in a timely manner.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! I have found this to be a good way to give everyone new material for practice on the days when the weather is less than favorable.
Thank you and I'll see you online soon!
Conclusions
I hope you’ve found my experiences helpful as you consider adding online lessons to your music studio. As I mentioned, I use video lessons primarily in cases of poor weather, student illness or to find additional openings for make up lessons. I’ve also known several teachers who work entirely online with their studios. There’s so much information out there for either option. I hope you approach this offering with an open mind and consider what a difference it could make in your studio. It has been a blessing to mine!
If you have any additional questions or want to share your own experience with online music lessons, feel free to leave a comment below, connect with me on Instagram @shawstrings or email me at renee@shawstrings.co! We can all learn from each other and I’d love to hear from you.