Online Piano Lessons
I’ve been teaching students for more than 12 years face to face but due to the COVID pandemic, I’ve been doing all my lessons online via Zoom. There are pros and cons to online vs in person lessons.
The main benefit for online piano lessons is having a broader geographical reach. With online lessons, I’m now able to teach students in other time zones and countries which allows me to offer more classes to students around the world.
Another benefit of having piano lessons online is that it allow schedule flexibility. Most of my cliental reside in fast pace Silicon Valley so it is the norm for both parents to be working till at least 6pm so it can be challenging to drive the child to and from lessons especially when they may have multiple children activities to juggle. When you don’t have to coordinate driving schedules and other children’s activities, it makes it possible for the parent to work, take care household duties without being present during the child’s lesson.
Adapting Online Piano Lessons for Kids vs. Adults
Students age 5-7
For young beginner students from ages 5-7 I highly recommend in person lessons. The reason being the child is still learning proper hand technique, placement, and fingering. It is hard to demonstrate online versus in person because it limits the kinesthetic experience. However, what I have found to mediate that challenge is to have one parent present to aid in the learning experience. For example, to point to the child where he/she is in the piece, help demonstrate kinesthetically the hand movement and technique concept to the child. Although the parent is not an expert, this allows some other form of student learning other than just relying on visual or auditory modalities. This brings me to my point that even with parent schedule flexibility, in person lessons for young beginner students is still highly recommended because it would require another parent to be present.
Students age 8+
For those who are year 8 and up and who have had at least 2-3 years of music lessons, there are many benefits to online learning. By now, the child has enough proper technique, isn’t requiring the aid of the parent, and is independent enough to note what their homework is and what focal points to practice on.
Online Piano Lessons and Beyond
The benefits of online music lessons is longeivity- the ability to stay with the same teacher over the course of different stages of life. I’ve had students who have moved, graduated from high school, into enter college, etc. So no matter where they are, they can still continue lessons by just clicking on one virtual link.
How I conduct piano lessons online
Now with Shelter in Place order still active in the area in Santa Clary County, California, online lessons are the way to go. Currently, I’m using Zoom as my teaching platform. For clearer speech sound, I use Apogee condenser mic plugged into my USB port on my Mac. It’s important to click on “original sound to have the best audio quality.” To capture my hands and face effectively I have two devices. One that shows me at the piano with my hands and another camera angle of my face. This has worked well with my students.
Closing Thoughts
Of course, nothing does compare with in person lessons. The benefits of in person lessons fosters easier learning, no audio delays, kinesthetic learning, and real time connection. With the permission of the parents of course, I can show appropriate affection to my younger students and reward them with prizes upon completion of songs. So if you would ask me which one is better, I would say it really depends on what each students’ needs are.
No matter what, I’m here to serve you and your family.