Category: Educational

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Tips for a Great Zoom Music Lesson

I just started teaching music lessons over Zoom for the first time in April. It was definitely an adjustment, but my students and I adapted to the new situation with very few problems. These are a few helpful tips that I have learned along the way that I wish I had known when I first started teaching music lessons on Zoom.

  • Location Matters-Plan to have your lesson in a location that is in close proximity to the router in your home. This will ensure the best possible connection. It’s also important to make sure your lesson takes place in a good learning environment. Try to choose a location with as few distractions as possible.
  • Limit Streaming and Zoom on Other Devices-It also helps the lesson connection if your device is the only device in the house streaming or using Zoom during the lesson.
  • Turn On Original Sound-If you are using Zoom on a laptop or a desktop computer, it is important to change the settings to turn on the original sound. This helps sustained sounds come through the computer. You can change this setting by clicking on the arrow next to the mute button. A list will come up, and click on the last option-audio settings. Then click on the button in the lower right side of the screen-advanced. Check the box at the top middle of the screen that says-Show in Meeting Options to Enable Original Sound from Microphone. Checking this box will make a button appear in the top left corner of your regular Zoom screen. It will say either “Turn Off Original Sound” or “Turn On Original Sound”. You want the button to say “Turn Off Original Sound” when you are in music lessons meaning your original sound is turned on. If the button says the opposite, just click on it to turn the original sound off or on. If you are using Zoom on a phone or tablet, original sound is already activated, so you don’t need to change any settings.
  • Both Student and Teacher Need Their Own Copy of the Music-At in-person lessons we are used to sharing music or both reading off of the same piece of music. This does not work well in online lessons. Both student and teacher need to have their own copy of the music that they are reading simultaneously. Music can be shared ahead of time by scanning pieces and sending by email, buying the same books to refer to or taking pictures of a piece of music and texting them by phone.
  • Be Prepared for the Lesson Before your Lesson Starts-Have your instrument, music stand, books, lesson notebook, pencil and highlighter all ready to go before the lesson starts, so we can use the lesson time working on music together.
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Eat Your Vegetables: Why Can’t We Just Play Whatever We Want?

The private lesson curriculum that I use is designed to develop skills on an instrument slowly and steadily with the goal of developing a solid technique. Technique needs to be built slowly and carefully like the foundation of a house. All music has different levels of difficulty. It is important to work on music in order by level, so students are prepared with the skills needed to play a particular piece before they even start it.

My students are practicing and familiar with skills in scales and etudes long before they ever confront these same skills in solo pieces. Scales and etudes are how we learn new skills, and solo pieces are how we showcase and refine the skills that we have learned. The fastest way to ruin a student’s technique is to give them pieces that are too difficult.

All of my students work on scales, etudes, a solo piece and a fun piece in private lessons. I like to discuss this curriculum with my students in terms of a meal. Their scales and etudes are like vegetables. They are what truly make students better at their instrument the same way vegetables help them to be healthy. Their solo piece is like the main entrée. It is a large part of the meal, and it has great nutritional value. Most importantly, it is far more showy and fun than the vegetables portion. The fun piece is like dessert. It is indulgent and delicious. Students have input on the fun piece we select, so this is their chance to indulge in music. Private lessons need to be balanced the same way a meal is balanced. It’s a piece of cake!

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Instrument Sizing

In all of my years of teaching private lessons in Castle Pines, CO, I have gotten many questions about why the correct instrument size is so important. It seems to be a recurring question and honestly, most people new to private string lessons don’t even realize that instruments come in different sizes. The instruments we are most used to seeing are in movies or live performances being played by adults. These instruments are full size. So it is no wonder that when it comes time for a child to start an instrument, their parents are shocked to find that they will be playing a miniature version of the instrument that is so familiar.

Stringed instruments come in sizes just like shoes. Each size is based on different arm lengths and hand sizes. It is incredibly important for a student to have the instrument that best fits their measurements, so they can comfortably reach all of the notes. If a student is trying to play an instrument that is too big, they will not be able to reach any of the notes and the instrument will be uncomfortable to hold. It will actually be impossible for them to play. This is comparable to a child trying to ride a bike that is too big. They think they are not good at riding a bike just because they can’t reach the pedals when in fact they just need a different size. If a student is trying to play an instrument that is too small, everything will feel squashed. Their fingers will feel too close on the fingerboard, and their bow arm will feel too bent trying to play between the fingerboard and the bridge. In conclusion instrument size is extremely important. Before you invest in an instrument, go to a music store and have your child measured for their correct instrument size. I want every student to have their best chance at success when starting a new instrument and having the correct instrument size is crucial.