Internet speed
Happily, internet speeds have drastically improved in recent years. You can check yours at speedtest.net. If you are struggling to reach an upload/download speed of 2Mbps then online tuition is unlikely to work out – this is the minimum speed required to operate Skype and Zoom.
Kit
A laptop with at least four processors (Quad Core) and 4Gb RAM is advisable. Your internal microphone or webcam is usually good enough, although a USB microphone and HD webcam with at least 1080p and 30fps for high-quality smooth video is ideal. You may need headphones to hear your students clearly.
Software
We recommend having a couple of different video conferencing solutions at your disposal simply because some work better than others at different internet speeds and areas. Most of our teaching is done via Zoom, which in our opinion has the best quality audio and visual properties – even at lower bandwidths – but we do use Skype occasionally. Google Hangouts or Facetime may also be suitable. Zoom has various packages from free which is fine for one-to-one sessions but has a limit of 40 minutes on group calls. The pro version at £11.99 per month makes it possible for longer group sessions.
Environment
Choosing the right environment to teach your students is really important to show professionalism; select a living area as opposed to a suggestive sleeping area and try to avoid kitchen and utility areas where cooking noises, washing machines and dishwashers can be heard in the background. Think about a plain colour background, and avoid ‘virtual backgrounds’ – they can be extremely distracting.
Testing
Before you contact your very first online pupil, be sure to test your equipment with a friend or a colleague. Check they can hear you, and practice sending and receiving links a few times or calling and answering sessions so you get familiar with the process and can help with any troubleshooting. It is a good idea to offer a pre-lesson test with your pupils to ensure lessons will run smoothly, as in our experience the first time you try to connect is not always an instant success.
Communication
Remember to take into account the time delay with Internet latency, speak slowly and concisely, and get used to waiting until the other person has stopped talking. It is also important to regularly ask if your pupil has understood your point with verbal confirmation or asking them to play back the corrected version. Demonstrating will also become more important than ever before, and you will soon get into the swing of playing one after another.
Using the camera
Choosing a close-up or sideways view for hand positions on woodwind and brass instruments are useful guides for beginners. You may also like to consider a second camera for keyboard instruments for occasional alternative views to help communicate a technique, fingering or hand position. The camera switch can be operated within the video call software program. Using the camera in fun ways can increase engagement with pupils, for example passing a virtual star through the camera for the pupil to reach out and grab!
Working around the delay
Latency can vary but is usually a split second and is obviously noticeable when playing music together. Asking the student to count in and play is a great way of making it work; as is playing one after the other when demonstrating a phrase or rhythm.
Additional tools and advantages
Teaching online eliminates travel time, which is great for fitting in more students, as well as being environmentally friendly. Students (and their families) should be taught to tune and set up their own instruments prior to the lesson to save time during the lesson; there are many tuning apps available for download. The share screen facility can be helpful to show places in the music with the mouse pointer and there are many apps like fl at.io where you can actually collaborate on music together remotely.
Organisation and safeguarding
Being prepared with contact details for your pupils, including a phone number, is very important if there are issues connecting, and of course you will need to send homework and lesson notes via email or chat facilities to keep a regular communication going. See the ISM's guidance regarding online safety and recording lessons over on p32.
Your Space Music Lessons is accepting some new teachers with pre-existing pupil portfolios to add to its online music teaching network, and can provide full training and ongoing pupil and teacher support for online music tuition. Contact abigail@yourspacemusiclessons.com for details.
