Well, here we are - thrust into the 21st Century! The students of Kat Starr Music will be using Zoom (a video conferencing platform) for lessons instead of face-to-face for a bit.
Not to worry. With a few easy tips, you will get so much out of these lessons from the comfort of your own home!
TIPS FOR STUDENTS - Printable Version
Setting
PLACE. Pick a room in your house that you can be relatively undisturbed. The family room is probably not a good idea, nor is a high traffic part of the house. Find a spot where you can close the door if possible, to close out extra sounds. Also, make sure you have a good internet connection in whatever space you choose.
PHONE/LAPTOP HOLDER. You won’t be able to hold your phone or laptop while you play for your teacher, so make sure you have a way to set this up at an angle that will let your teacher see your head, arms, and all of the instrument.
CHARGER. Either make sure you’ve got a good battery %, or keep your device plugged in for the duration of your lesson.
LIGHTING. It will help your teacher so much to be able to see you well! Your space needs to have lighting that hits you from the front, not the back. If there’s, say, a ceiling light right behind your head, your teacher will only be able to see your outline! So turn off an overhead light if needed, and place a lamp in front of you, or face a window.
A PLACE TO SET YOUR INSTRUMENT. You’ll need a place to lay your instrument during your Zoom lesson to take notes, so have a spot ready at hand.
Supplies
This part is really no different than your regular face-to-face lesson, only now it’s super important that you have all this with you!
YOUR 3-RING BINDER. Make sure you have your KSM 3-ring binder nearby so you can remind your teacher what all your assignments are. No cherry-picking ;)
BOOKS. Have any books you’ve worked out of handy.
PENCIL. Since your teacher won’t be right there to make notes for you, be sure you’ve got a pencil and maybe a highlighter to write things down.
PRINTOUTS. If your teacher has emailed you any materials, please print them out and have them ready for your lesson.
METRONOME. More advanced students will find this useful, but no need for beginners to mess with these.
RECORDING. With your teacher’s blessing, it might not be a bad idea to hit record so you can refer back to the lesson as many times as you need!
Instrument
TUNE. If you already know how to tune your instrument, please do so before you log in to your lesson. This will save you valuable time!
ACCESSORIES. Be sure to rosin up your bow, put on your shoulder rest, or find your pick!
Now you’re ready to join your Zoom lesson. Relax and have a great time!
TIPS FOR TEACHERS
All of the advice in Setting and Instrument applies to you too! The one extra you will need is a clock. Have a way to check the time without disturbing/getting distracted with your phone.
For teachers, a really great Zoom lesson is in the planning.
Know what books your students are working from and have those with you.
Email any materials you want to get them a couple of days ahead so they have time to print them out.
Also, sometimes the sound quality is not great coming out of phones or laptops. Have a set of earbuds with a microphone and use them to hear the best quality possible. This will let you hone in on your students’ tone.
Now you’re ready for a great lesson!
DURING THE LESSON
Since video conference lessons don’t really allow for playing of duets :( your lessons will be more focused on one person playing, then the other. So, plan on a lot of demonstrating. You can use this uninterrupted sound to really focus on their tone, phrasing, and intonation.
You won’t be able to guide your students on their timing through playing with them, so you may want to incorporate a metronome into your lesson. If so, have your metronome handy as well to demonstrate.
And why not keep it fun by playing a game? Try playing “My Turn, Your Turn” for ear training. To play, position your body so that your student can’t see what you’re playing. (Maybe tell them what string you’re starting on if you feel like being nice!) Play a series of 4 notes on one string and get them to try to play it back to you! This aids in learning by ear and pitch recognition.
