Simpedia

Patti P., Hawaii

I do FaceTime lessons with a student who used to live close enough for live lessons who now lives in Nepal, and another who is now in Virginia, as well as grandchildren. The hardest things for me to adjust to were the time lag due to the nature of the internet, and not being able to physically help them feel how I’d like something played. We sometimes have lot connections or moments where things freeze up, but so far everyone seems to be reasonably satisfied with the results. Setting up the tripod so they can see me demonstrate can be a bit of a challenge too, and I’m kind of always on the hunt for a better solution that isn’t going to be expensive.

Maureen K., California

I do FaceTime lessons for students who live too far away to come regularly to my studio and sometimes for students on vacation. I once had a student who moved and he kept up with his class via FaceTime for a couple more years. I bought a small tripod that sits on top of my upright piano and holds my iPhone 6 Plus so they can see my keys. It rotates so they can see my face too. I don’t insist that they have a setup to show me their hands. I can tell by ear if they are playing correctly or not.

Jenny S., Australia

I teach 2 lessons via Skype and 2 via FaceTime. I use a phone line/headsets for sound and the others for visuals. Both Skype and FaceTime do lag, so the direct phone line is invaluable. I found these lessons hard to start with because I missed the physical presence and interaction, but now that we are in a routine they are fantastic. My advice is always to have a parent or coach in their home with them, taking notes and being as involved as possible.

Joy O., Alabama

I teach one student in China via WeChat. It has been working. I have a family member on each end who holds the phone or iPad to get a shot of both hands on the keyboard. I hope to get a tripod soon.

Sherrie A., California

I’ve been doing some lessons over the internet since I first started teaching a few months ago. It is challenging and I’ve learned a few things.

The life coach right there is super important! Since we can’t physically touch or position their hands, the coach has to be right there to help. I have found that I have to break things up even more with an explanation and demo for each small step and the coach has to help control the events. The tricky part is that I can’t sense the small nuances of emotion so sometimes the 6-year-old will curl up in a ball and neither her mother nor I know why, and then we spend a chunk of the lesson figuring out what happened. Usually it’s because she didn’t understand a simple instruction like when I said to use her left hand and she didn’t know which had was her left. I had to learn to coach the coach a little and say “your mom is going to hold your left hand” before telling her to do something with that hand.

She also was more resistant to help from her mother than from me when we were in person. So I had to first let her know that her mom was going to point to her fingers so she didn’t get upset when her mom was pointing. Little things like that wouldn’t have been an issue in person, but happened due to the distance.

Also, technical stuff adds time as well. There are always issues with sound or audio. With my mother-in-law we end up muting the webcam and talking over the phone because the audio is so garbled she can’t get my instructions clearly. The last lesson was blind as well because the camera wasn’t working. So glad for the SHM!

Just be aware that it takes longer, at least in my experience. So either add an extra 10 minutes to the normal lesson time, or just be aware that less can be covered. I often just write the notes out after we talk and send a picture so the actual instruction time can fill the whole lesson. This only works once they are familiar with the note taking style and abbreviations, etc.

I prefer lessons in person, but these really help fine-tune my teaching and explanation skills.

Terah W., Kansas

I have taught online almost since I started teaching SM (7 years). I have had several students with me for several years and are with me still. Just remember when you start that your students have likely never done anything like this either. That puts the power in your camp–even if you face a brand new issue, projecting a “we can conquer this” attitude can be very beneficial.

A good internet connection on both ends is going to get you the least lag time. When I started it was pretty bad; it has improved and sometimes it’s good enough to play duets or blues riffs while they are playing a blues piece. Kids are way more tolerant of the crazy things that happen–sometimes they just find it humorous. Go with the flow and try new stuff, arranging of equipment (angles and such) until you find what works.

I find it a pleasant and doable challenge after teaching in person, and it keeps your verbal/conversation skills sharp. As for the internet part, since that’s never going to go away, it’s just going to get better! You might love it!

Also, after a bad-weather spell where I taught online all day, now I get requests from in-studio students for online when a sibling is sick or the car breaks down, etc. I tell folks that online is an option (for me!) at the FIS and that they need to have a Skype account set up (or whatever option you choose) and a computer close to their keys. Bringing it up early is just easier–then they expect it come winter and you don’e have weather make-up or lost teaching days issues.