Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Do you prefer Zoom over in-person lessons?

As I suggested earlier, I still think that a solid music stand such as this:



is the better solution. No piling up of boxes or lugging out an ironing board. The stand is height adjustable, the top tilts back to whatever angle is suitable for your laptop (flat, if you like), and it can serve its intended purpose when you have other musicians performing with you.

Regards,

Bruce - I have been using those Manhasset stands in concert bands for almost 35 years, and I do NOT trust them! I can't tell you how many times I've seen the top suddenly tilt forward and spill an entire music folder onto the floor...this has even happened in a concert or two. Of course the stands in schools get much more use/abuse than my stands at home do, but I can't get the image out of my head.

I was using my iPad on a stand like this for my online lessons for the first month or so. I surrounded the legs and tile floor with pillows and blankets because I was so afraid it would tilt. A bit ridiculous I admit. But personally I think something that locks in place is a much safer option when you're using electronic equipment (or just anything you don't want to hit the floor).

I like items to have multi functions, in all too much consumer world, the ironing board gets my vote. After piano lesson..next the ironing!

I've only had two lessons, both over zoom, and getting the angle right has been tricky. I think I'll try with an ironing board next time!

That might help sort out any pressing problems you may have!

A mix would do no harm: e.g. one in-person every 3-4 Zoom sessions?

Got back to in person lessons. So much better. It is worth the time spent driving at least it is for me.

I don't have much of a choice being away from home a few months a year to spend with the other half of the family. Without Zoom I wouldn't be having lessons at all.

Spending an hour a day practicing vs. 1h with a teacher from a practical point of view the bigger improvement would be adding another hour a day to the practice session. Whether the hour is on Zoom vs face to face is just an hour. The teacher is not around the rest of the week so the best we can do is to make recordings for the teacher.

I'm glad the pandemic hit in an era where Zoom was available to us -- it's saved a lot of commercial activity, and music lessons over Zoom are better than no music lessons.

That said, the resumption of in-person lessons can't come too soon for me.

To me, the difference between a Zoom lesson and an in-person lesson is like the difference between building piano skills on a digital piano vs. a good acoustic. The former is definitely worthwhile; the latter is better.

Zoom was convenient, kept my lessons going, and kept my teacher in a job. However, when I resumed after a break I took the opportunity to go back to in person - so much better.

My piano lessons are over and when I resume in September, it will be in-person. Now I have a spare computer with OBS Studio, two webcams, two lights with stand and a microphone. I decided to have a permanent setup for recording video. Now all I have to do is hit record and upload my video to youtube.

In person is better- I hope I can get back to it as Skype has made me too lazy to make the seven minute drive to the studio😂

I don't have a teacher presently but in the past I had one that was very attractive so put me down for in-person lessons.

I would hope that your "very attractive" teacher was also a good teacher!

Regards,

Been doing a lot of Zoom lessons and classes over the pandemic and have to say it all depends on the teacher. Some understand online lessons both latency and audio issues and present things in a way you don't even think about it. I just recently quit a teacher that just didn't understand all the issues with doing music on Zoom. Zoom is designed for office and school work how it deals with audio and which person gets the most volume and the others get muted down. There are some settings you can adjust if on a computer but don't seem to be on iPad. I wish that Zoom would realize a lot of music teachers and musicians are using Zoom and they need to have a mode for music. Video on Zoom I fine when on a computer, but on iPad its a pain. If using Zoom on a tablet or a smartphone I highly recommend you get an adjustable stand to hold your device. You can find a good camera angle to see you keyboard and being in a stand it steady something they person on the other side will appreciate.

So having done a lot of music lessons in person and online with various tools over the years I to the point I prefer onlines lessons in most cases. No hassle of getting to where will be, sitting and waiting for my lesson, teacher may not be setup to record the lesson. I find the teacher tend to be more relaxed too. With online lesson I just make a cup of coffee or glass of water and go into my music room. I generally log on a few minutes early and can warmup a bit until teacher comes online. Also times I haven't felt great and easy to excuse myself and use the bathroom or mute the mic and blow my nose. One on one that can get funky. So with online lessons I just so much more relaxed and get more out of it.

Last with online lesson I can find great teachers from all over the world and not be limited to the teachers in driving distance.

I used a laptop for online lessons for a long time before getting an iPad. I just bought a Logitech USB camera so it was easy to clip the camera in good position for video while laptop was on my desk. I also bought a USB microphone so the audio quality was good too. I think I liked using the laptop and external camera better than the iPad.

I will always prefer the in-person lessons as they give a broader understanding of minute aspects, zoom lessons aren't bad as well but they sure do not match the quality of the former

The city is opening up with more people vaccinated. Before the end of the year most of the restrictions would be lifted. In the short-term people may be wearing masks around but in-person music lessons may return much sooner. The conservatory where I attended lessons may reopen by September. In a few months we won't be discussing Zoom lessons. Zoom becomes a convenient way to connect with family members living in different cities.