Online Lessons: My Experience and Hidden Advantages for Students

     In my near-decade of teaching experience, I had never taught a lesson online until March 2020. I had also never taken a lesson online as a student, although online lessons have existed for nearly fifteen years. These statements are echoed by many in the music education and general education sectors. 
    Since March, I have had the opportunity to teach over four different platforms—accompanied by a steep learning curve. While I was familiar with Skype and FaceTime for social reasons, I was not familiar with Zoom or Google Meet—both of which I have now used for group classes. 
Platforms
     Skype, FaceTime, and Zoom have seemed to be fairly similar in sound quality. Zoom has a bit more sound adjustments available if wanted. Zoom also provides a screen share option, which is especially good for note-reading exercises or showing notes on a page during a lesson. Skype and FaceTime both work well for individual lessons if you don’t need the screen share. 
     Sound quality was definitely worse on Google Meet as of May 2020. However, it does provide a screen share presentation option and I also found that I could join the meeting from two different devices: I could present on one device and still see the student on the other device screen. Zoom screen sharing is similar, although you either have to connect two devices, such as a tablet to computer, or use a screen mirroring option.
     Being able to use two different devices is particularly helpful for me. I am able to use my iPad with pencil to draw notes, etc, and still see the student on my laptop. For Google Meet, I use Jamboard as a white board. For all lessons, I use an app called ForScore on my iPad that allows me to annotate PDFs, making it easy to mark my student’s music. I then can either refer to the music via screen share or send them my notes at the end of their lesson. I have found this app saves quite a bit of time. 
Differences in Teaching Online
   Of course, even as I learned about these platforms and apps over the last few months, I also noticed differences in teaching and learning online versus the traditional in-person lesson. While I use verbal cues quite often in teaching, I am extremely reliant on these cues and explanations online. I cannot do a hands-on posture correction online. This change has forced me to strive to be even more clear in my verbal explanations and in showing the changes needed on camera. Sometimes it can be slightly frustrating to me, as it can take a tiny bit more time, but I feel that the students generally understand the change better due to realizing the precise difference for themselves. 
     The other frustrating issue that has appeared is not being able to play together easily in online lessons due to the sound going only one way on many of the platforms. We have to take turns playing and talking. Sometimes students play along with their teacher to notice which part or note is “off.” The best I have been able to do is having the student mute themselves and play along with my sound— while I watch their movements closely, as I cannot hear them. To compensate for the usual slight delay in audio versus image, I specifically tell the student to play with my sound while ignoring my picture. As for duets...I will usually make a recording of the other part for the student to use. I expect technology will evolve to better deal with this issue in the near future. 
Advantages
     Despite these changes in my teaching, I have found three advantages of online lessons during this time:
1) Time-Saving
    Forget the commute to and from lessons. As long as you have a device with a camera and a stable internet connection, you are good to go—even if you are traveling out of town! Once you and your teacher have figured out the best setup of the device (so you and your instrument are visible), lessons generally go smoothly. If you need to remember where to stand or to put the device, I recommend either taking a picture of the setup or temporarily marking the floor with removable tape. 
Since you are not traveling to lessons, you can also have your violin ready, tuned, and music on the stand before your lesson begins. This can easily save five minutes of your lesson time, allowing more time spent on your pieces. 
2) Fosters Independence 
     As I am not there in-person to tune a violin or to write on the music, students have to take responsibility for these steps. This change means that many students learn to tune sooner than usual, which I think is really good! By tuning, they have a better understanding of instrument upkeep and are training their listening even more. Additionally, they now don’t have to wait for their next lesson to fix a tuning problem! Granted, if the student is quite young, this means that their parents are the ones tuning the violin, particularly if the peg needs to be moved. Pegs take a bit more strength to turn and so an adult has more success. I walk the parents through the tuning process as needed. 
     All of my students, even as young as four years old, have been very pleased in being able to write notes in their music themselves. Even though I typically send notes I’ve written after the lesson, something as simple as marking a bowing or a fingering is best to do directly themselves. And of course, they can always double check with my notes afterwards. If the students are under the age of 10, I typically have them show me their music over the camera after they write their note just to check that it’s correct. This independent note-taking seems to make students feel more individual responsibility and control and obviously serves them in good stead for later in life (when you won’t be prompted to pick up your pencil.) I think it’s also given them a heightened sense of preparation in needing to have all their supplies in reach...pencil included!
3) Greater Connection between Teacher and Parents
    Previous to online teaching, young students were not always accompanied by their parents. During this pandemic, many of us were staying at home—meaning parents often could overhear the lesson or attend more regularly. For very young students, it became necessary for the parents to be nearby to assist with tuning, set-up, notes, or in-person reminders about behavior. Sometimes the parents also help with posture adjustments, as the child may not always quite coordinate the change and the parent can provide the hands-on guidance. For example, a student with a sagging violin in front may need help moving  the violin more over his/her shoulder. Due to this parental presence, parents have a better understanding of the lesson material and their child’s progress. And of course, it is even easier to have a quick parent-teacher conference if needed! 
Conclusion
    Overall, I have found all of my students progressing well despite the change from in-person to online teaching. Obviously, I look forward to the time when I can see everyone in-person safely, but this online experience has been successful and will stay part of my teaching going forward. It even opens the door for students outside of NYC and grants greater flexibility for lessons if traveling. 
    What has your experience in online lessons been like? I would love to hear about your experience. If you have been thinking about taking lessons, but hesitating due to  having to study online, I hope this post gives you a better feeling about the process. In this current pandemic, having a creative outlet to do at home is incredibly important—and learning an instrument is a perfect combination of creativity, mental concentration, and training physical coordination. I would urge you to give it a try!