In 2020 I moved my piano studio online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time I felt incredibly worried and apprehensive about how effective online teaching would be. The switch to online was only supposed to be a temporary measure until the lockdown was lifted and I fully intended on returning to face to face teaching at the earliest opportunity. However, to my huge surprise, once I had the correct setup, I actually found online piano teaching just as effective, if not even more effective, than face to face lessons. When the lockdown restrictions were lifted I had a chat with my current students about whether they wished to return to learning in person, and to my amazement, most people said they preferred to continue learning with me online! Since then I have been building my online piano studio and feel very passionate about just how amazing learning the piano online can be.
Piano Lessons
How Do Online Lessons Work?
We will have an initial free consultation where I will show you my setup and how our online lessons would work. We would figure out a good setup for your lessons, discuss your goals and what you wish to achieve. If you are happy to proceed we would then schedule a trial lesson. I always suggest one or two trial lessons in order to make sure we are the right fit to work together. After the trial lessons, if you wish to continue having piano lessons with me we would arrange a regular day and time when we would have our lesson. All lessons take place via Zoom. After the lesson I will always send detailed practice notes outlining specific tasks to work on prior to the following lesson. I use multiple cameras during our online lessons - one HD camera to show a view from above of the keys and another of me talking to you. In addition, I also use a third camera when needed, in order to demonstrate pedalling for the more advanced students.
Are Online Piano Lessons Effective?
Although I would not have believed this before experiencing it in 2020 I can now confidently say that online piano lessons are just as effective, if not more effective, than face to face lessons.
Advantages of Online Lessons
TWO PIANOS - There are two pianos available, one for the student and one for the teacher. In a traditional face to face setup this is not usually possible, and as a result, student and teacher tend to share the same piano during the lesson, which makes demonstrating a little trickier and more time consuming . Having separate pianos makes demonstrating to the student much quicker and easier. When the teacher demonstrates something on their piano during an online lesson, there is also a much clearer view from directly above the keys, something which is not possible during face to face lessons.
FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME - With online lessons there is more convenience, less stress and less time wasted getting to and from each lesson. Your home is a safe space. This helps reduce feelings of anxiety, especially for beginners. You are also able to play on your own piano, something which many people find very appealing as they prefer the familiarity of their practice instrument.Busy parents do not have to navigate dropping their children off, waiting for them, or picking them up. You can also still attend your lesson if you or your teacher are feeling a little under the weather, with no risk of transmitting colds, the flu, or otehr viruses.
MORE CHOICE - Having to find a teacher who lives near you can really limit your choices. The most important factor when learning any instrument, but especially the piano, is finding the right kind of teacher for you, and this can be more challenging than you may think! By considering online piano lessons, you won’t have to settle for a teacher just because of their location. You can interview multiple people and you can have trial lessons with a few different teachers in order to see if you like their style of teaching. Most importantly, you can choose someone with whom you feel a connection.