Do Online Music Lessons Really Work?

Well, here we are! It’s been over a month since I, along with thousands of music teachers worldwide, transitioned my entire studio to online lessons. The question that I have been asking myself lately is…how has it worked? How are my students faring? How do I feel I have succeeded as a teacher?

I believe the best way to know how my students are doing is to listen to them. Listen to how they are playing. Listen to the words they use to describe their progress. Ask them to tell me what they are enjoying and not enjoying about their online lessons. I’ve been doing this over the last month of lessons and I’ll tell you what I’ve found!

Yes! This not a surprise to me. I’ve done them before! I’ve met with students online who are traveling, moving or who are home-bound because of snow or illness. I’m so thankful that I already had equipment in place to transition my entire studio over in the crazy days of 2020.

Here are some amazing advantages I’ve noticed in my students’ online lessons:

• Students can play their own instrument. Pianists have the unique challenge of having to adapt to whatever unfamiliar instrument we have in front of us at the time. The first part of every lesson is often the roughest, as students get used to the feel and sound of my pianos. Playing at their own piano, they feel more confident! Unfortunately, there’s no longer the excuse of, “I played it better at home!” 😉

• Students are developing healthier practice habits. I love being able to see what types of setups students are working with. Is the bench too low? I help them set the perfect height and their technique improves. Is the pedal not working? I walk them through some troubleshooting steps so they can practice their footwork. Are there no pencils nearby? I can gently reinforce the importance of taking good notes during practice and encourage them to go find one. Is there a beautiful, motivational picture over the piano or a few stuffed toys sitting around? I love being able to use props to encourage expression in their playing.

• Familiar routine is comforting in times of stress. Meeting with my students allows me to encourage them to continue using music as a creative outlet. They have another calm, supportive adult presence in their weekly schedule. They aren’t left alone with their practices, trying to keep themselves motivated without guidance when they have so much potential music practice time. And they have continued to improve!

• Students are becoming more independent. As much as I try to give autonomy to my students in their regular lessons, sometimes the temptation to grab a pencil and start making notes for them is too much. When working online, I tell the students that they need to “be my hands.” When they make their own markings in the music they remember them better and they develop their own ideas. I have some students who have shown such amazing confidence that they have moved ahead in their lesson books without any help at all!

• Cameras are invaluable! I use two cameras when I teach, plus an iPad screen share. One camera shows my body from the side. One camera shows my hands on the keyboard from overhead. When students have a specific question about technique or fingering, I can quickly show them a close up view of me playing the passage and even record it for them to refer to later. I can also record the students’ side of the lessons and show parts back to them. It takes a fraction of the time for students to understand and correct a technical error when they see themselves in slow motion!

      Here are some quotes from my students when asked what they enjoy about online lessons:

                “I can still learn piano, even in quarantine.”

                “I like using my own piano and I like continuing to play with you!”

                “I still get to see (my teacher) and I have something to keep me busy.”

                “I remember my notes better when I write them.”

                “I don’t have to wait in public spaces and I’m used to my piano.”

                “It’s really not that different. I’m just at home!”

                “I don’t have to drive all that way to see you. I can practice practicing at home.”

                “I can see your hands really well.”

                “I like how it feels like practice more. It’s kinda fun getting to use the camera.”

                “I like that we still get to play games!”

I also wanted to know what students were struggling with about online lessons. My main concern was that they still felt like they were getting good instruction and I was pleasantly surprised how many students responded that they didn’t notice any downsides at all. Here are some other responses:

                “It’s harder when you don’t write the notes for me.”

                “I can’t always hear you well.”

                “I miss doing duets.”

                “It’s harder not playing on the same piano.”

                “It doesn’t feel different at all.”

                “My phone is too small to see you well.”

                “I don’t get to come over to your house!”

                “I don’t like staying home so much.”

                “My internet is slow.”

                “I have to adjust the camera sometimes.”

There are disadvantages, of course, to online lessons. Duets are impossible to play at the same time because of time lag (though I’ve been researching ways to get around that!) and I miss being able to adjust a student’s posture and hand position in person. But I’m glad I talked to my students honestly because most of the concerns that they reported were things that we’ve been able to address!

I noticed all the students with sound problems were on Facetime or on cell phones. When we moved to Zoom or tried using a larger device, they reported definite improvement. Even the simple step of putting in a pair of headphones helped. Students with bad internet lag also tried switching to a new device or a different program. I sent pictures of my score with the markings in it to students who were overwhelmed with taking fingering notes themselves. All they needed to do was copy the notes over and I’m hopeful that soon they will feel confident enough to do it on their own. I’ve been using body percussion/piano duets as a way to play together and I recorded parts of duets ahead of time for students to play along with.

I hope this helps ease any concerns about the value of online lessons. Let me know what other positives with online teaching you have discovered in the comments below! And if you have a concern that I haven’t covered here, please let me know that as well!