An opportunity for something different
During this pandemic many of us find ourselves homebound. This can meant different things for different people. Some may feel pent up and restricted, others welcome the time to break out of old habits and try new pursuits. Music study can be a good way to expand ones life in a restricted world. For some that might mean learning a brand new instrument, for others it might mean a first experience with music. Still, for others it might be an opportunity to reconnect with an instrument one played in one’s youth.
Online vs. studio teaching
For myself, who has been teaching guitar practically all my adult life, it has meant shifting my teaching online. At first, I wasn’t sure how it would work out. However, after nearly a year of online teaching I am satisfied that this has given me an opportunity to explore a different, yet in many ways an effective approach.
The one disadvantage of online teaching is that, unless one uses a special platform, such as Jamkazam, it is impossible to play with the student. Because of the latency, or time lag, one experiences in online platforms, such as Zoom, one cannot play in sync with the student. For me, as a teacher, this has necessitated more planning and preparation. For the student, it has meant more self-reliance (on ones own sound and rhythm) and scrutiny.
Therefore, I have found that teaching and learning online can be as rewarding and fun as lessons in the studio.
The Platforms
I teach most of my online lessons on Zoom. In order to take a Zoom lesson the student will need a computer or tablet with a good wifi connection. Zoom gives me the opportunity to share notated music, as well as recorded music, with my student.
For those students that would like the opportunity to play with me Jamkazam has been a good platform. This site has fairly successfully addressed the issues of latency, so there is virtually no time lag. A student who wishes to study on Jamkazam would need a hard-wired connection between the computer and the router . It also helps to have an interface to connect the instrument to the computer, a mic and a set of headphones. This represents a bit of an investment, but it is absolutely worth it.