I now offer individual piano and cello lessons online. There will be no online partner lessons at this time.
As long as our shelter-in-place order is in effect, I will be offering online lessons only. I hope to return to in-person lessons as soon as possible.
We have two different options for online lessons. We can use a video call, using Zoom, Duo, Skype, or Facebook Messenger. If either of us has a poor internet connection, or if your student is too young to focus through a full video lesson, we can send recorded videos to each other.
Online video lessons will generally be a little shorter for the same size time slot than in-person lessons, to give me a little time between lessons to gather the materials I will need on my end, and prepare for the video call. I will also use additional time beyond the actual video call time to check theory assignments and send back any pictures or videos to help with those as needed. For this reason, a 30-minute lesson slot will give you around 25 minutes of actual video lesson time with me, a 45-minute slot will give you about 38 minutes, and a 60-minute lesson slot will give you about 50 minutes. Rates are the same for each slot as they are for in-person lessons, because I will spend at least the same amount of time on your lessons as I would in an in-person lesson.
Recorded video lessons will begin with you or your child making a recording of the pieces that you have worked on since the previous lesson. Please make sure that I can see the student's hands. Send me the recording, and I will record a video response, playing examples as needed. We may continue recording and sending videos back and forth as time permits.
Young students and/or beginners will need to have a parent present, at least in the beginning, to make sure the video is situated in a way that I can see the student's hands. Parents may help by holding the phone or tablet so that I may see the student's hands, and also help make sure the connection is clear. For either type of online lesson, you can try placing your phone or tablet on a shelf or table, stack of books, whatever is needed to situate it so that I can see the student. Phone or tablet tripods are fairly reasonably priced, if that's an option for you.
Before your first online lesson, I will need you to send me a picture of the last lesson assignment I wrote in your notebook. If I do not currently have copies of all your student's music books, I will need you to take pictures of the current pages you or your child is working on, and send it to me. I will work on buying my own copies of books I don't have, so that sending pictures of music will not be necessary for long.
I will also need you to send pictures of completed theory assignments, and if more help is needed than I can give on a video call, or if we run out of time, I can send you pictures with examples that may help with understanding those written assignments.
I feel that online video lessons will be a good way to continue lessons while you are not able to come to my house for a lesson. Once the shelter-in-place order is lifted, they may be used any time in-person lessons need to be canceled due to sickness that is not too severe, where you should stay away physically to avoid the spread of germs, but you and I both feel well enough to sit together and have a lesson.
