When covid-19 hit earlier this year, the piano lessons I give to my students transitioned from in-person lessons to virtual lessons. Here are some helpful tips for utilizing the best of your time with your student.
1. Use two cameras: one on your face and one on your piano. You may even want a third camera to be on the sheet music in front of you. I use my phone, tablet, and computer and login to the same zoom meeting. I had to buy a tripod to hold my tablet and phone for sessions.
2. Test for feedback. When using multiple devices, it’s easy for there to be microphone feedback that disrupts the lesson. I usually log in 20 minutes ahead of time to do an audiovisual check. When working with three microphones and cameras, it’s easy to forget the previous settings. I recommend writing them down for easy future reference.
3. Try something new! Some things are harder to teach digitally however there are new things that can be taught better in a virtual environment. You can add a new segment to your session. The one I incorporated when everything switched to online was a composer of the week segment. I would login ahead of time and find an age appropriate YouTube video on a composer. I would share it during the zoom lesson and my student and myself discuss the life or the video we saw. Make sure to choose a video less than 5 minutes. A proud teacher moment was having my student come back from her school and tell me she heard someone play Mozart. Plus now that she knows Mozart composed by age 7, she knows children are capable of learning and cultivating extraordinary talents.
4. Alternate between easy and hard tasks. I break my 45 minute lessons into smaller segments and start with an easy one. I give the client a choice out of two activities and then we start with that. An example of some activities are scales, ear training, playing a song we are working on. So I’ll say something like “today we can start with either scales or Hanon, which one would you prefer?” Then from there we have an easy task, the next one I choose will be hard, then the next one easy. You can give the child choices throughout the session.
5. If a child begins to get frustrated, you can take a short 30 second break and encourage them to stand up and move a little bit. I’ll have my clients shake their arms a little bit. You can validate their emotions of frustration by saying validating phrases, “I know this is frustrating, I appreciate how much you keep trying even though it’s hard.” “Thank you for trying”. Never use double negatives like I need you to stop and say what you want the child to do instead (I need you to sit nicely). Make sure to redirect them back to the piano after that break.
One last note, remember to always end your lessons on a positive note or with a compliment. An example is saying something around the lines of “I love how dedicated and hard you worked today. I’m so proud of you.”
I am excited to share more tips with you soon. Another reminder, I am available for digital zoom piano lessons with children ages 4-12. You can inquire about these services by contacting me. I wish you all the best during these times.
Leave a Reply