Are online music (piano) lessons right for my child? Online piano and music lessons can work for ALL AGES! The factor that changes is the degree to which parental participation is necessary for the success of the lesson. Ages 4-6 Parental participation required: Very high Why? These ages need physical adjustments sometimes—someone to tap on which fingers to play, someone to play at the same time to correct rhythm, or make gentle hand adjustments. The teacher on the screen is easy to ignore and talk over, so they will need help focusing. Computer screens are abstract, so even if the teacher screen-shares the music you're working on and draws big arrows and boxes on it, it can be confusing for kids to know what part of the song they are talking about regardless. Parents may be needed to point at the physical paper for their confused child. Parents can also correct any misunderstandings internet lag may create in certain activities, like tapping rhythms out. TIPS FOR PARENTS/TEACHERS: Make sure volume is on max or you even have an external speaker so it is more like the teacher is in the room with you. Use a BIG screen, the bigger the better (as long as it doesn't have to be far away). The parent will inevitably need to help their child focus during the lesson. Teachers should vary the lesson activities frequently and take advantage of resources in the home like paper, props, etc., so not everything is done on the computer, which children this age are not used to yet. If your teacher doesn't do this, try making a special request! Your four year old does not HAVE to annotate if they're really struggling with it. Lastly, see if you can find a teacher who gives "mini" lessons. Two 15m lessons twice a week can be the same price as one 30m lesson, but will be easier on your child, and will help reinforce what they learn. Ages 7-8 Parental participation required: Medium Why? Parents may be needed initially to help understand how to use some of the technology, like annotating on the whiteboard on zoom. They also need to be accountable to help print lesson materials and order books. Teachers may ask for brief parental assistance during a lesson—to hold a pencil under the wrists to challenge the student not to dip them, for instance. If the parent or a sibling also plays piano at a high level, they may be asked to play duets for certain songs. Ages 9-11 Parental participation required: Medium to low Why? Same as 7-8 ages. The only difference is the 9-11 range will likely need less repetition of certain activities than the 7-8 age range, leading to a bit less parental involvement. Ages 12-17 Parental participation required: low High convenience level with minimal to no challenges. Parents may be needed to print material or order books depending on the independence of the student. The student may need a partner for certain activities like the pencil under the wrist trick mentioned above, but in many cases language and demonstration alone can be enough to explain things they need to understand during their lesson. Ages 18+ Parental participation required: ZERO But online lessons CAN'T BE as good as in person lessons...right?? The biggest drawback on online lessons, in my opinion, is lack of simultaneously playing or clapping. This is crucial for developing a sense of tempo. You will also lack perks like in-person recitals. There are ways to get around these issues, however. One way I solve the problem of playing at the same time is by having the student play their part along with me while they mute themselves to prevent internet lag. Most children ages 7+ can tell if they are matching me or not by ear and self-correct. Then we gradually introduce more complex duet playing either using the mute feature, or by me simply sharing a pre-recorded audio track with a count-in. Then a parent will record the child playing along with this track, so I can assess if they understand how to play along with it yet (without internet lag influencing my opinion) and make adjustments to their lesson plan accordingly. Online teachers may offer livestream recital options, or share student video recordings via group email as a way to motivate students to thoroughly learn special pieces and also check out what other students are working on. Its also possible to host your own "recital" either with just your child and friends and family, or better yet, invite your children's piano playing friends together and have a share-a-thon where everyone plays something from their lessons in front of whatever friends and family can be available. Another option still is to take "dual lessons". This is great if you really like your online teacher's program and you just want to augment it with the perks of an in-person program. As long as the teachers are not contradicting each other regularly, it can be very beneficial to learn from multiple perspectives. Can children with special needs meet online? It depends on the special needs. In my experience, physical demonstration live and in-person is key for people with low language skills and high distract-ability. Parents can learn how to lead special needs music lessons from teachers via online lessons, and then repeat those lessons with their child, or conduct a music lesson live while being "coached" through it by the online teacher, rather than having the teacher actually lead the lesson.
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AuthorRoxanne Winslow, musician and teacher living in the Bay Area. ArchivesCategories |