Est. 1987
Doris Mattingly | Mattingly Studio
Students of all ages are provided with the perfect combination of personal attention and convenience through online piano lessons. They create a private space ideal for listening and concentration.
Online Piano Instruction may be a relatively new piano teaching trend, however I had been teaching students virtually for several years prior to the pandemic throughout the USA and Canada.
On this page dedicated to the values of online piano lessons for adults and children, I will answer questions about and discuss the values of studying piano online from my lifetime as a piano teacher, professional pianist, accompanist and conductor.
Topics will include:
Perhaps many of you have experienced FaceTime or Zoom calls and meetings during the pandemic. The shift from in-person collaborations was necessary and immediate forcing us to navigate the immense world of the internet without a road map.
Most of the places we would normally drive to and people we would see were physical and then all that changed. Piano students were accustomed to sitting one on one with a teacher to guide them through the nuances of the physical and mental demands required to build this skill.
It’s a testament to the brilliance and flexibility of people to have made the change to the virtual learning world with such relative ease. Despite the rush to become acquainted with our only means of communication we did learn to make our way.
We discovered what it’s like to be on time to an appointment, not to fight traffic, weather or the absence of transportation to prevent our lesson attendance. We were in the comfort of own rooms with the familiarity of our own instruments.
Then we learned, through the patience of teacher and student, listening and attention is in fact intensified in this virtual medium, making it an exceptional method of learning to play the piano.
Children are the most flexible learners of all. Without years to form habits, discovering a new way to communicate can seem natural to them. Like all learning environments, it is important to provide a quiet place to work, a good instrument and age-appropriate lessons with simple concepts reinforced creatively until assimilated.
To begin, having a parent, guardian or sibling close by can reassure the child. The advantage of one-on-one learning is the ability of the teacher to design an individualized program of study. Many online platforms allow recording so students can repeat and review lessons during the week.
In addition to beginning a lifetime of musical understanding, children learn to listen, develop their small motor skills, and respond to touch and rhythm.
Not enough can be said for the convenience of online piano lessons for parents. Many who work at home can take a little time to share this experience with their children or if not, they do not have the stress of transporting them to lessons!
In years past I have had parents waiting in their car while their child finished a lesson, a thing of the past with virtual piano lessons. Students can attend all their lessons regardless of the weather, difficulty with driving, illness of family members or other troubles.
Being late to a lesson due to unavoidable conflicts is rare.
Parents are able to hear all or parts of lessons to help their child throughout the week. The advantage of working on their own familiar instrument is comforting to children and the lesson time is used efficiently.
Adult learners are great students! After having spent a lifetime becoming exceptional at many things they have chosen to begin or re-enter piano study looking for a hobby, mental stimulation and a new activity.
Adult students find lessons rewarding and challenging and that approaching music as an adult occupies their thoughts beyond their time at the keyboard. When adults commit to a program of piano study, they devote time and resources to their work and look forward to regular practice time.
Individualized lessons are even more important with adults as they have already established learning styles in the past and come to piano with a wide variety of musical experiences from singing in a choir to studying various instruments throughout their lives.
Learning how to learn is the goal for all students, and adults bring their body of musical references to their music making practice meaningful and interesting. For most adults, online communication is the way of things now, so transitioning to online piano lessons is easy. Many find this form of learning convenient as there is nothing to interfere with getting to their lessons.
When they set their practice area in a quiet place, they find it pleasant to have online lessons in the privacy of their own homes. Like children, they become comfortable using their own instruments in their own surrounds and there is no wasted time settling into a teacher’s space.
Students need to have access to a piano or a keyboard and a reliable internet in their homes. Beyond that, a smartphone, tablet or laptop is much of what’s necessary all set in a quiet place in the house where we can work without visual or audio distractions.
Since I have ZoomPro, students do not need to subscribe to Zoom beyond the free basic membership which is easy to apply for and easy to install on their devices.
Some students who own keyboards find using headphones desirable as they bring the sound to them with great clarity and some go even further to connect their keyboards to their computers wired or wirelessly. This way the sound travels to me clearly as well.
However, this is not a necessary step for successful online lessons. For those having difficulty hearing at the distance of their computer to their instrument, a small, inexpensive speaker can help as well as the use of earphones, air buds or AirPods.
Lighting to your music stand is of primary importance, however it is best to have a good light source behind the device (smartphone, iPad or laptop) and not in front of the camera. The camera needs to be directed to the side of the keyboard so the student does not have to turn to address the teacher.
All of these options can be discussed and explored with an experienced instructor.
A note about acoustic vs. keyboards: acoustic pianos require tuning which is difficult to acquire during a pandemic. Sound can be somewhat distorted through online transmissions so this may be a consideration if you are purchasing an instrument. Since keyboards do not require tuning, they may be currently more efficient instruments.
As in all online communications, student and teacher develop a rhythm of listening and speaking which allows each to share their music and ideas effectively.
The benefits far outweigh the small difficulties since music is all about listening and that is what is needed most to make learning successful in any case.
Experience is the key ingredient in choosing your teacher.
Online piano lessons require a vast knowledge of musical concepts, technique, repertoire, history, references, and collaborations as well as a clear understanding of how people learn. Teachers need to adjust their pace and tone of voice, their surroundings, they need to sit in one place for extended periods of time and sometimes modify their teaching style to accommodate this kind of focused learning. Those accustomed to teaching by example may find this method impossible in online piano teaching.
Excellent listening and communication skills play a large part in conveying content. Customizing lessons is critical to assuring a student’s success. Patience will help students appreciate their effort and encouragement goes a long way in reminding them that skill building takes time that’s worth spending.
Look for reviews, references could be made available and read about the teacher’s experiences to decide if this is a good choice. A phone or email conversation and an online interview with help clarify the expectations of both parties.
Online learning requires instructors to have a fair amount of skill with technology to guide students learning through this platform and to adjust to teaching in different time zones.
Various music file apps allow teachers to store and annotate music on their iPads to share with students allowing for immediate access to the teacher’s greater library. This data can be sent by text or email immediately for the student’s use. Zoom also offers split-screen capability which allows us to share music scores to further clarify notation.
Teachers need to be available throughout the week for questions or problems that may come up in a student’s practice session to avoid unnecessary habits from forming. Students can capture a page of music with notes and counting for example, that the teacher could correct, or perhaps send a recording of sections to provide reassurance during a student’s practice.
Also important is the ability of the teacher to host workshops, lectures and recitals as students benefit greatly from listening and observing others as well as presenting their work to others.
Some recitals might include friends and relatives, which is another benefit from online study. Where studios previously could only host programs for those close by, now we are able to reach across the world and share ourselves with a vast number of people.
All this takes a certain amount of technical and production skill as programs need to be prepared, all guests welcomed and chat lines opened for all participants. Performers need to be announced and everyone muted when not playing.
As the host, the teacher has the job of setting the tone for the event and making everyone feel welcome and relaxed. It can be extremely enjoyable to join these programs and it is also important for students to receive recognition and praise for their work.
Setting goals and being accountable for one’s work is a part of learning made convenient by this online medium. As in all online communication, the ability to be present when it would otherwise not be possible is its greatest strength.
Online piano recitals are a wonderful way to share ourselves and the joy of piano music with others.
In my many years of teaching I have had the pleasure of working with people having a vast range of learning abilities.
Those thought to have developmental or behavioral challenges have presented me with the opportunity to consider the best ways to provide musical and pianistic training through highly individualized programs of study.
I have learned that teaching is a journey of discovery. We try methods of conveying concepts that one learns through the effort of both student and teacher. Some of my most promising students have needed me to find alternative learning methods to guide them to understand how to coordinate their fingers while reading this strange code we call musical notation.
Not all students with learning difficulties will find piano playing enjoyable. Some students may become frustrated with themselves, however some may find piano playing a wonderful form of personal expression.
These lessons can also work for some students with learning difficulties. It may mean that a caregiver needs to be present to help with instructions, but online learning will always mean the teacher must present every set of instructions simply and clearly, reinforcing each concept and waiting for the student to question and find a way to understand.
Working with Occupational Therapists and other professionals I was instrumental in developing programs and helped assessed the progress of students through my observations of their achievements in piano study. Since this is a nonverbal activity, we can gain insight into how people learn from the way they manage the complex language of music.
Even online piano lessons can be used as a diagnostic tool as well as a measure of achievement. For some, the ability to listen carefully and transfer objectives to physical actions is accomplishment enough.
For those seeking teachers with this kind of experience, a virtual interview is important. Often parents do not share the difficulties of their children with teachers worried they will not be accepted. I believe it can only help a teacher to prepare lessons better to circumvent frustrations to know of any learning difficulties.
Inevitably one will discover issues so it’s best to present as clear a picture of your child’s needs as possible, and to keep the lines of communication open between parent and teacher.
Virtual piano lessons are here to stay! The convenience, safety, efficiency, lack of geographic boundaries, the clarity of delivery and overall ease we have discovered in this form of communication have been hard to assimilate but the hard work is over!
Now that we have learned its value, online lessons continue to be a staple in education going forward. We will still have contact with those close to us, but distance will not be a deterrent in connecting with people as before.
Those with mobility issues will be able to access activities never before available. Where one lives will not impede their ability to access quality teaching and worthwhile programs.
Technology will catch up to the needs of the next generation of online learners and we will all enjoy easier access to platforms better designed to transmit sound. It is exciting to imagine the possibilities as we go forward through this pandemic.
Already the production of keyboards has exceeded demand as people of all ages are discovering piano as an excellent form of mental and physical stimulation.
Teaching is a tremendously rewarding profession. I am always in awe at what people can learn to do and how - with time, practice and patience – they can learn to make music. It has provided me with a lifetime of interest and companionship as my students come and go throughout their lives.
More and more I am aware of the impact of this intimate form of self-expression on my students and those around them. It has been immensely rewarding to see how the transition from in person to online has worked so well and look forward to seeing my profession develop to serve the musical population in times to come.