I taught piano by Skype since 2012 from our summer house in Michigan. Before that year, when we traveled around the United States or went abroad, I gave my piano students a long list of practice pieces. 

Who knew that just eight years later, because of COVID-19, Skype lessons will be the only way for me to teach. Some music teachers use Zoom, but the sound quality is better on Skype.

Advantages of teaching by Skype

Convenience for adult students

 Skype saves a lot of time for adult students because they don’t have to drive to my studio for the lesson. They can take their class at home after work, or early in the morning before leaving for work, or on the weekend.

 My students can live anywhere

I have a talented, hard-working student who lived 50-60 minutes away from me. His father brought him to me every Sunday, on his only day off.

Occasionally, because of some family obligations, this dad couldn’t bring his son to my house. Our solution was to have Skype lessons on such days. We switched to Skype permanently after I moved from Florida to Washington, DC. I still teach this boy and all my Florida piano students by Skype.

Now, I do not worry if some of my students will move out of town, state, or the country. I’ll continue teaching them as long as they need me.

I can teach by Skype from any place (as long as there is Internet service)

Once, because of a tornado, we lost power in our summer house in Michigan. The next morning, we saw many fallen trees and damaged houses (luckily, ours was spared). We realized that the county would not be able to restore electrical power for a long time. The same day we packed our car and drove home to Florida.

I did not cancel the lessons scheduled for that day. I managed to teach my students by Skype from a hotel room.

I even taught piano from the JFK airport while waiting for the flight to Egypt.

I finished the last class just before boarding. By the way, JFK airport has excellent Internet service.

When our family obligations took us to Russia, I taught all my students from the Moscow apartment we rented for two months. I was five-and-a-half thousand miles away from my Florida students, but they did not miss a single lesson.

I can keep a stable schedule

In the past, we had a bustling school (600 students, 40 teachers, 10 private rooms, 4 large rooms for dance, theatre, my Music Workshop classes) in South Florida. Occasionally, we had a situation when parents forgot about their child’s private music lesson. Some mom would call the school and complain that the receptionist didn’t call to remind her about the lesson’s time.

Our school’s dance rooms, private studios, waiting room, snack room, and playroom were filled with parents and children. At any given moment, there were at least 60 people on the premises. Our receptionists couldn’t notice that someone was missing his/her private lesson.

Nowadays, I teach by Skype from home, and it is much easier to keep lessons on schedule. I always ask my students to start at the exact time. If a class is at 5:00 o’clock and I did not get a call at 5:01, I text my student that it is time to start. With my 10 minute break between students, all lessons start on time even if someone began class a few minutes later.

My students can practice piano before or immediately after the lesson

Since students do not commute to my studio, they can use the saved time for extra practice before the lesson. Also, immediately after the class, a student can go over the new material. It helps students to retain what I taught them.

With Skype, I can teach any level, including beginners

I was sure that I could teach by Skype only the intermediate or advanced students. It was a surprise for me when I started teaching Noah, the brand new six-year-old beginner.

Just eight months later, he was ready to play three songs in our December piano recital (by Zoom, of course). The key to success with such a young beginner was his father’s participation. Noah’s dad sat next to him, wrote down the homework, supervised practice. This student is a success!

Of course, the adults’ help is always essential, but it is crucial for lessons by Skype!

I do not share germs and viruses with my students

Even with a mask, teaching in-person could be unsafe for students and teachers. Now, in the time of Covid-19, teaching by Skype is the only option.

How I handle challenges

of teaching piano by Skype

Noise in the house

In one (close-knit but noisy) family, the younger brother, grandma, and uncle talked in loud voices.  It did not distract me, but I worried about my student. When I realized that he could focus despite the background noise, I relaxed. It also helped that they spoke in a different language.

Slow or unreliable Internet

The teachers should have a fast Internet connection. It’s easy to check your internet speed. One of the ways to do it, go to speedtest.net.

If my Internet connection is unsatisfactory, I ask a student if somebody else in his household simultaneously uses Skype. 

Once I couldn’t continue the lesson with my teenage student because of constant Internet service interruption. This high-schooler was good with computers but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I suggested rescheduling the lesson. 

Just five minutes after we said goodbye, this student called me back. He discovered that his younger brother was skyping someone else during our lesson. 

Teaching music theory by Skype

In the beginning, when I started Skype lessons, I thought that it was impossible to teach music theory. Later, I figured out how to do it.

I assign a page from the theory book to the student.  After he finishes working on this page, he scans it (or takes a picture) and emails it to me. During the next lesson, I correct mistakes if there are any. 

Level of voice

Another challenging thing for teaching by Skype is that I have to speak up louder. Sometimes my throat feels dry after teaching several Skype lessons in a row. To soothe it, I keep a glass of water nearby. 

Writing down fingering

During a lesson in person, I need to write fingering (numbers of fingers to use for certain notes) for the student from time to time. Obviously, teaching by Skype, I can not write in the student’s book. To solve the problem, I have to do some preparatory work.

To help the student with fingering, I look at the copy of the music in my book and write in the fingers I think are missing or not as good as I would like them to be.

Before figuring out a brand new piece with students, I ask them to write in the fingers’ numbers with a pencil. Usually, it is not too many, many just 5 or 6 numbers here and there. The correct fingering will help a student to play in the correct hand position.

To help students to find the correct note on the page, I will say: “Line 1, measure 2, right hand – the first note needs to be played with finger number 5”. Or: “Line 3, measure 4, left hand – note B has finger number 3. Change the number 3 to number 4”. This way, when a student sight reads a brand new piece, he plays with correct fingers.

Homework

When I taught in person, I wrote down the numbers of pages in the student’s assignment book by myself. These days I prepare for each Skype lesson in advance and write down each student’s assignments in my journal.

Playing duets

I love playing duets or two-piano compositions with my students.  Unfortunately, it is impossible to do it via Skype.

Live recitals

One of the things I’m not crazy about is Zoom recitals.  Where are those joyful days when my pupils performed on the stage? Where are my nicely dressed students, whose families brought flowers and applauded after each performance? Unfortunately, during Covid-19,  recitals by Zoom are our only option.

*****

Teaching piano by Skype has pluses and minuses. However, the most challenges of this way of teaching can be easily overcome. As to a few disadvantages, I can live with them.