Virtual Lessons

[jcurt172]

I've been learning guitar for a little over year via on line lessons-Jamplay, Justin Guitar, etc. I would like to take one-on-one instruction and most teachers in my area are using virtual lessons. I'd like feedback from anyone taking lessons virtually to find out what their experience has been. Do they like them and what drawbacks, if any, that they've experienced.

[rllink]

I'm taking them on Skype. It is going well. I like that I can record them and go back if I can't remember exactly how we did something. I also like that I don't have to pack up and drag all my stuff to my lesson, unpack it and start cold. I get ready and begin warming up ten or fifteen minutes early and I'm ready to go when he calls. So far so good.

[penname]

I’ve been taking weekly lessons from a local instructor at a music store since October 2011. In March the store prohibited face to face lessons and in May my instructor started virtual lessons using Zoom. Took a few lessons to get the technical aspects sorted out but lessons have gone amazingly well since. It’s great not having to drive to class (20-30 minutes). The biggest drawback has been finding a way to practice some duo and trio pieces since those don’t work well over Zoom.

[captain_jack]

I started online back in April with justinguitar and switched to zoom lessons with a teacher after about a month. I think Justin's material is actually really great, but not being able to ask questions and get feedback on the things I was struggling with wasn't working for me (I needed something interactive).

I have never taken in person lessons so have nothing to compare it to but it's working well for me. I suspect what you miss from in person is the instructor being able to make more minor adjustments for form, if your hands or fingers or fingers are making subtle mistakes, as I imagine that it's hard to see that clearly on a laptop screen.

I think it's like any other activity working with a coach/teacher/etc, if you find an instructor you click with, the format will work itself out.

I'd recommend up signing up for a trial lesson with somebody to see how it goes for you, then deciding how to proceed.

[penname]

Originally Posted by captain_jack

I suspect what you miss from in person is the instructor being able to make more minor adjustments for form, if your hands or fingers or fingers are making subtle mistakes, as I imagine that it's hard to see that clearly on a laptop screen.

I thought that would be the case when the virtual lessons started. But I have an external web cam with long cable so we worked on positioning the camera so my instructor gets a good view of the entire fretboard and both hands. Extraneous items, like my head, are usually out of frame. For better or worse, my instructor now has no problem identifying my mistakes.

[Silly Moustache]

I started giving lessons in July, using Zoom. It seems to work pretty well, but as it is primarily designed for business meetings, one has to ensure that the mode which excludes sudden background sounds is swtched off -as it sees the sound of a guitar as interference and blocks it.

It is a pretty easy adjustment to stop this which is to "turn ON original sound".

You can also record the sessions, but I haven't done so as yet.

I'd be very interested to hear of comparisons with Zoom and Skype.

[Saxonbowman]

My teacher records the Zoom sessions and sends me a copy afterwards. It’s a split screen so his window is pretty small but it works out ok. It does take some time go go through the session again and glean the nuggets. When I took lessons in the store we would record a short summary of the highlights in the last five minutes which helped a lot.

[jcurt172]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I guess I'd prefer face to face but in lieu of that, it sounds like virtual is a good alternative. I've got a teacher in mind and have been communicating with him so it looks like I will find out soon enough. Thanks again.