How To Teach Online Piano Lessons | Cunningham Piano

[@map-reduce]

This is a great public service to all piano teachers out there who are going to be struggling with not being able to do live lessons for the next while. Thank you so much Hugh!

[@CunninghamPiano]

We are so happy to provide this information, Chris. We hope it makes a difference to our colleagues. Thank you for the comment.

[@jaimiestuart5016]

@@CunninghamPiano Thank you! I have a problem teaching live - the students music comes through garbled - almost like the audio can't determine what to capture. Any thoughts? I used Zoom.

[@staccatoglock]

Perfect timing(*coronavirus*) 🤣

[@CunninghamPiano]

Thanks Brent. The timing wasn't coincidental.

[@christinacampbell8885]

I'm a 76 year old student! Began lessons three years ago and have just managed Grade 5 exam and feeling much encouraged. I am really missing my weekly lessons with my wonderful teacher. Your video is a welcome resource. I do listen to many forms of music but now I will be listening more actively. Off to practice and record myself. Thank you so much and please keep posting.

[@eduardoinke7081]

I especially liked the 3-level approach, because it helps us get started easy and cheap, and as we prosper in this endeavor we can gradually invest in more equipment.

[@edrock26]

What an excellent tutorial this is! I have been asking and searching for years on how to provide online keyboard lessons. And this tutorial has answered all of my questions. Thank you, so much for sharing!

[@EpicPianoArrangements]

I absolutely LOVE the Advanced Level 3 setup and it's marvellous... the only sucky thing about it is the price tag to get it all setup. :(

[@jeffreyhao1343]

Hi, I have a suggestion for this online remote learning for piano. The hand motion of teachers on the keys is much more important than the face, piano, and others in the previewing of the video stream. So, students only need an amazing way to see the teacher's hand motion. A solution like this is required. Am I right?

[@mohangurunathan8634]

Thank you for this wonderful and helpful video! I would like to know what audio/video setup you recommend for your students, since it is just as important for the teacher to be able to see their face, hands, feet and sheet music. Yet the teacher cannot insist on every student to have a very advanced technical setup! It will vary for each student based on their access to technology. Can you give any tips for making the student setups more successful, in general? Thanks again!

[@woodondrums]

FANTASTIC VIDEO! Thank you for putting such a valuable resource together. Could you please elaborate how you got the iPad to function as an additional screen with the sheet music annotating? Did you just plug it into the Blackmagic ATEM? Is that all it takes (along with a USB C to HDMI cable?)?

[@tatianaandstrannikmusic9306]

Thank you so much! Extremely useful. Love from Russia. 👍🏻🙏💐😃😃😃

[@davidzwisohn5478]

I've already started teaching online during the Coronavirus crisis. I've been using FaceTime with iPads and iPhones, in the short term. It's working, but I realize it's just a stopgap. Since I also compose music for media, I'm no stranger to the world of pro audio gear. This video has provided me great ideas for tools and connectivity to send QUALITY audio and video to my students, and effectively address the technical aspects of online teaching. Hugh, many thanks for a great, inspiring video :-)

[@ttoglia]

Thank you, Hugh! This was comprehensive, detailed, and inspiring. I appreciate that you showed several levels of tech and the difference they can make in the quality. So helpful!

[@gavrinmahaffey3656]

Thank u,this was so helpful as I've had to teach online for the first time in the last week.thank u for your generosity and expertise

[@fraterdeusestveritas2022]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce this really excellent video. I recently resigned from my engineering job to focus on piano full time and eventually start teaching. Going on 32, I figured that it’s now or never so I’m just going for it. I found this video to be both highly inspirational And educational. Much appreciated.

[@JackStevenson5045]

This is the best video explaiing teaching online. Thank you so very much.

[@robtaylor7772]

Great video thanks Hugh. I've watched several teachers explaining their online setup and yours is the best! One question please.. I see you're feeding balanced audio output from your mixer which I think is probably line level. Quite rightly you're suggesting this is fed back into one of the cameras to avoid sync issues. What is the make and model of the balanced XLR input device sitting on top of your camera at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="979">16:19</a> please? Thanks!

[@ceciliapazartist6674]

Very informative...thank you for sharing your information and your finesse in understanding professionalism when teaching. I know nothing about music, yet it’s beautiful and does sound as though one were present in the actual room/stage.

[@KathyProsser]

I was bamboozled about the best way to go teaching online until I watched this. Very well explained. This advanced setup will work for multiple applications solving several issues I face adapting businesses to Coronavirus! Thank you.

[@victorypraiser]

Thanks for the comprehensive explanation. My question is, What should the students use at their end so the teacher can see what they are doing? Will only laptop be enough?

[@CunninghamPiano]

For the student, a laptop may be sufficient, but I would recommend that they try to get a microphone as well. There are some relatively inexpensive ones out there - one solution I'm exploring is a dual lavalier microphone that lets you record both the piano and the student's voice with one device, and it's around $40 - amzn.to/2JptoNl

[@Oz1Muzyk]

Wow Sir Hugh!!! This is really great. Thank you for sharing this most informative How To Info on Live Piano Lessons Online! An eye opener indeed!

[@Docbill57]

Sir, you did an incredible job on this video - truly superb. Thank you so much. I am hoping to help our piano teacher to do remote teaching, now that we are facing this pandemic. On behalf of her young students, I thank you.

[@jynong]

Thank you for your video. Wonderful presentation.

[@jackbaker9023]

Thank you for this incredibly interesting video. I never saw anything like it before. I hope the computer doesn't scratch your beautiful Bosendorfer! Thanks.

[@CunninghamPiano]

Thank YOU for your comment J Baker!

[@robinkrop9404]

Really interesting to watch, and good job! But we have to have a lot of money to invest for this kind of set-up. Some of us teachers are not wealthy! I literally am starting with my phone this week! lol - Will see if the student, who's computer-literate, btw, can tell what's going on!

[@CunninghamPiano]

I'm going to work on super-cheap ways to get set up hardware/software wise. Stay tuned! (hint: here's a preview - you can get these super cheap dual lavalier microphones for both you and your student - they're only about $30, and they will help make the sound quality better than built-in mics with phones, tablets and computers: amzn.to/2UCLGjo

[@CunninghamPiano]

Set up one end of the lavalier for your voice, and the other end pointed towards your piano. Same for student. Let me know if that helps!

[@loreneolson5253]

Thank you so much for the detailed and practical suggestions.

[@the3monkeysgmail]

Thanks for the video! It is perfect for the teacher's side. How is the setup on the student side would/should look like?

[@dalegmusic3752]

Thanks Hugh! that's an excellent presentation. I learned a lot!!!

[@davilarabello]

This is the very best video about teaching online setup I’ve seen so far!

[@ANICETONANOS]

Excellent tips for a beginner in online music teaching. What amazed me more is this gadget that I am looking forward to - ATEM Mini streaming video switcher! God bless you Hugh!

[@paulaflynn7692]

Having trouble finding the “list” of products used.

[@CunninghamPiano]

Look at the notes below the KZbin video by clicking "show more" - you'll find the list there! :D

[@richclarkmusiciitutorialsa2235]

Thanks for your video. I've been experiencing horrible lag, freeze-frame, 'catch-up' frame and blackout with my students using Zoom. 1st and most important question to you, please (so I'm not expecting the impossible with internet teaching): is there ALWAYS some lag (esp audio) between participants on these platforms? (Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, etc.); [I teach drums and want to "play along" with my students] If not, what can I do on my end. My internet speed is 44.2Mbps download/9.86Mbps upload. Is that good? bad? A factor? Waiting to hear your reply. Thx

[@TheMantaku]

Hi hugh. I'm trying zoom lessons now but tone doesn't ring when my students put the peddal. It's just because my or their canera?

[@kkassanova]

Hi! Thank you for this. You're helping and inspiring teachers everywhere. I do have one question -how were you able to get the USB attachments for the cameras in to the HDMI Atem Mini? I ask because I am seriously considering an ATEM but all of my cameras are attached via USB. Also, what was the camera where you attached the audio into? Again, thank you!

[@emilianopetronilli]

At the <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="890">14:50</a> mark: how do you manage to overlay the pedal camera "in picture"? All I seem to be getting is a side by side view: the small frame gets aligned outside the main frame, to the right. Have played around with "screen share" settings but no joy. Thanks for the valuable content.

[@theocollaert4758]

Good setup. Instead of the ATEM video switcher you can use ManyCam as well. It always more cams but also view of your computer desktop. This way I use in my practice Sibelius scores and KZbin videos as well. My iPad Pro is mirrored with APower app. Works like a charm with showing sheetmusic and annotating. I can use it to scribble little lesson for students on the fly as well. Of course tuning app and metronome are used as well in this way. 4 different camera views and external mic complete my personal setup. Just saying so you don’t have to use the extra hardware per se. Oh yeah, use in ear headphones 😉

[@leeriley66]

I loved your setup mate. Great way to explain each type of setup and by far the best video I've seen on this subject on KZbin. I'm in the middle of setting up a system for my son so he can learn on line guitar, so quite the opposite. I'm getting there. Have guitar, Apogee jam plus, Rode lapel mic , Presonus audio interface, laptop, hd camera x 2, ipad so far.

[@teachersamtravels4028]

This is a superb video. I'm new to teaching piano online, so this will really help. I like the multi-cam setup you have. Thanks.

[@Anabella7221]

I have the ATEM mini for my lessons and some student have said my iPad sheet music appears blurry. Do you have any issues with the iPad resolution going through the ATEM mini?

[@Yasaviolinist]

Thank you so much for this video! I have a question - could you please let me know what size is your banner at the background, and what’s the website to order one? Thank you again, and much success to you and your studio!

[@FineArtsTeacher]

Excellent for all teachers of practical subjects (Art for me) - thanks very much!

[@charlia7695]

So envious of your Bösendorfer!!! I had the privilege to play on one for the 4 years I attended APSU in Clarksville TN. Enjoyed this video and found it extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing.

[@PapaBavarian]

Excellent resource! Very thorough and well done, I always enjoy your wonderful Playing!!!! Thank you!!!

[@nathanielbrice8725]

We’re doing this at our music school now... but only level 1 setup with Synthesia. Don’t have the beautiful Bosendorfer unfortunately! Great video! Inspiring and great playing!

[@estherdeferios]

I always think that using only 1 camera for online piano lesson is not enough, because I wanna show my students more mechanism.. the idea of how to set multiple cam setting is really inspire me. Thank you for sharing 👍 And its nice listening to Bösendorfer sound with a well-equipped recording stuff 🤩

[@ericnzuki90]

What is your take on MIDI for teaching? Might be a cheaper option for those who cant access this elaborate setup. The only cost coming on probably investing in a suitable Keyboard and App

[@renzenker2526]

Yes, but even if the teacher sets up at the advanced level, what about the students? Piano quality, all the cameras,microphones, angles....how does the teacher see/hear what the student is doing on all these levels?!

[@momohfreeman]

Tank you so much.

[@jonathanflowers6864]

If you want to have a multi camera setup as well as a lapel mic for speaking and one or two condenser mics for the piano, can you use the ATEM switcher without an audio mixer?

[@alicelin339]

This is awesome. Thank you very much for this.You're helping and inspiring teachers everywhere!

[@entangledbandaustralia6671]

Excellent work. I will show this video, plus one or two more great ones to my students via email. You are helping us bridge the gap between no lessons at all, some continuity, and beyond that, the future of all work in our industry as teachers. Thank you so much. Rich, Australia.

[@athenaa.bosendorfer]

Thank you so much for this information and video! :) I’m only curious to teach but this does spark a lot of ideas, even with just recording. Thanks again! You should get some affiliate links to those products so you can get some commission, much deserved. Have a great week and stay safe!

[@g4guitarmaroubra449]

Fantastic. How did you get the video in the top right hand corner?

[@CunninghamPiano]

The ATEM Mini has a picture in picture feature :)

[@hansfijlstra5932]

Again a great video! But please note that my teacher and I experience a very bad audio quality using Zoom, Whatsapp, FaceTime or Skype. It is not related to the equipment, setup or internet speed, but there seems to be some sort of compression or bandwidth reduction algorithm that keeps the quality of the human voice at a usable level, but is destroying the quality of the piano sound. This processing of the audio signal is probably part of the internet protocol that is used? Many other teachers have the same experience. Not clear how to improve this...

[@dawnarabesque]

Yes I'm facing sound delay and my student can't really hear my voice to tell her to stop while playing..not sure how can this be improve :-(

[@TJinPT]

Do the two step process to USE ORIGINAL SOUND, which bypasses the audio processing that messes with piano sound. 1) In Settings Audio Advanced, click YES to select the USE ORIGINAL SOUND in the meeting. 2) Then, when you are in the Meeting, select that option to USE ORIGINAL SOUND. Another comment here has a link to the Zoom help file on this.

[@haroto2]

I just wanted to add that if you are experiencing a lot of "static" or choppy sound, you might want to try a direct connection using an inexpensive Ethernet cable (available at home centers). It made a huge difference in my case. Good luck to everyone.

[@davidglass4201]

Excellent. Thank you so much for your fantastic tutorial. It was the best yet out of all the videos I've seen! It helped explain how to improve the audio signal as internal mics make the piano sound like a banjo.

[@FairyFellersMasterStroke]

This is helpful, thank you. I have a question, how should my students set up the angle, so I can see both their fingers, and their book closely? I would like to be able to see what they are seeing. Not only their fingers. Unfortunately, I don't have all the books they are using. :(

[@timlatsha7285]

So that helps with the output of your sound. How can you change the student's sound that is coming to you. Do they need a similar set-up?

[@karenl.wilkerson8024]

What equipment should the piano student have beside the laptop/iPad?

[@pajareehongladarom7767]

But I find that zoom will keep the information for a while and then transmit it all in one go when it's stuck, so when I used it sometimes the student's playing would be normal speed and then all the sudden really fast I thought they were playing at weird tempo and when I let them turned on the metronome, I realized it was Zoom!

[@piano-with-emma]

Thank you for such an informative video! So helpful!

[@joemercolino9813]

Very good video

[@NikosPapadogiorgos]

Thank you so much sir! This is a very helpful video!

[@pdavistalent769]

Thank you! I will begin teaching sewing classes with Zoom soon. Did you change your rate for online classes?

[@johnnaples9676]

Great video! But the audio went real low when you switched to external mic. Check it out..

[@GuitarWorld2010]

Very impressed with your set-up but can you explain how you have connected the Logitech camera which has a USB 2.0 connection to the HDMI input to the ATEM Mini

[@CunninghamPiano]

Oh thank you so much. The whole team here leads the industry in technology.

[@PatrickDieterKlavier]

Thank you, for your wonderful instruction video!

[@thierryz1369]

Hi nice tutorial. Ive tried teaching online through this kind of set up. I wonder, how do you handle it if you cant hear your student properly? Cause I think you cant ask them to buy a microphone as well..

[@CunninghamPiano]

Have them watch this video - I go over some cheap microphones and compare their quality: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnicYo1_p9iXhLc

[@calvinlai872]

Thank you so much for the video. It's very useful.

[@OrcacallingBWW]

Thank you so so much for providing this video. With the COVID-19 pandemic teaching in my home is not safe. This is wonderful. Thank you so much Hugh. Regards Robin

[@CunninghamPiano]

You are so welcome!

[@ElsonA9]

Thank you so much for giving me so much information to setup my online music lesson thank you

[@kurtk8926]

What kind of laptop is with an excellent webcam? Any advice? Also I’d love a 17 inch screen

[@JoiceLintang]

Thank you for your sharing...🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@MMPPunch]

Thank you so much, I am usually a student, and I know an instructor or two that are interested in teaching lessons like this.

[@frankg846]

Can the student too have two cameras one for overhead and one for the side view to see the teacher. If yes what do I need?

[@lmpianostudio6047]

Thank you for this video , lots of important information !

[@janeferriera1913]

Thank you! Excellent presentation.

[@melaniebarnes9807]

How do you get rid of lag time? I am a chorus teacher and private piano/voice teacher. I’ve been trying to teach my chorus for 2 weeks and there is so much lag time, that even my warmups sound like 10 songs being sung together. I notice you had a lag time towards the beginning of your video. On what device did you turn off your volume? I’d love to use Zoom for my private lessons as well but I can’t deal with a lag time.

[@CunninghamPiano]

Unfortunately, you can't. This is why musicians can't rehearse or perform together in real time through streaming videos. You will need to find new ways to work with your choir. Check out our online chorus/orchestra project underway at www.cunninghampiano.com/cunningham-piano-online-ensemble-project/

[@c.r.degraaf544]

I would like to play with someone with two pianos over the Internet. Good and continuous sound and synchronous. Things are not going well with Skype, WhatsApp and Zoom. Do you have an idea?

[@watterbotttle84]

What is the camera you are using to route the audio from the mixer into?

[@rjmdrum]

Great stuff. Thanks for posting

[@thomasstevens1436]

Thank you so much. This may be a dumb question, but how do you get the app version of zoom on your laptop? It looks easier than the zoom website version. I had no problem getting the app for my phone via playstore.

[@CunninghamPiano]

Go to zoom.us and download the app for your laptop there

[@willmustache4204]

That's great advice Maestro. Thank you so much!

[@LadieBjj]

My online piano teacher didn’t call me to skype on our last lesson. I was in my piano room waiting for him to call me like we have been doing for months. He always call me. Always! A week has passed and he finally contacted me saying that he “ missed my call or I forgot the lesson”. I was waiting for him to call like we always do. Always. Now he says “ call me from now on for our lessons so we don’t have anymore miscommunication”. What a turn off. He ghost me and blame for his disappearance 😂

[@secondspace4672]

Are you still learning?

[@conductorespinal]

Thank you very much for your wonderful video! I have a question: how many inches is your iPad? Should we get the largest one?

[@CunninghamPiano]

I use the largest iPad, the iPad Pro 12.9 inches - I would recommend getting the largest that you can afford. The bigger screen is really great for reading sheet music! Here is a link to the iPad I use: amzn.to/2V2Wuc4

[@amina9229]

Informative and to the point. Thanks for sharing.

[@chrishercules3526]

Thank you once again for making this video. I can get started right away with the basic setup but I really like the idea of using two angles and viewing my student on the laptop. 1. I want to use a Gopro, ipad and my laptop, so I will need two cables. One HDMI to HDMI from the Gopro to laptop and a cable from the iPad to the the laptop. Which means that I will also require an adapter and if I will require an adapter- What adapter do you recommend?

[@chrishercules3526]

I am also thinking that one cable can go into the HDM port on the laptop I and the other cable can go into the USB port based on the cables you suggested. I look forward to hearing from you.

[@julio8574]

though you won be able to teach and explain about the hand position properly and essentials of the technique. It just doesn't work via online.

[@CunninghamPiano]

I respectfully disagree. With the right setup (or by simply recording the Zoom session) the student can see their own posture/hand position issues, and having that 3rd person perspective can be tremendously helpful! I've had a lot of success fixing posture and hand position issues as well as advanced level technique via online lessons!

[@andrewpalmer5765]

Great video, how do you manage to edit the music on the iPad with fingerings etc? What programme are you using?

[@CunninghamPiano]

I'm using an app called Newzik - newzik.com

[@delladex177]

i found this very easy to start. all recommended devices are fantastic. what camera do you recommend for start up? and pls could you send the name of the music score sheet app used. i'm dell

[@CunninghamPiano]

Hello Adebayo - if you are looking for cheaper ways to get started, you might want to watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnicYo1_p9iXhLc - and as for the sheet music score app, I am using Newzik: newzik.com - let me know if you need a high quality camera recommendation.

[@allenmusicman]

This is so helpful. Thank you for sharing!

[@llliiwwiilll]

This is so helpful, thank you!

[@enjoyyourvoice8836]

Hi thank you for the video! One question - I also want to provide multiperspective, but I got a delay between my laptop and my ipad/iphone. Do you have any recommendations. Atm I only tried the internal camera of iphone/pad. And for Kinoni my Mac is too old (driver requested 10.12+) THANK YOU

[@CunninghamPiano]

One technique is to use Zoom and have your iPad and iPhone call in as 2 separate attendees - you can email yourself (or copy) the meeting URL and have both devices join in and pin the active screen depending on which device view you want to show. There shouldn't be a lag between devices that way.

[@enjoyyourvoice8836]

@@CunninghamPiano thank you!! All the best!

[@ybyap]

This is a great setup! Thanks.

[@andromedablonsky]

Dear Hugh thank you for sharing this, it is so helpful!

[@chrishercules3526]

This video got me excited and I can't wait to contact my students and get started.

[@bonnie.k6200]

Fantastic tips. Thanks

[@wujiyudi]

Thank you so much!

[@susanjohnson5890]

Not seeing the port extender in your equipment list...?

[@CunninghamPiano]

Ah, sorry about that - you can find the port extender here: kit.co/hughsung/equipment-for-teaching-music-lessons-online

[@lisacummins8523]

Question: How does everyone work with the lagtime.....response? I usually play with or count with my younger students and it just doesn't work with the video lag. What software delivers the best in regards to "real time" - no lag? I'm only getting about 1/2 to 3/4 as much accomplished doing online teaching versus in person.

[@CunninghamPiano]

Unfortunately, that is the main problem with live online lessons - there will always be lag, so it is impossible to count together in "real time". If you can realize this, you can be creative in finding ways to work around the limitations.

[@lisacummins8523]

@@CunninghamPiano Thank you so much for the quick reply. I really do appreciate it. Since I'm a novice at this online teaching, I was reaching out for any help. Your video helped confirm what I was already doing.......good to know that others are doing the same thing. Thank you again!

[@dudeeronomy3805]

I know exactly what you mean Lisa. I have my students play against their own metronome from their end and that is a reasonably good substitute.

[@FlexLessons]

This is fantastic!