- Jun 28, 2024
2024 Online Piano Studio Tour
- Joseph @ Flex Lessons
- Reviews, Piano Teaching, Piano Tips & Learning
Now that I am at a place where my studio upgrades are relatively rare, it’s safe to say that things are pretty settled on the hardware front. This is the perfect opportunity for a studio tour!
One important thing to keep in mind is that I am no longer limited to just teaching online piano lessons. With the creation of my classically focused piano curriculum (link), my choice in technology has largely centered around eliminating barriers to producing great looking and sounding video content very quickly. With that said, much of the tech that you would use to to create videos also works quite well for teaching online, as you will soon discover!
Lastly, you might want to know where to get all the tech that I show off in the video. You will be happy to know that I created a separate page (that I intend to keep updated) which details all of the specific items I use. You can find that page by clicking here.
Watch Video
Video Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:00 Overview & OBS
1:53 Stream Deck
3:17 Video Equipment
6:31 Microphones
7:45 Headphones
9:38 Studio Lighting
11:27 Apple Hardware
14:00 Viscount Organ
I hope my setup inspires you or at least satisfies your curiosity. Let me know if you have any questions about anything. Don’t forget to check out my equipment page! For those of you who are music teachers, you might also be interested in How I Teach Online Piano Lessons in 2024.
On a side note, I do think it would be interesting to talk about the evolution of my setup (I saved pictures over the years). Let me know in the comments if this is also something that you would like to see.
10 comments
This is all so very cool Joseph! You are at the top of your technology game! Your dedication to your craft is unmatched.
Thanks Scott! I am just happy things have settled to the point where I can talk about them. My studio was freshly built a little over a year ago!
Hi Joseph,
I, too, am a church organist and member of the AGO. I am really impressed with Viscount and love their sound. I am partial to huge pipe organs, but the Viscount has a quality sound, and the stops are beautifully voiced. The organ looks good, too. Actually, there are a lot of churches that have Viscounts. Most congregations, unless they are wealthy, cannot afford a pipe organ as they are very expensive and maintenance hungry. I would absolutely love to hear you play and demonstrate it. I like your innovative pedagogue that you utilize in your studio. You are very talented. Keep up the good work.
Hello Edward! Thank you for sharing these thoughts! I also play at a church with a Viscount, but it is the original Physis tech. Cost was definitely a factor in our choice to go with Viscount over getting a pipe organ.
Now that I have had a chance to hear Physis Plus and play around with it, I definitely think it is a notable step up from the original. The stops are warmer and they have much more "mechanical" personality...very realistic. I will have to do a video at some point!
I look forward to it. How are the acoustics at your church? I like some reverb and certainly am not a fan of carpeted and heavily-cushioned and upholstered pews that deaden sound. I enjoy when kids come up to the console after I finish and ask questions, particularly ones that are taking piano lesson. The ones that ask about learning organ I first tell them to get a good foundation on the piano first. In fact, most organ teachers will not accept students without some piano background. That is how important the piano is in the music world.
I also encourage kids that play the piano well to think about getting organ training. It opens up more avenues for them to share their musical gifts and make a difference in the lives of people and add to their worship experience. It also beats flipping burgers as they can earn decent money doing something that they love and that people enjoy.
My advice for people wanting to learn the organ, get a good foundation on the piano first. Joseph can help you with that. Anyway, all organ performance majors will not get into a university school of music or a conservatory to study organ unless they have proficiency in piano. In fact, one will have to audition in front of a panel and perform a piece from each classical period on the piano. Same with harpsichord majors. All keyboard performance majors, and even at some schools of music and conservatories may require some proficiency on the piano for voice and other instruments. That is how important the piano is.
The acoustics are totally dead! See attached images of our beautiful sanctuary with a drop ceiling. The pews don't have padding and the floor is tile, but man does that ceiling ruin the sound.
I am in the same boat with you with regard to encouraging piano folks to take up organ study. I got into it completely unintentionally and it totally changed my life (and my faith!).
On a side note, I actually think study of the organ improved my piano skills substantially...perhaps a topic for another time.
Here's a few pictures of my office!
That Viscount is gorgeous, and I absolutely love the brown and creme colored key combo. It really makes the manuals look elegant. It looks like you have a good selection of stops, and I always like the look of draw knobs. How do you like the reeds?
I just don't get, though, why these churches insist on putting noise-dampening materials or tiles on ceilings. I like reverb. I substituted one time at the San Juan Capistrano Basilica for an Easter service about 10 years ago. It is a beautiful but cavernous sanctuary and is completely stone vaulted. The reverb is around eight seconds, which can make some pieces tricky. I practiced for three weeks there to get used to the super-reverberant acoustics. The organ is the largest digital organ in this part of the nation. It is equivalent to around 300 ranks. It has four manuals, and it has a stop on the solo manual called "State Trumpet." Wow!
Thank you! It certainly does look quite nice. I like the reeds a lot...Viscount definitely has a good sound with reeds, although the Physis Plus reeds are notably better.
In the case of my church, they put the materials in to save money. At the time, there was no one to advocate for a good acoustic. They all regret it at this point, I am pretty sure.
The experience at the Basilica sounds incredible!
What an amazing set up. Way too technical for me. The organ is so totally awesome. Looks difficult to play. I'm just glad I have a teacher thats dedicated to teaching and ensuring the best possible outcomes.
I did a lot of searching for what I thought would be the best match for my training. I happened accross you at the last moment. I came accross other instructors in multiple searches and forums, but not you. Maybe expanding how you market your program would be beneficial.
Thanks, Robin! It's great to be working with you. I am glad you found me! I will admit that I am definitely having some difficulty getting discovered by new audiences. This is mostly due to the fact that I can't really vouch for myself in these places. Someone else will have to vouch for me. In fact, most of my success so far has been because people have done this to some extent. Referrals are so important!