9 Things That Ruin a Zoom Piano Lesson

Many of these issues are easily solvable by rearranging equipment or developing new habits to maximize the effectiveness of your lessons. These include a few minutes of preparation or simply asking family members to avoid streaming video during lessons, in addition to other things like limiting microwave use during lessons (weird!).

Although this article is a bit long, I have written in detail about things that you are unlikely to find examples of elsewhere. If you are a Zoom student or teacher (or looking to become one), you will likely benefit from reading this. With that said, lets move on to the issues themselves.

As an Amazon Associate, Flex Lessons earns from qualifying purchases.

1. Internet Issues

The quality of the internet connection is by far the most important requirement for online piano lessons. This is because many applications (such as Zoom) scale the quality of the audio and video with the available bandwidth. Connection issues really make lessons feel impersonal, distant, and cumbersome. 

Here are some things that impact the quality of your connection:

• incoming internet bandwidth

• distance between lesson area and internet signal (if using WiFi)

• type of router being used 

• type of internet hardware on tablet or laptop used for lessons (if using WiFi)

• presence of electrical interference 

• amount of devices using connection simultaneously 

If your connection is solid and you are using a recent model laptop or tablet for lessons, you can expect the experience to approach the quality of actual recorded video. In my experience, this makes it much less obvious that you are on a Zoom call at all, and you can really absorb the musical experience. 

2. Inconsistent Connection

In addition to speed, the connection needs to be very consistent. Inconsistency usually results from being too far from the router or the positioning not being ideal. If you are across the house from your router, you can expect the connection to be pretty rocky, regardless of your internet speed. 

If you have no choice but to be far from the router, there are a few things you can try. First is to experiment with the positioning of your equipment. Try moving the tablet/laptop to the other side of the piano and see what works best. Try moving your router around as well, possibly to a different shelf or different height. Sometimes a few feet can make all the difference. 

The next thing to try is to upgrade your router to something more powerful. If you are in the market for a new router, I highly recommend looking into a mesh network or something with multiple satellite units. I personally use one of the Orbi systems for my home, which you can find on Amazon. My Zoom laptop is connected via ethernet cable directly to one of the satellite units, which works rather well. 

Lastly, you can upgrade your Zoom computer/tablet so that the latest WiFi standards are being used. Recent devices pick up a much better signal compared to models that are several years old.

3. Bandwidth Competition

Another thing that will really mess with your connection is when multiple people are downloading files or streaming video during your lesson. In general, you should try to discourage heavy internet use in your household during lessons. 

I had an issue recently with a student (with a very fast 300mb connection) where the video quality was much worse all of the sudden. As it turns out, multiple family members were streaming video at the same time as the lesson. Once they stopped streaming, our Zoom connection became rock solid again. 

You can also have bandwidth competition on your own device because of background downloads and updates. Make sure everything is updated or finished downloading before you start your lesson. 

4. Electrical Interference

Believe it or not, there are things in your house that can interfere with your WiFi signal and make Zoom lessons basically impossible because of dropped connections. 

One example of this came from a student who placed their Zoom equipment near an electrical fuse panel in an adjacent wall. As it turns out, this electrical panel caused the WiFi to behave very erratically. This was solved by simply moving the equipment to the other side of the piano (away from the box). 

I had another student who would lose connection every time the microwave was used. I had no idea that microwaves can interfere with WiFi networks (apparently they use the same frequency). Now the family avoids the use of the microwave during the lesson and everything works perfectly. 

5. Feedback and Echos

Zoom has the capability of selectively muting or lowering the volume of call participant while another participant is speaking or making noise. For the most part, this works well (and has been improving). 

However, sometimes participants will be able to hear themselves coming through the speakers of the other person on the call, with a slight delay. This makes it very difficult to speak coherently. To avoid this, both participants should turn down the volume on their external speakers to the point where this is no longer occurring. 

Occasionally, you might experience a feedback loop during your call, especially during quiet moments when no one is talking. You will know this is happening because you will hear an obnoxious high-pitched shrill noise coming from your speakers. This is normally not an issue except when Zoom adjusts the sensitivity of your mic too high (which it does during quiet moments). I recommend disabling the auto-adjustment of the microphone if this becomes a problem. If you have an external microphone, move it away from your speakers. 

To avoid both of these issues, I recommend using a pair of high quality, open-back headphones, preferably ones that do not have a built in mic (headphone mics are really not the right kind of mic for music lessons). I use the Sennheiser HD 598, which appear to no longer be available, but you find the Sennheiser HD 599 or the HD 559 (the less expensive alternative) on Amazon if you are interested. Quality headphones minimize technical hiccups with sound while also providing a much more immersive experience.

6. Too Much Background Noise

One thing I have noticed is that the mics on most tablets and laptops tend to pick up a lot of room noise. Normally, this isn’t a big deal, but if your house isn’t quiet during the lesson, your instructor might become overwhelmed. 

To illustrate this point, I feel I should mention that I can often hear the TVs on in the other room, the kids running around upstairs, the noise of the dishes, etc. For your Zoom lesson to be the best it can be, you should take steps to ensure that your lesson space is relatively quiet during the lesson. 

You may also want to consider getting an external microphone. The mic I recommend for most people is the Blue Yeti, which you can find on Amazon. This mic can record in stereo and features a headphone jack for monitoring and is probably your best option under $150. For the record, Zoom accepts and transmits a stereo signal, so the Blue Yeti does beat out many of the other mics for being able to take advantage of this. 

Most USB mics feature a more focused pickup pattern and transmit a much cleaner signal, which helps the instructor hear more detail. If you have seen any of my videos, you will notice that I use a dedicated external microphone for Zoom calls for exactly this reason. 

7. Weird Lighting and Exposure Problems

Dim lighting will result in a grainy picture. Most laptop and tablet cameras have tiny sensors that pick up a lot of visual noise in low light situations. Additionally, many cameras will lower the frame rate to compensate for this. We need a smooth frame rate and a relatively clean image for the best Zoom experience. 

On the other end of the spectrum, too much lighting can be problematic as well. Since piano keys are white, they can easily be over exposed if your device is at a certain angle relative to incoming sunlight or bright lights. 

Try to position your camera to avoid these issues and be sure to check a preview before starting the lesson. If you see tons of grain, you need more light. If your keyboard is solid white, your shot is overexposed. The view of your piano should be bright and clear but still allow you to see the lines between the keys. 

8. Lack of Basic Preparation Before Lessons

Practice is one thing, but there are other things you should do before your Zoom lesson. For starters, you should ensure your device has enough power or can be plugged in (with the correct size charger). 

I frequently experience this problem with students who use iPads. You should note that the iPad requires a larger power brick compared to the iPhone ones you probably have laying around. If you use the small 5w power brick, you will likely drain battery faster than you charge during a Zoom lesson. 

Additionally, you should update your device and applications 10-15 minutes or so before the lesson. This prevents any chance of interruption or bandwidth competition between updates and Zoom. 

While you are updating and charging your device, you might as well practice your material and warmup so that you can perform better during the lesson. Review any notes, run through part of your technical regimen, and play through a piece or two. Make note of any questions you might have as well. 

9. Teacher Student Incompatibility

I don’t believe every good piano teacher out there will be a good online piano teacher. Online teaching requires a certain specialized skill set in addition to a good hardware setup. Experienced online teachers rely on demonstration rather than simultaneous interaction. They know how and when to engage and use technology to their advantage (such as multiple cameras and screen sharing). 

Even if teachers possess this baseline standard, mismatches in personality types and teaching/learning styles can make for a pretty poor experience. Passive students need engaging teachers. Detail-oriented students need teachers with some micromanagement ability. Creative students require inspiration and open-ended instruction. 

This is all to say that students should seek teachers who fit their style and needs. Teachers shouldn’t accept students if their teaching specialization can’t incorporate a students needs. Finding a good match between teacher and student is pretty essential. 

In Summary

Online lessons are relatively easy to get into considering the availability of high speed internet and smart devices, for both teachers and students alike. That being said, both participants should work to avoid issues such as the ones mentioned in this article if they want to really focus on the content of the lesson.

I have designed my studio setup in such a way as to maximize the quality of the presentation to the student, allowing for detailed instruction of the sort normally expected in person. You can read about what I suggest in terms of setup tips and equipment recommendations for students in this article, where I use examples from my own setup. 

Last but not least, if you are interested in more details on creating and optimizing your setup, check out my Mega Guide on Teaching Lessons Online.

This post was originally published on the Clarion Clavier blog in June, 2019. It has since been updated and relocated to this site.