Best Zoom Settings: How to Optimize Zoom for Online Piano Lessons

Many people complain about Zoom audio. However, with the right internet connection, Zoom's audio is actually fantastic. The difference between Zoom's default settings and settings that are optimized for music is rather extreme. On this page, I will show you which settings do what, and what you need to change to maximize the quality of your experience. 

By default, Zoom's audio comes preconfigured to best accommodate voice communication. It does this by compressing the audio, automatically adjusting the gain (volume) on your microphone, and removing unwanted background noise. Zoom also cancels out any audio from your speakers that originates from another Zoom participant (echo cancellation).  

Many of these features will need to be disabled or adjusted to make Zoom suitable for live music lessons. This might make the perceived quality of the call worse with regards to having a conversation, but it will make the difference as to whether it is possible to even use Zoom for music lessons. If you have ever been frustrated with Zoom settings, this is a good page to bookmark. 

Explanation of Important Zoom Audio Settings

Zoom has substantially improved its audio quality over recent years, especially when it comes to supporting music lessons. The most notable audio settings that affect music lessons are listed below. Feel free to skip this section if you just need to know what to do (and not necessarily why).

High Fidelity Audio Mode (Optional)

High fidelity music mode allows for a much higher bitrate of sound to be transmitted, which means significantly more detail, even from regular laptop mics. The bandwidth requirement also increases when this option is selected, so please take note. I believe high fidelity music mode also allows for further disabling of audio enhancements. The use of a wired ethernet connection is strongly recommended when enabling this setting.

Stereo Audio (Optional)

The next most important feature is the use of stereo audio. Please note that this applies only if you are using multiple mics or a mic with a stereo capsule, and both you and the other participant are using the desktop version of Zoom. At this time, iPads do not receive or transmit a stereo audio signal. 

The improvement that stereo audio makes to the audio quality cannot be overstated. The amount of nuance and detail that your ears can pick up when the left and right channels are separated is immense, and allows your teaching to be much more accurate to what the student might hear if they were to attend an in-person lesson.

As it turns out, one of the best possible devices that you can use for Zoom is a Zoom handy recorder. This device having the same name is actually just a coincidence. I use a Zoom H8 as an interface for all of my microphones. 

Removal of Echo Cancellation (Optional)

Echo cancellation is the feature used by calling programs such as Skype and Zoom to cancel out the sound of your voice coming out of the other person’s speakers. Sometimes, the effect of this is a little strong and tends to make conversation a bit clumsy. This feature also sometimes interrupts subtle sounds such as pedal overtones. 

If you are using headphones, you may wish to disable echo cancellation and possibly encourage your student to do the same. To clarify, if you disable echo cancellation, the student will be able to hear themselves through your speakers. Whoever disables the feature needs to wear headphones. 

Original Sound  (Required for Music Lessons)

Original sound is an audio feature that allows you to pass along an unmodified signal from your microphone. Normally, Zoom uses audio processing to improve the quality of voice communication, but this works very poorly for instruments. 

If you compare Skype and Zoom without the disabling of original sound in Zoom, Skype definitely sounds better. Once the option is enabled, Zoom sounds better, even before the other audio enchantments. 

You can tell this feature is on when you hear persistent background noise in the student's environment, which is a necessary evil when engaging in online lessons. If the sound goes in and out, especially when the student plays, their original sound is not on. 

Also, be aware that original sound can turn off on its own! See video below:

Optimal Zoom Settings: Desktop

As of April, 2021, here are the necessary optimizations you should make for the audio in Zoom to be suitable for online piano lessons. These options are for the desktop version of Zoom. 

In the options menu:

• Enable option to use original sound (note, this just enables the option, it does not turn on original sound)

• Disable the automatic adjustment of the microphone, and set the gain (volume level) as high as possible without clipping or distortion on loud passages

• Set background noise suppression to low. This will prevent the sound from “going in and out” when the original sound is enabled

• Enable high fidelity audio mode. This increases the sound quality for all microphones and is worth using if you have a good connection.

• Disable echo cancellation if you always use headphones.

• Enable stereo audio if you are using a Zoom field recorder, Blue Yeti mic, or audio interface with multiple mics. Note that this option only appears if you have enabled stereo audio for your account (on the Zoom website). Additionally, your microphone must be set to stereo mode.

In Meeting:

• Enable original sound. This is on the top left side of the screen by the shield icon. When you click “turn on original sound”, you can also select an arrow with a drop down selection and permanently enable it for your specific microphone. You should check to make sure that original sound is on for every music lesson. 

Optimal Zoom Settings: iPad

As of April, 2021, here are the necessary optimizations you should make for the audio in Zoom to be suitable for online piano lessons. These options are for the iPadOS version of Zoom.

In the options menu (outside of a call):

• Use Original Audio. This adds an in-meeting button to enable original sound.

In Meeting:

• Enable original sound. You'll find this setting under the more options button (looks like 3 dots). Unfortunately, you'll have to get in the habit of enabling this for every single music lesson. 

Minimum Hardware Setup

As far as the hardware is concerned, you will need a stable internet connection, a recent model device with an appropriate sized screen, and some way of mounting or supporting your device in a manner that allows for a good view of the student. 

The strength of your internet connection is by far the most important consideration (especially as it relates to upload speed). If you are too far from your router, or if your speeds are too low, it won't matter what device you are using! Definitely keep this in mind if you are considering Zoom piano lessons. 

Zoom Sounds Great but Requires a Good Connection

With a strong internet connection and optimized settings, Zoom audio is best in class, in my opinion. This is further enhanced by the use of headphones along with the disabling of echo cancellation. I have yet to find a better overall solution than Zoom for supporting all of my music lesson needs. 

It is worth mentioning that Zoom generally is one of the least forgiving video calling platforms with regards to low bandwidth, which is why I generally recommend to ensure your upload and download speeds are at least 5 mbps. You should also connect to your router directly via ethernet cable, or at least make sure that you are very close to your router. 

If you are a music teacher, feel free to refer your students to this page as needed.