Which is Better, Online or In-person Piano Lessons?
I see a lot of posts on Social Media debating whether online lessons are better or worse than in-person lessons.
When I moved to Cleveland in 2018, I left my Florida students behind. I got a job at a local studio and taught piano lessons in-person.
My first experience with online lessons was taking jazz lessons myself with Brad Bietry via Skype. I loved it. But as an experienced player, the online experience wasn’t all that different from being at an in-person lesson. In fact, I was lucky to find someone of his caliber to teach me. Good jazz teachers are hard to come by.
Of course, in 2019, COVID hit, and I was more or less forced to teach online. Like everyone else, I was thrown into the water and had to learn to swim…fast.
The studio I worked at happened to be on the east side of Cleveland, I live on the southwest side. When the studio closed (due to the pandemic), most of my students didn’t want to travel to my home, and they were spread out all over the east side of the city, making traveling to them impossible.
A few of my students left to return to in-person lessons. Most stayed on with me. I have had a few move to other states and continue lessons with me. Some have even referred new students. There are students in my town who prefer online lessons because they are busy and don’t want to drive 15 minutes each way for a 30-minute lesson.
I have 40 students, 32 of them take lessons online regularly all of them take lessons online sometimes.
Here are the Pros and Cons for Students and Parents as I See Them.
Pros.
Better attendance.
I live in Cleveland (aka freeze-land) where the weather is an issue in the winter. Sick siblings, colds, traffic, and other scheduling issues are easier to navigate when lessons are online. Better lesson attendance means better students.
Student Independence
Except for the really little ones, my online kids manage their own lessons. They have to be responsible for having their music, writing down their assignments, and practicing.
I have screen sharing and and over-head camera for my keyboard. But I can’t just reach out and touch my student’s hands or keyboard, so my student has to spend a bit more brain power figuring things out. Which is good.
Pianos
I have my own piano on my side, and my student has theirs, which often works out really well. I can play, and they can imitate me. I can show them my Piano keyboard from an overhead position.
I can also see what instruments they are playing on and make recommendations if pianos need to be tuned or upgraded.
Technology
There are some fun apps and stuff that work really well online. I have a lot more flexibility so I can meet with students between lessons. Jump on Zoom and help with anassignmen or assign some new music.
Teacher Choice
Online lessons mean that a student can choose from many teachers. Specialists in different areas of music, personality, and teaching styles that are a great fit.
Cons
Advanced Repertoire
Most online platforms aren’t quite good enough to be able to hear the finer nuances being played. Especially when it comes to very advanced classical music. Audio limitations and occasional glitching make it hard to hear the full scope of dynamics, pedaling, articulation etc.
Preschoolers
It isn’t impossible to teach young kids online, but most of them will need help from an adult or older sibling. Keeping their attention and engaging in hands-on activities is more difficult during online lessons.
Accuracy
As a teacher, you have to have a very good ear to teach online. You can’t always see what a student is doing. I find myself relying on my ear to catch things like wrong notes, pedaling mistakes, and even incorrect fingering. I have to go the extra mile to ensure that my online students are playing accurately.
Technology
Every once in a while, the internet goes out, a student forgets to charge their device, or Zoom has some weird issue. This is annoying and can cost valuable lesson time. I have tried several other platforms, none of them is without occasional problems. You have to be somewhat tech-savvy to navigate the online issues.
For the Teacher
Pros
Attendance
I definitely get better attendance since beginning to teach lessons online. Fewer cancellations means better students and a steady income.
Health
Students with colds and minor illnesses can still come to their lessons without infecting me or anyone else in my household. If I am not feeling 100% I can still teach without worrying about getting my students sick.
Overhead
The cost of running an online lesson is very low. I pay a low fee to Zoom because I like the features. But you could use FaceTime or Google Meet free of charge.
Space
I teach in my living room. I don’t have to worry about too much traffic in my neighborhood or problems with an HOA. I also teach in-person lessons but if I didn’t, keeping my home and bathroom always ready for use wouldn’t be an issue.
Flexibility
I live in Cleveland. I have family in Seattle, NYC, and West Palm Beach. I can teach my students online from anywhere. I can also offer them flexibility. I have a family that travels to Europe every summer. They take their lessons online while they are overseas.
Students
I can keep students even when they move, and I have been able to enroll great students from all around the U.S.
Financial
Better attendance, more students, and low overhead all equal more money.
Cons
Workload
I find teaching online to be at least 30% more work than teaching in person. I need to do more planning ahead.I try to send books and music before the lesson.(Luckily, I have this website, which makes it easy to find, download, and send music and worksheets instantly.)
I expend much more energy keeping my students focused. I have to listen more intently and watch closely, I find more difficult to do while teaching online. I also have to speak clearly, slowly, and loudly. My voice is usually tired by the end of the day.
Parent Contact
It’s easier to mention a problem or have a quick chat with parents who are in the studio. I overcome this by having a student call their parent into the room if I need to speak to them.
Many parents are already somewhere in the room listening to the lesson. I always welcome parents into my home studio. I love it when parents are involved, but some teachers don’t, and having a parent listening to a lesson incognito might be intimidating.
Recitals
Online recitals are possible and inexpensive, but certainly not as much fun as in-person recitals. Most of my students are local, so I can still hold large in-person recitals in my area. For the out-of-state students, I hold online recitals or have them Zoom into our in-person recitals. I also do prerecorded video recitals that students can watch together. (More work for sure.)
In conclusion
All in all, I love teaching online. I love my students. I am happy that they can stick with me wherever they may move to. I enjoy being able to visit family and friends while continuing to work.
There are always pros and cons, and sometimes the pros are also the cons and vice versa. I think the quality and expertise of the individual teacher are more important than whether or not the lesson is online or in-person. But in the end, it comes down to individual choice and what is preferable for parents, students, and teachers.
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