How to Help Your Students Set Up for Online Piano Lessons
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If you are an online piano teacher, or you are a piano parent who is helping your child get ready for online lessons, you can easily set up for online piano lessons with these tips.
In my piano studio, online piano lessons are a standard part of what I provide as a teacher. In fact, the majority of my piano students live out of state and have only experienced online piano lessons.
Below, I’ll walk you through a few tips on setting up your equipment and piano area for online piano lessons.
Whether you’re a teacher who is new to teaching online piano lessons, or you’re a parent who just signed their child up for online piano lessons, you’ll find a variety of helpful tips below.
At-a-glance Tips to Set Up for Online Piano Lessons
Use these at-a-glance tips as a quick reminder.
- Use Zoom.
- Use My Music Staff.
- Choose a device with a large screen.
- Charge and restart your device.
- Position your device at eye level.
- Optimize your audio.
- Improve your lighting.
- Prepare materials in advance.
- Ask parents or other adults to help students.
- Provide a calm and quiet learning environment.
Tips to Set Up for Online Piano Lessons
These more detailed tips will help you learn what you can do to help your students set up for online piano lessons. The more you prepare ahead of time, the easier that first lesson will be!
Use Zoom for Online Piano lessons
I teach piano lessons on Zoom, an easy-to-use platform that is great for virtual piano lessons and has served me very well for several years.
Students should download Zoom to their devices as one of the first steps to set up for online piano lessons.
You may be concerned about the audio limitations of Zoom, but keep reading for tips on how to drastically improve the audio and make it a terrific platform for online piano lessons.
Use My Music Staff Studio Management Software
Piano teachers, this tip is mainly for you. Simplify your lesson reminders, invoicing, scheduling, and much more with My Music Staff music studio management software.
It has been a vital part of my set up for online piano lessons.
One thing I love about My Music Staff is that it sends an automated lesson reminder each week that includes the link to my Zoom meeting.
These automated lesson reminders have really improved punctuality in my studio, and I rarely have anyone text me after the lesson time to ask for the link.
I also use My Music Staff to type piano lesson “homework” assignment pages, which I email to parents immediately after the lesson so students know what to practice for the week.
Plus, piano parents can sign up for automatic payments in the parent portal (best thing ever!!)!
This completely eliminates the need for me to wait for late payments and charge late fees, and it also lessens the number of things piano parents need to do throughout the year!
So much easier for everyone!
Use a larger screen
It’s extremely important for teachers and students to see each other clearly, which will be a huge struggle on a small phone screen.
That’s why all of my online students are required to use a laptop or iPad as their set up for online piano lessons.
I teach all of my online lesson on my MacBook Pro. The screen is large and vibrant, and I can see my students easily.
Use a laptop or an iPad to create a much better visual experience and a much more enjoyable lesson for everyone.
Charge and Restart Your Device as part of your setup for online piano lessons
Fully charge your laptop or iPad before each lesson to avoid interruptions or unexpected shutdowns.
It’s a little jarring to be in the middle of a fabulous lesson and the student’s screen suddenly goes black!
So please charge those devices or keep them plugged in during lessons because Zoom will deplete your device’s battery more than you might think.
It’s also a good idea to restart the device before starting the lesson to help prevent screen freezes, especially if you are using FaceTime for lessons.
Screen freezes used to happen way more often than they happen now, but the frozen screens can capture some pretty hilarious expressions!
Position your device correctly
Position your laptop or iPad at eye level on a sturdy surface to the side of the student, not on top of the piano or in the student’s lap (top row).
You can use a music stand, iPad stand, bookshelf, ironing board, or even a stack of cardboard boxes. They all work nicely.
This way, students and teachers can see each other’s faces, hands, and piano keys clearly and easily (bottom row).
Take the time to help your student know exactly how to set up for online piano lessons with their camera angle.
Optimize your audio
Excellent audio during online piano lessons is non-negotiable for teachers and students, and I’ve put together my best tips for fantastic audio in a separate post.
Read How to Create the Best Audio for Online Piano Lessons for tips on which microphone you may need to purchase, external speakers, and how to fully optimize Zoom audio set up for online piano lessons.
Improve your lighting
Online lessons are so much better when the space is bright and well-lit.
I use an inexpensive ring light and a lamp to create the best possible lighting when I’m teaching online lessons, and students need to have good lighting for their lessons as well.
Any lamps or right lights in the room should be in front of the student for the best lighting.
Here are two examples of lighting from my set up for online piano lessons:
- The first photo has poor lighting because I turned off my ring light.
- The second photo has great lighting because I turned my ring light back on. It makes a huge difference!
Everyone should Be prepared
Have all books, materials, and piano practice kit items ready before the lesson starts.
Not sure what a piano practice kit is? Read How to Create the Perfect Piano Practice Kit for Online Piano Lessons.
Parents and teachers should login a few minutes early to avoid any last-minute rush, tech issue, software updates, etc.
I stay on time for lessons by syncing the My Music Staff calendar to my phone calendar (another win for MMS, and highly recommended!). Then I set my phone calendar to remind me 5 minutes before each lesson begins.
Parent Should be Present
For very young students, parents should be completely available to help during online piano lessons.
Even with older students, parent help can be invaluable during the first few lessons to ensure everything is set up correctly and runs smoothly.
Provide a Calm and Quiet Learning Environment
I have been an online piano teacher since 2012. During that time, I have seen and heard things from my student’s homes that might make you cringe just a little!
Parents on conference calls in the same room, little siblings running through the room half-clothed, parents reprimanding another child within earshot, dogs barking throughout the entire lesson, discussions between spouses that were thought to be private…
This is your reminder that the microphones on our devices are better than we realize when it comes to voices!
So please, please, whether you’re a teacher or parent, provide an environment that is quiet, calm, free of distractions, and promotes learning.
And please be mindful that if you are a parent and you are talking or watching TV during your child’s lesson, even though I may not be able to see you, I can still hear you! 😆
Final Thoughts on Helping Students Set Up for Online Piano Lessons
Becoming an online piano teacher or student might seem challenging at first, but taking it step by step will help make it much easier and less overwhelming.
Every step listed here will make your online piano lessons higher quality and more efficient, and will ensure that our students get the most out of each session.
Whether you’re a piano parent or a fellow piano teacher, remember that every small change contributes to a more engaging, richer learning experience.
Piano parents, your support is instrumental to the online learning process, and your willingness to enhance and improve your online piano lessons setup is truly appreciated.
Piano teachers, I hope this guide is helpful as you continue growing and expanding your online piano studios.
Let’s work together to help our students thrive!
Need even more online piano teaching help?
Check out these blog posts!
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Melody Payne
Melody Payne
Welcome!
Hi! I’m Melody Payne, a pianist and piano teacher, educational resource author, a fun-loving wife to the most wonderful and talented hubby I could ask for, and a lifelong learner who loves to share. I want to make your life as a music teacher easier by writing and sharing helpful and relevant music teaching articles, and by creating educational resources with your very own students in mind. If you are a parent who wants to enroll your child in piano lessons, I’d love for us to get started building those skills that can give your child a lifetime of musical enjoyment!
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