Zoom Piano Lessons
Many online music teachers express frustration about the split second of delay that we experience over Zoom. While I’m a big fan of platforms that allow me to collaborate with other musicians in real time, the delay over Zoom during piano lessons doesn’t bother me one bit. However, I didn’t always feel that way.
When I first started teaching online, that little bit of extra time created anxiety for me. While I’m not someone who is normally in a rush, I was afraid of losing the student’s attention during that pause. However, as I worked with my students week after week, I realized that I didn’t need to rush to fill that space–we all got used to it, and I wasn’t losing their attention.
Now that I’ve taught online for several years, I’ve made friends with the Zoom delay–it prevents me from jumping in too soon to help, and it allows my students a moment to consider what I may have just said or demonstrated. This extra space gives them a little more time to process and figure things out for themselves, and it gives me space to reflect on what my students have said, so that I can fully understand their point of view. When we allow each other some extra space, creativity emerges—my students perceive what we’ve discussed in a unique way, and I learn to regard what I know in a different way.
Like my student in the photo below, I’ve begun to embrace that little delay over Zoom. Why not use piano lessons as an opportunity to slow down from our fast-paced world? If you’re curious about Zoom lessons and want to see some excerpts from lessons in the studio, please visit Princeton Piano Teacher on YouTube.
My student having a little fun with the recent Apple update. :-)