How to make the most of your online singing lessons!

Because of the lockdown, this year most of my students have had the experience of doing their lesson through Zoom.

Having singing lessons online is possible and beneficial. However, it comes with some challenges.

While most people prefer in-person lessons, which we do at my singing studio in Auckland, doing singing lessons online can provide you with some benefits:

• You save time. You only need a couple of minutes to set up your account and get started. Forget the traffic!
• You are more likely to get more involved in the training. You have to, to make it work. This helps you develop some skills that you need if you want to make real progress in your singing.
• You learn to overcome limitations and get creative solutions instead.
• You can record the whole session.

However, in my experience there are some boxes you have to tick to make it work really well.

How to make the most of your zoom singing lessons

1. Internet connection. For working with online lessons it is necessary that you have a good internet connection. If you have trouble with your wifi often, I recommend you to be ready to use your phone data in case that something goes wrong. Singing lessons usually require 24 hs or more to be canceled, so you don’t want to lose your lesson just because your wifi is not strong.

My data provider offers data packages that are as cheap as $1 x 1 hour, which gives you enough time to do your lesson. $1 extra is better than losing your whole lesson and the money that it costs you!

• Check your settings BEFORE the lesson. You wouldn’t believe how much lesson time you can waste just in figuring out how to make the settings work. Time that you pay for! Well before the class starts, test that your mic and your speakers work well. It is really easy to do in Zoom.

• Microphone. You can do the lessons just fine by using the computer mic, but if you have access to a better external microphone, it is definitely the way to go. It does make a difference. The teacher can hear your voice much better and they will be able to give you better feedback.

• Camera. Setting the camera properly is really important for the teacher’s feedback as well but also for your own technique.
• As singers our whole body is our instrument, and getting the camera in the right angle really helps the teacher identify what you are doing.
• Set the camera in a way that makes it possible to see as much of your body as possible rather than just the face. Also, place it in a way that points straight to your face. It is really hard to see the student’s technique in depth when they place the camera below or above the level of their head.
• If you are using your phone and you can afford it, getting a tripod is a really good idea.

• Sound. If you are working on a song and you require music for it, make sure that you have a decent external speaker. In my experience, sharing the sound of the computer in zoom does not work well because sometimes there is a delay between the sound of it and your voice, which makes it impractical. Also, if you are not using a mic, the music sounds way louder than you and it also makes it impractical.
• Alternatively, the “Enable Original Sound” option in Zoom in your end can help a lot too.

• Distractions. I recommend to only have your Zoom open when you are doing a lesson. Having other pages opened, like facebook and your email box, is highly disruptive for your progress. Singing requires focus to build good vocal habits. Focusing on two or more things at a time doesn’t often work well, but I can tell I see better and faster results when students are present!

• Earphones. Please wear earplugs, otherwise there will be an annoying echo! 

• Have your material ready. Your notebook if you use one for making notes, your book, the lyrics of your song, whatever materials you are using for your lessons. 

• Body awareness. When you do zoom lessons it is a bit harder to make corrections. Try to be extra aware of your body sensations so you can make the most of the adjustments.

If you are interested in taking your voice to the next level, try the singing lessons in North Shore (Auckland NZ), or contact me to have online singing lessons! 

Singing lessons (North Shore area – Glenfield) available for adults, kids, and teens 🙂

Group singing classes available in Auckland – North Shore (Unsworth Heights – Glenfield)

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