To be honest, teaching piano online was not something I thought of doing. I have much respect and will always recommend the face-to-face, in-the-flesh, let-me-guide-your-hand type of lessons. Obviously, this traditional method of giving lessons is still very much the norm, and it will probably never go out of practice, if not, around for a very long time. However, it has its set of limitations.
Advantage of Online Piano Lessons
With the advance of technology, online lessons provide a viable solution to two of these limitations — provide lessons where availability of piano teachers in a certain location is basically ‘extinct’ and to allow continuity in the case where students are not able to go to the teacher’s location and vice versa.
In fact, this was how I basically fell into teaching online lessons. Two families reached out to me regarding the inavailability of piano teachers in their location. Not that there were no piano teachers in the area. There were, but both families homeschool and wanted a certain type of piano method.
At that time, I recently got my certification in TEFL online with a certified school located in Ireland. As a student of an online school, there were a lot of good things I can say about the experience. So the call for help naturally veered me into exploring the idea of teaching piano online. People have done it, I’ve heard good and bad things about it, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.
First online lessons
The first few lessons were kind of trial and error. Rough, so to speak. My internet connection was poor, and the lessons would stop mid-piece. My speakers weren’t as great either, so the piano sounded like a tin can. The positioning of the video also took some sort of a learning curve, too. A regular half-hour lesson would turn into 45 minutes or even an hour (although I still got paid for half an hour).
But we soldiered on, and after a few months, I flew to Texas to facilitate the solo recital of my first ever online piano student. It was then that I realized — it can be done!
Some situations that confirmed online lessons for me
A few months ago, at a spring recital I hosted for my local piano students in Lakeside, California, I inserted my online students’ names in the printed the program. And so, the people expected a child to walk onstage and bow. Much to their surprise, the light was dimmed and a little girl from Alabama flashed on the screen, bowed in front of them and proceeded to play her piece. Everyone thought that was really cool.
Another situation that confirmed online lessons for me. A frazzled parent sends me a text message. She cannot take her daughter for piano lessons because she double-booked herself. She had people coming over at her house, and the only time she can entertain them was at the same time the piano lesson was supposed to be held. At the same time, minutes before her text, I was contemplating on postponing the lesson because I was stuck in traffic and wouldn’t be able to make it to the music room on time. Normally, the solution would be to cancel the lesson that week and schedule a make-up at the end of the month. But because I was doing a major trip at the end of the month, I kinda wanted to get the lessons out of the way. The idea of having an online lesson popped into my head and I suggested to the parent, “What if we still do the lesson today, but two hours later than usual time? Oh, and let’s do it online.” The parent gave a sigh of relief. It was a win-win situation.
100% online piano studio
I traveled a few days ago to the Philippines, not knowing when I will go back to the US. I endorsed my students to other piano teachers but many of them didn’t want to bother looking for another teacher in the area. Hence, most of them opted to have the lessons online. As a result, 100% of my piano lessons now happen on the computer.
True, I’m dealing with three different time zones at the moment. It drove me crazy at first, but with a little bit of effort in scheduling, it all worked out. My earliest piano lesson is at 3:30 am and by 10 am I’m done with work. The rest of my day is free!
As you can see, I kind of fell into it. There was no pre-meditation or planning to professionally teach piano online. It was only a temporary solution to a temporary problem. However, I realized that it was one of the perfect ways I can still financially support myself even though I’m always on the move.
I’ve been doing this for 7 months now, and so far, so good.