Hi everyone, it's been brought to my attention that Zoom is now free for unlimited amounts of time for one-on-one lessons and you only need a pay-for account if you are using Zoom for group lessons.
@@mchellemchelle9120 hi Michelle, yes, I am currently accepting new students. Feel free to send me an email to: billygollnermusic@gmail.com to set up a lesson. Look forward to working with you -Billy
Great video! Please make sure you monetize this. I would be more than willing to watch an ad so you could profit off of this content you are so generously giving out.
Thank you for this!! I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed about how to make the switch--but this helps a lot! Thank you for being so transparent about your set up and process. It's so so appreciated!
thank u. very useful video! I am singing teacher. What is about jamkazam for playing and singingat the same time (you and your student) without delays? I never tried it.
There are lots of services that claim you can jam in real time, there is always some type of delay. It's possible these services have improved since I last tried them but they didn't work well for me.
I don’t know if it is normal, but on zoom if I do the exercise along with the student, their audio will just get mute sometimes. On skype that doesn’t happen. And I know zoom usually do that on chats with a lot of people, but for a singing teacher I don’t think is a good thing. My students are all beginners, so they usually don’t feel security on doing the exercises alone. And I don’t know how to keep them as excited about the lessons this way :/
Hi Michelle, have you adjusted the student's audio settings in Zoom? Both you and the student need to set up the audio at the beginning of the lesson. Let me know if that helps
Hi Billy, I don't have the usb microphone yet and may order soon. I did try a sample Zoom lesson the other day and my student's voice went in and out and there was quite a bit of distortion. Without them also having the usb microphone I probably won't get a good sound on their end either correct? On the lip bubbles for instance their voice went in and out quite a bit and not sure how to direct them.
There can definitely be issues of audio interference with semi-occluded exercises, what I would suggest is to only use them as absolutely needed. I'd also just make sure that at the beginning of each lesson, you go through and re-adjust the audio with your students.
Thanks so much for this! I have a question about scheduling which you may or may not be able to answer. I need to schedule consecutive lessons with no break in between each class. Should I allow them to "join before host" so that they're already up and ready when I switch over? Or will that not work because you can't have simultaneous meetings?
Karina Carr I’ve never had it cause any problems but you can always set up the waiting room function or just don’t click the enable join before host option :)
BG, Your video is fantastic! the pace, the information, and particularly the resolution quality of your image. Are you using an external camera? or just the Mac. I am also teaching vocals on Zoom and is a problem because it is voice and drones and to groups. Basically, Call and Response is impossible. Any tips? facebook.com/
Silvia Nakkach for groups, you can only have one student singing at a time. Mute everyone and just trust that the response is coming through even though you can’t hear it
Great video! Do you have any experience of using microphones with phones and tablets with Zoom? Or do you only use a laptop? I've been running into trouble with finding compatible devices.
Great video - thank you! I am just getting started in this. I'm having difficulty getting the piano to be heard. Any ideas about what this could be? Thx!
Is your keyboard sound coming from the keyboard's own speakers or do you route the keyboard through the computer somehow? Thanks so much for this video!
It's coming through my iPhone at the beginning and the Blue Yeti mic later when I do the Zoom tutorial. The hissing is my computer overheating (which never happens), not the microphone :)
Fantastic video! super helpful. I've been teaching online and in my studio for sometime and zoom is a great platform. Thank you again for you info. Many Blessings.
Other than inevitable delay issues, have you or anyone experimented with connecting your keyboard directly to the computer so it's not picked up by your microphone, thereby possibly creating less distortion or noise cancelling, and you are able to (slowly) accompany the singer better?
Tim Elliott I’ve used a midi keyboard before and shared the sound via share-screen through logic. But it wasn’t that much better compared to using a USB l/external mic
Professional Voice Care Center | Karen Sussman Hi Karen, you’ll want to get an Ethernet cable and an Ethernet adapter. Both can be bought on amazon. They have an Amazon Basics version of both which should work great.
Billy, I cannot thank you enough for posting this. I have been wanting to offer remote lessons for a long time and never had to, well now as many others watching this I have to, Oy Vey!! You are truly a life saver!
Hi, Thanks a lot for this useful video. I'm setting up for teaching voice lessons online with Zoom but I'm having a few problems. I'm using a Macbook Pro and a Blue Snowball Ice mic and playing piano while singing but the voice keeps cutting out or sounding distorted for the person listening. I've tried different audio settings but the problem persists. Any advice welcome. Thanks a lot.
Simplify your piano playing as much as possible, don't try and play an exercise along with a student, just play a basic chord or starting note, etc. Also, don't try and accompany the students, have them sing along with practice tracks being played on their end.
Hi Billy Thank you for this video - I am actually a 'cellist hoping to play virtual duets with my students in real time Zoom sessions...it seems from your video that you are able to play a piano accompaniment on your end while your students are singing on theirs...if so, does that require any special audio setting? if not, does anyone know how to do real-time music collaborating using Zoom or another accessible platform?
Hi NJ, if your wifi and the student's wifi signals are strong enough, you will likely be able to play the duet without too much delay. Generally when I accompany students online, I keep it to the absolute basic though (block chords), otherwise it'll delay on their end. I would avoid duets online, if possible and stick to solo rep.
So by sharing the screen and say, you are using a piano karaoke or other on RU-vid...will they hear it from their end and can we hear them singing with it well? I use a PA system normally in lessons to play backing tracks and also when I am teaching contemporary with mic. I am planning to use this speaker to play my students on rather than using headphones. But I will have to see how it goes!
This information was very helpful! I made it through my first week of online teaching, but will adjust this coming week to follow your suggestions. The hardest part is the delay and sound. I made some mistakes, but I hope to dial in my lessons next week.
Do you have a recital with your online students? If you do how do you go about doing that? If you don’t what do you do in the place of a recital experience?
@@natalieb.915 Hi Natalie, I'm glad you found the video helpful. What I do in lieu of recitals is offer Zoom masterclasses and Open Mics for online students. That way there is an option for performance. These are always optional though.
Billy, Thank you! I made notes to use with my online teaching and will pass this along to my students. On Zoom you didn't mention clicking "Advanced" after disabling the microphone. I have been clicking "Advanced" and then check "show in-meeting option to "Enable Original Sound." I also unclick "Disable echo cancellation" on the same page. Is this the best practice?
Thank you for your video! Very helpful. My question is, can I use wire-ear buds (also student) or does it need to be headphones like the ones you are using in your video?
Thank you so much for this video! Our teachers are all switching to online lessons for now, and the number one question is how to accompany the students...because of the delay... Any more ideas? Send them the track, have them sing along while you listen, or any other ideas?
The teachers cannot accompany the students online, there's too much delay and will significantly damage the student's learning experience. Have the teachers send practice tracks in advance and have the students play it on a separate device from the one they are completing the lesson on.
This is great! Thanks for sharing. Do you have any advice for advertising your online lessons? I have a private studio and unfortunately only a few have continued lessons through Covid. Am trying to figure out other advertising best practices online (other than google ad words)?
Thank so much for this! I have a couple group voice lessons I do. In this case, should I forget about using a backtrack accompaniment for the students to sing to?
Hi Billy! Thanks so much for this detailed demo. I was wondering... many earphones come with their own mics built in. Do you know how this works when you’re using ear phones to listen but an external microphone for students to hear you? How do you know which receiver is sending the audio to your students? Thanks!
Chloé Hurst Hi Chloe, that’s a great question. If you’re using Zoom, you can go in under -preferences -audio settings and adjust which microphone is picking up your sound.
Useful tutorial, I'm guessing things have changed a bit in two years? Would you say this is still pretty much on point with the tech side of things, or is there something new that's a must!!? Thanks
Thank you so much for all your tips. I am sure you can see the appreciation from so many people. I am still wondering, does my student needs a microphone as well and I cannot play the piano on my end? So they would need to play the instrumental through a different way on their end? What about group vocal lessons? I would need to play the music, that they can sing to it. Any tips to do that? Sorry for so many additional questions.
Hello, great video! I was wondering if the student also needs a microphone? Of course along with headphones.....and in that case the student can sing with a karaoke in the same pc?
It helps with the audio quality if they have an external microphone but it’s less necessary for the student to use an external mic. For the karaoke track, have the student play it through an external device (not through the same device they’re doing the lesson with)
Or ask the student to try the share mode for the sound. Also, on my side, that makes a huge difference when students add a microphone. I'm then able to hear some subtleties in their voice. :)
Thank you so much for sharing! Would anyone be willing to let me observe an online lesson. I'm looking at teaching virtual choir for the foreseeable future and would love to get some ideas for virtual group lessons, etc. Thanks for considering!
almost a year later after you post this video i find myself coming here because i have a student doing a trial lesson with me virtually tomorrow and i found this video to be very helpful! thank you!
Fantastic!!! I teach online all the time, lately it has been so crazy. Great to see some of your tips! Accompaniment is the biggest issue. Best when they have accompinement on their end for the sound issues.
The one issue is myself and my students have a better quality video and audio on our mobile devices. My 2 laptop have a horrible webcam. Can this advice be utilized to mobile devices?
Fantastic video, very helpful for starting to teach online! Thank you!I was a little concerned about the level of white noise...it wasn't there at say 5:53 but by 6:32 it is quite strong. Is that because compression is off?
Antonia Pigot great question. That’s because my computer was overheating randomly. You’re hearing the hiss of my computer. It never makes this sound (of course the one time I’m recording on it) haha :)
You are a hero!!! Thank you so much you answered pretty much all of my questions. Now I'm just hoping that my students' parents are going to be proactive about putting the rig together. Thank you!!
Thank you for this Billy! I have been using Zoom and have been wondering how to overcome the distortion of sound when my students lip trill - you took me further into Zoom - awesome!! And I'll be updating my equipment now to include a USB mic. Your explanation was excellent and to the point.
Billy, Thank you for the video. It's very instructive. My question follows on Bob's. Would Bluetooth headphones through the computer work as well as wired?
Thank you so much, Billy! This was so helpful. I was really nervous about trying to start online lessons and your video helped ease my anxiety. Thank you! 🙏🎶
Any ideas as to why my kids are clear on my end on zoom, but I am a garbled mess? I did the " test" for the mic and it was still very staticky. I do not have an external mic, but have ordered one. Thank you in advance. Your video has been by far the most helpful.
hi, thanks so much! Question- i'm teaching younger kids online voices lessons (switching to online because of COVID19) and the question is this- when they sing to a karaoke/instrumental youtube, or mp3, would I be able to turn it on from my end, so I can control when to stop my students to work on problem spots? or do they have to play it from their end only? that is my biggest concern.. THANKS
Make sure the track is playing on their end. Even better if they can play it from a separate device than they are using for the lesson. If they are using the same device for the lesson and to play the track, they have to keep their headphones on (you won't hear the track but they will), otherwise you will run into major audio issues (sound will likely cut out altogether)
Thank you SO much Billy! This is fantastic, so organized and useful. I also feel so proud to see you showing such an expertise with complete generosity! One question: is there any max number of participants when you're using this for the classroom? I thought you had a number limitation when you do SVW™ online class.
The only strange thing for me was I cannot really hear myself. I can hear the student but my voice is muffled to me. Is that normal? Is it something I can change? Maybe it's because I have noise cancelling headphones...Thanks!
Hi Billy! Thanks for your helpful video. A few headphone questions: Do you plug your headphones into the Yeti, or into an interface? Is there anything to be gained if only one side of the lesson (teacher or student) uses headphones? Are headphones just as useful all platforms, or just Zoom?
Hi Bob, these are great questions. Regardless of which interface you're using, headphones are going to be beneficial. Both parties wearing headphones is the ideal scenario. However, if only the teacher is wearing headphones, that will be okay (there will be more audio issues on the student's end, in that case). I plug my headphones directly into the Blue Yeti microphone and there is a volume knob to adjust the volume on the Yeti for my headphones.
Fabulous Billy! THANK YOU! This is so helpful! I'm going to share it with many other teachers and students, who I know will be equally grateful for your assistance, and for taking the time to share your expertise.
Thank you Billy, Great and clear explanation of how Zoom works. Especially in this time now, I need to try this and I will. One question: Would it work to use karaoke on youtube in the share mode? Thank you so much! Best regards!
Jeffrey Zuhdy you would be better off to have the student play the karaoke track on their end either from another device or through their computer with their headphones still in
Hello Jeffrey, last week, one of my students tried to sing with a karaoké video on RU-vid using the share mode on her side. It doesn't work when the teacher shares the music, but it is fine when the student shares with the teacher. I hope this will help! 🙂
Thank you so much Billy. This is so generous of you! I appreciate all your advise on set up etc. and have one question in particular: do you know what kind of cable to use to plug directly into the router box? Sounds like you have experience with this. A picture would be so valuable if that is possible. Again, many thanks for sharing your knowledge!! Voice teachers unite online!!
Meredith Borden you’ll want to use an Ethernet cable and you’ll likely need an adapter to get it to plug directly into the computer. If you look up Ethernet cable adapter on amazon, the Amazon Basics brand version of both should work perfectly.
@@BillyGollnerMusic Thank you again! I appreciate how direct and to the point your video is. You've really helped out a lot of singing teachers (and others too, I just shared your video with my colleague at Berklee College of Music!)
Thank you, Billy, for sharing this video. I would like to ask if we need to connect the keyboard to the computer or is it sufficient enough that it will be heard already by the student? Thank you! =)
Yeah, it's super intense and I know how big the learning curve is to make online lessons work. I'm trying to look at the silver lining and how great it will be that people will still be able to create art during this difficult time.
