Is it worth taking online music classes?
The online classes save their way, open the door to more teachers and let you review the recorded class. They also have boundaries that should be met before they start.
Yes, for most young and adult and for many children with some accompaniment. Online music classes give you back your time of the journey, let you choose teacher regardless of the town I live in and let you record the class to go through it throughout the week. Instead, teacher cannot play with you in real time or put your hand up, and the sound comes with less nuances.
If you are still deciding between formats, start with our comparison of [home or virtual classes]](/blog/clases-de-musica-a-domicilio-o-virtuales)Here we go more deeply: what do you really gain from online class, what do you lose and how do you know if that's for you.
To sum up
- The most concrete advantage of online class is time: with no journeys, an hour's class takes an hour of your day, not an entire afternoon.
- It allows you to choose teacher for his profile and not his closeness, something key if you live outside a big town or outside the country.
- To record the class with permission from the teacher, each session turns into studio material for the whole week.
- His boundaries are true: you cannot touch them in sync, some nuances of sound are lost and the posture correction depends on the camera.
- It works best with students who have some autonomy and with little children and frosted string beginners often require face and face support or an adult close by.
The benefits that can be noted every day
That's how you get your time back.
In a town such as Bogotá, going and back from a class can take more than the class itself. online, connecting you takes a few minutes. That saved time usually means the difference between keeping the class a week for months or leaving it at the first time of a lot of work or school exams.
Do you choose faith for what you teach, and you don't choose where you live?
If you live in a town without an instrument offer, outside Colombia or simply seek a specific profile - someone who teaches tiple, who prepares admission tests or dominates jazz - the online class greatly expands your options. The distance will stop being a filter and you can decide by experience, style and how to teach.
You can record the class
It's one of the less advanced benefits. With permission from teacher, to record the session allows you to re-see a demonstration, to check exactly how a passage sounded or to remember the sign that you forgot about ten minutes to hang up. Below we tell you how to get juice out of it.
Sharing screen facilitates theory
The teacher can show you the score, point a bar, put a reference audio or write on a digital board. To [music theory]](/clases/teoria-musical), reading and harmony, the screen is an advantage, not an obstacle.
The class survives travel and changes
If your instrument travels with you, or if your instrument is the voice, a hot ground vacation or a week's work out of town no longer means to lose his rhythm. While you have a stable connection, continuity remains.
The boundaries that should be known
None of these boundaries prevents them from learning but they do change how they work. A good online teacher knows them and organizes them to compensate them.
| Boundary | What happens in practice | How to pay |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement of sign | They cannot play or sing together at the same time and live accompaniment doesn't work. | The class is organized by shift and the teacher can send you clues to practice with accompaniment. |
| Compressed sound | The soft dynamics and tightness and some tuning details come with less precision. | Configure audio without noise filters and send short recordings made with your cell phone. |
| No physical contact | The teacher cannot put up with your wrist, shoulder or bow grip. | More precise indications, camera demonstrations and, if necessary, some face-to-face classes. |
| A single angle | What's not in the picture cannot be rectified. | To move the camera according to the class part or to add a second device. |
| Unstable connection | Fold, frozen or intersected audio. | Connect by cable or close to the router and have agreed a plan B with the teacher. |
| At home | Notifications, family, pets or temptation to open another tab. | A fixed corner, a phone to avoid annoying and class treated as a date. |
Several of these limits are greatly reduced with good configuration. Virtual class equipment explain how to set up camera, microphone and audio.
To whom do we and to whom do we have to?
| Perfil | Do you work online? | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Adult starting piano, guitar or singing | That's good. | He's usually have autonomy, tight hours and he's an idiot about his move. |
| Young with a base that wants to move forward | Yes | It can follow indications, be recorded and have a repertoire prepared between classes. |
| Student who prepares admission to a music race | Yes, especially in theory, reading and dictation | Theoretical and auditory contents are worked well on screen and the instrument may require some face-to-face review. |
| A child from 7 to 12 years old | Yeah, with an adult close by | The adult helps with the camera and audio and to hold attention. |
| A child under 6 years of age at a musical initiation | Better face | The class is play, movement and contact; face a screen care lasts barely. |
| Absolute pioneer of violin, cello or wind | Possible with more care | The posture, arch or purport are best built with his teacher at first. |
| Who wants to play as a group or as an ensemble | Not as a main format | The delay of the sign prevents them from playing together in real time. |
If you place yourself at half the table, you don't have to choose a single format: you can combine virtual and face class as far as you're at.
How to get his best at record your classes
To record the class only works if you use it later. That's a simple way to do it:
- Ask permission to the teacher at first and agree what's been recorded: complete class or only demonstrations.
- At the end, write about what's important in three terms: what to correct, what to practice and what to do with.
- During the week, she sees only the key fragments, and she sees only the whole class.
- Before practising a difficult passage, look again how his teacher touched him and how his hands moved.
- Keep a record of you at the start of every month and compare them with them as clear as your advance.
A useful detail: an audio with his cell phone close to his instrument usually sounds better than his video call, because his name doesn't come through his phone call compression. If his teacher needs to listen to a fine nuance, sending him a short film between classes can solve what his connection doesn't let them hear.
How to Know If The Online Class Is Operating To You
After four to six weeks you should be able to answer that yes to most of these questions:
- Do you get out of every class knowing exactly what to practice?
- Teacher fixes concrete things that she sees and hears and doesn't just speak in general?
- Do your camera show what the teacher needs to see, or do you have to ask them to suit you every while?
- Do you note progress with comparing your recordings?
- Did the connection and audio stop being a topic in most classes?
If several responses are "no," there's usually something to title before we rule out the format: the camera's location, audio's configuration or how to organize the class. Talk to your teacher. If the problem is physical posture, a few face-to-face sessions can clear it up.
What to do before your first class online
- Define a clear goal: to learn songs, to prepare an audition, to re-take an instrument or to read scores.
- Choose a fixed corner with good light and low noise. That guide helps you prepare your space for virtual class.
- Keep up with the tuning instrument and a notebook and whatever your teacher wants.
- Do the camera and sound test the day before, not five minutes earlier.
On [online music classes]](/clases-de-musica-online) you find how virtual classes work with our teachers, who are evaluated in music, pedagogy and human quality before giving their first class.
Frequently asked questions
Do you learn as quickly as you do online music classes?
It depends more on practice and teacher as well as format. In piano, guitar, singing or theory, a constant student can advance at a very similar online rhythm. The difference is at first shown with rubbed ropes and winds, by posture.
How long should a virtual music class last?
With young and adult jobs, classes usually run from 45 to 60 minutes and with children, shorter sessions better hold care with a screen. Value depends on format, duration and frequency, so best to have a look at it by WhatsApp.
Can I have online classes with a teacher from Bogotá if I live in another town or another country?
That's one of the main benefits of the format: you just need a stable connection and coordinate the schedule with the time difference, if anything.
Can I record my online music class?
Yes, as soon as the teacher agrees. Ask him at first and use the recording only for your personal studio and do not share and publish without his permission.