ZOOM frustration...

[dinulip]

Hi, I teach piano on ZOOM, mostly to adult beginners. However, I find that the sound quality is unreliable, if not plain bad. Any comment or piece of advice would be very welcome! Thank you!

[keypeg]

I've not done this for ages, but I remember that there was a setting for music, because the regular setting is for speech.
When I worked regularly with my teacher we supplemented with mp3s and videos on Dropbox because that's the only way to hear the real sound.   A demo in real time can give general impressions, but otherwise there are distortions.

[quantum]

When I worked regularly with my teacher we supplemented with mp3s and videos on Dropbox because that's the only way to hear the real sound.   

This is a very good idea.  One can have the student record the entire piece prior to lessons and upload it.  It can relieve some of the challenges with trying to do critical listening through the live meeting. 

There are several settings in Zoom that one can change to optimize for music.  It's not a single setting, so several things to click through.  It helps if both parties in the meeting have these set, so you will need to get your students to make these settings changes. 

Here's what Zoom has to say about it:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115003279466-Configuring-audio-for-music-and-singing


Work on mic positioning.  Have your student record to Audacity, or similar program, and send you the mp3.  If it sounds bad, then you need to work on making that sound good first.  Once the mic positioning is optimized, then work on playing with Zoom settings. 

[keypeg]

This is a very good idea.  One can have the student record the entire piece prior to lessons and upload it.  It can relieve some of the challenges with trying to do critical listening through the live meeting. 

Not only entire piece.

Some scenarios off the top of my head.

- Counting.  This is impossible to do over Zoom in the sense that the teacher cannot tap to your playing because one of the two voices gets turned off, or there is a time delay.  The teacher can create an mp3 with counting examples. As student I created mp3's and a couple of times I played along with the metronome where it was discovered that went ahead or behind the metronome.

- Simplifying a complicated piece by playing versions where you've left bits out, and then put them back in (sample by teacher).

- Student records a short section  saying "this is where I have a problem".  Or, "does this solution work?" 

In the lesson, the teacher can then address this.  You have to be careful about how much extra time is taken up for the teacher, though.

[quantum]

You have to be careful about how much extra time is taken up for the teacher, though.

Very true.  The teacher can view the mp3/video during the lesson, as opposed to taking up too much non-lesson time.  Similar to what would be done for an in-person lesson. 

While Zoom is good for some things, such as decent quality audio for music.  On the other hand, it is still insufficient for other activities such as real-time music making with multiple people.

Software like Jamulus is great for low-latency real time collaboration between musicians, as that is what it was designed for.  However, it could use improvements in the audio quality department.

An online lesson might need to mix these technologies:  prerecorded mp3/video for best quality in critical listening, Zoom for collaboration where latency is not an issue, Jamulus for collaboration where low-latency is essential (like playing duets, or for teachers that like to do real-time corrections while the student is playing).

[keypeg]

Jamulus is a new one for me.  I did experiment together with a fellow musician trying out a beta software where we played each other's pianos.  It was super cool and kind of freaky.  That solved the problem of sound distortion.
Discussing this with my teacher, another problem came up --- namely how computer savvy students or young students are .... NOT.    I was told that it is hard enough just to get the student to be ready ahead of the lesson meaning computer is on, camera and microphone are working, they're on-line in time.  If you add more software and more things, it can get hopelessly tangled up.  A teacher who teaches on-line will have a row of students in a row, and it should go smoothly with the majority of them.

[keypeg]

The one person has not said anything is the OP.

[ego0720]

...Discussing this with my teacher, another problem came up --- namely how computer savvy students or young students are .... NOT.    ...

Online is very complex for the Joe. I did online but I used digital tech. If one has acoustic I see mic in 3 location but to explain that and get it working.. is involved.  I have digital VST but that only affects my experience listening to piano. And the audio interface.. that was a steep curve for me with the DAW to get great computer output (input too).

Even knowing the setup I think the platform has to be able to handle the data (video audio) and the internet needs to be strong. It can be ok experience but when it goes south the issue is time. Debugging time kills like 10 of 30 minute session.

Maybe the OP checks every 14 days. It's rather impolite to not respond but I hope not a case they figured it out and ghosted us.

[transitional]

I don't know if you have Facetime, but it has much less lag and focuses on what's most important.

[quantum]

I don't know if you have Facetime, but it has much less lag and focuses on what's most important.

I would be very cautious about using a proprietary platform only available to use on devices from a certain vendor for teaching purposes.  If the student already has an Apple device to use, then it would be a fair option to consider.  However, I would not push it as the primary platform for online teaching in a studio.  Make it an option, rather than make it a requirement. 

IMO, education belongs to everyone that seeks it out and should never be fenced behind the products of a single vendor.  Students that choose to use technology from other vendors, as well as students that simply cannot afford the cost of an Apple device would be unjustly left out.  Think about the implications if a student or parent is browsing for teaching studios, comes across one they are interested in, then finds a barrier because the studio in question uses Facetime, but they don't have Apple devices. 

I would rather use a more inclusive platform and deal with the slightly worse latency, than promote the use and culture of vendor lock-in. 

[transitional]

I would rather use a more inclusive platform and deal with the slightly worse latency, than promote the use and culture of vendor lock-in.

Just an idea. If you don't have an Apple device, you can use something else, but Facetime is a good option for those that have one.

[songster2222]

Hi,  this is a real issue!  I finally started using a cell phone 'on-speaker' as a call, along with Zoom on another device (pad,  tablet etc)!  It's truly the best way other than tweaking settings in Zoom app.  There is more complete sound quality using the cell and only tiny bits get lost.  Also connect the cell to a mixing board or speakers with a blue tooth and it sounds even better! Watch for echos tho!  Some phones don't connect sound output to blue tooth at first,  so you may need a techie for that.  Another thing is that a cell is real time almost,  whereas Zoom is laggy, sluggish etc etc...