**this article was written originally on March 25 2020***
To be very honest, I still don’t recommend online “only” lessons.
However, I’m finding, however, by being forced to teach online for 3 months, I now realize that there are many things you can do online as well. It can be useful, when teachers and students cannot meet with certain reasons, or if students needs some advice on only fingerings or bowings for some orchestra excerpts or some sort, or if students wants some advice from another teacher with the permission, etc. In some cases, you may get enough information and satisfaction through online lessons.
Advantages of online lessons
* You can take lessons anywhere in the world.
* There is no traveling time or transportation expense to attend a lesson.
* You can take lessons in the familiar home environment.
* Some school environment requires registration or regular lesson attendance, but private online lessons can be arranged with one time only arrangement.
* You can take lessons even when music school is not open, such as early morning or late at night.
Some things that online lessons cannot cover enough
* It is difficult for each other to feel the original sound of the instrument.
* It is difficult to judge the timbre online.
*The teacher cannot touch and guide the student’s body, so it may be difficult for the student to get the idea of the hand, arm, finger positions or the posture.
* For children who are too small, communication may be difficult, so parents support is necessary even during the lessons.
* missing the feel of playing / performing for live audience (especially advanced students)
However, since I will continue to do a lot of online lessons, I may be able to find a teaching method that can be used to supplement the insufficient points through the computer screen.
A week ago, I was very unhappy about the online environment, however, by making adjustment and purchasing some tools, I was able to clearly find a new light. We’ll overcome this situation.
Also, there can be another type of online lessons which is an exchange of videos and audio online. I have not done this before, but I’ll see what helps my students and what will be asked. I’ll continue to think and experiment with new ideas.
Update on June 12: I’m using my blog to give supportive information for students’ practice and I’ve seen some wonderful result.