Before I started teaching via webcam, I assumed, as\u00a0many do, that remote lessons would be a cumbersome substitute for \u201cthe real\u00a0thing.\u201d I finally took the leap to teaching by Skype when a student bought me a\u00a0webcam and insisted that I save her the driving time to my house, which is an\u00a0hour from hers. What I quickly discovered is that webcam lessons are no less valuable\u00a0than in-person lessons \u2013 they are just\u00a0different\u00a0in some ways.<\/p>\n
Because I rely heavily on my intuition when teaching, my\u00a0first concern was that I would feel less connected to the student. From the\u00a0moment a student enters my studio, I am assessing his or her mood, energy level\u00a0and feelings regarding the previous week\u2019s practice. As the lesson progresses,\u00a0I am reading the student for blocks, confusion, frustration, resistance, fatigue,\u00a0excitement and interest. I proceed according to the cues I receive and I keep\u00a0the door to my own creativity open, so that I may determine the optimum tempo\u00a0and direction of my teaching.<\/p>\n
Within minutes of the first webcam meeting with my generous\u00a0student, I realized that I was not limited in any way by the camera or the\u00a0distance between us. Intuition works long distance! There were some technical\u00a0glitches to get through, but those glitches proved to be no more than a minor\u00a0and temporary inconvenience. I began to take on more long-distance students and\u00a0with time, I discovered some unexpected and interesting dynamics that are\u00a0unique to webcam interactions.<\/p>\n
Remote lessons have some obvious advantages: the student can\u00a0tune and be warmed up before the lesson begins; the lesson can take place regardless\u00a0of whether the student has a cold or is dealing with a logistical issue such as\u00a0car trouble or a sick child; the student can work in a comfortable and familiar\u00a0environment; the student can practice what he or she learned immediately after\u00a0the lesson; lessons are more likely to begin and end on time. What I didn\u2019t\u00a0anticipate were some of the subtle qualities that actually increased the\u00a0intensity of human and musical connection.<\/p>\n
When two people are interacting in the same space, there is\u00a0a constant, subconscious balancing of physical and psychic boundaries. When\u00a0those same two people are relating on webcam, there is an absence of the\u00a0energetic juggling and balancing that takes place in person, which leaves more\u00a0room for clear focus on the topic. In addition, by neither party having to be\u00a0concerned with invasion of the other party\u2019s physical space, it is possible to orchestrate\u00a0close up views of hand positions or proper posture that might be awkward in\u00a0person.<\/p>\n
Because students are viewing their own image during a webcam\u00a0lesson, they have a tendency to focus on the task at hand more consistently\u00a0than they do in person, where they may allow themselves to mentally drift or to\u00a0be distracted by the environment. Also, the level of mutual conversational\u00a0respect rises acutely, as it is impossible to talk over one another on Skype.\u00a0The student who is accustomed to interrupting or talking over others is quickly\u00a0cured of the habit when he realizes that due to the delay, it doesn\u2019t work.<\/i><\/p>\n
I have a desktop computer with a different internet provider\u00a0that I keep beside the laptop that I use for my webcam lessons. This setup\u00a0allows me to use the desktop to choose and view a video of a song that a\u00a0student is interested in learning without compromising the connection or\u00a0interrupting the flow of communication. I often type out lesson notes to email\u00a0on the spot or after the lesson and I can scan in drawings, songs or charts to\u00a0send, as well. In addition, it is possible for either or both parties to record\u00a0some or all of a lesson.<\/p>\n
The only limitation I have found in webcam lessons is the\u00a0inability to play along with the student, but this issue can be solved by using\u00a0simple homemade recordings or backing tracks. I do not recommend webcam lessons\u00a0for complete beginners, as it important for the beginning guitarist to have a\u00a0teacher who can physically assist with proper technique and posture, as well as other basics of playing. So, if you can \u201cplay a little\u201d (or a lot!), and want\u00a0to join the fun, hook up your camera and schedule a lesson<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before I started teaching via webcam, I assumed, as\u00a0many do, that remote lessons would be a cumbersome substitute for \u201cthe real\u00a0thing.\u201d I finally took the leap to teaching by Skype when a student bought me a\u00a0webcam and insisted that I save her the driving time to my house, which is an\u00a0hour from hers. What I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-default","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1246,"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164\/revisions\/1246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitar-instruction-video.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}