Are Online Violin Lessons Worth It?

The COVID-19 Pandemic gave rise to all kinds of new and relatively untested ideas being tried out online for the first time. Although plenty of violin teachers were teaching on Skype, Facetime, and Zoom, the age of the coronavirus ushered in an era of this idea going mainstream. Based on the real-world experiences that we at the Maestro Musicians Academy have gone through, we are in a fantastic position to answer the question: "Are Online Violin Lessons Worth It?" It is my sincere hope, my dear reader, that you will excuse the fact that we are a music school that does push this service, and as you read on, I hope you will understand that although we have a conflict of interest, I am going to be as upfront and honest as possible about what we have seen work and what we have seen does not work.

In order to properly answer this question, I will list the pros and cons so you can make the decision yourself. I will also go into more detail below about each bullet point so you can better understand my point of view and, hopefully, rectify the list of cons, if you are willing to entertain the idea of violin lessons online.

Pros

A real, live person who is able to give you real-time advice from any part of the world

You don't have to leave your home to take violin lessons online

You have quite a large number of options to choose from

Cons

If your connection, microphone, or speakers are not optimized properly, you might not get the experience you were looking for

If your child is looking for lessons, he or she needs to be comfortable with learning through a screen.

You cannot have the same kind of interaction using unspoken social cues that you normally would in the same room as the teacher

Let's go through our list of pros!

A real, live person who is able to give you real-time advice from any part of the world

This is a huge game changer. A quality violin teacher is hard to find and the skills needed to learn this complicated instrument well can only be taught by a relatively select few. Although quality instructors are a dime a dozen in large metropolitan areas, you might be hard-pressed to find a violin teacher in a place that is underserved. If your city does not have a large classical music scene, a university with a conservatory program, or a big orchestra, the odds are high that you probably do not have access to a violin teacher who can really bring you or your child to a high level. The internet has given an amazing opportunity to people in the most remote areas to experience the violin lessons they could have only dreamed of!

You don't have to leave your home to take violin lessons online

If you live in an area that has lots of traffic, you or your child have a really busy schedule, or if you simply don't like to leave your home (or can't), violin lessons online are an amazing option for you. It's really easy to get training from the comfort of your own living room!

You have quite a large number of options to choose from

As more and more teachers discover the technology they need to teach online, and more and more instructors offer their own online violin videos, Google is becoming populated with so many options to choose from. Whether you are looking for a paid subscription model, live lessons, or a hybrid version, the options to fit your goals and lifestyle are there!

Let's go through our list of Cons

If your connection, microphone, or speakers are not optimized properly, you might not get the experience you were looking for

This can be a real problem. Imagine setting up your first violin lesson and realizing that your teacher's beautiful playing is coming through tinny on your speakers. Or worse, your playing is cutting out on the high notes and your teacher can't hear you. We have some solutions!

Professor Susanna Klein, on her violinist.com blog, has a wonderful tech guide for online violin lessons. I'll leave it to you to visit her blog and download her guide, but the gist of it is that you need an internet speed of 100 MB download and 5 MB upload, a good mic, such as the Blue Snowball, Samson Condensor, or Fifine USB mic (unless you are using an IOS tablet, in which she recommends the Shure MV5), and that you have as few extraneous devices running on your shared wi-fi connection as possible.

Also, of prime importance is to set Zoom correctly by setting "suppress persistent background noise" and "suppress intermittent background noise" to disable. She also advises that you click show in-meeting option to 'Enable Original Sound'. Then during the lesson, toggle "Enable Original Sound".

Need more help? Visit her blog in the link above. It also covers how to stand in front of the camera, how to get the best lighting, and other items.

If your child is looking for lessons, he or she needs to be comfortable with learning through a screen.

Some kids are just not able to learn online, whereas others do great in this medium. I have personally taught in both situations. At the end of the day, you know your child best, and often, the younger kids have more trouble relating to the human on the other side of the screen. At the very least, before you sign up your child for an online music lesson plan, make sure that there is some kind of refund policy or trial, in case things don't go as planned.

You cannot have the same kind of interaction using unspoken social cues that you normally would in the same room as the teacher

Piggybacking on the previous point, there are some kids and adults who struggle with the nuances of communicating online. Ironically, there are others who actually do even better with online lessons. I'll explain:

When you hold a Zoom session and a large amount of information is being presented in a very short period of time, there is a need to intensely focus on what the instructor is saying or doing. This skill is not simply because of the large amount of information presented, but also because the ability to listen intently to the instructor is a skill that a student must ultimately use in practicing between lessons, and therefore, developing the ability to listen critically to himself or herself.
Zoom lessons require that the student focus even moreso, because it is much harder to interrupt or interject, both verbally and physically. As a result, the student will need to listen even more carefully. On top of that, the student must also be more patient with the teacher, who has to often simplify techniques further, in order to be understood in a medium where it is necessary to change camera angles or positions of the violin to demonstrate. A child who does not have this patience might not be a good candidate for violin lessons online - at least not yet. If, on the other hand, the child (or adult) is able to modulate his or her attention to make the necessary accommodations for the Zoom lessons, with a little patience and persistence, the student will go very far. Just remember that for basic maintenance, such as tuning the violin and changing strings, you'll have to rely on violin videos online and the occasional trip to a local music store!

Daniel Broniatowski, D.M.A.
Maestro Musicians Academy
Violin Lessons Online