How to teach music online – This is a question that most music teachers ponder about especially during this COVID time. But before we dive into this, let us quickly introduce music and how it plays a part in everybody’s lives.
Music is a form of recreation that most of us enjoy regularly. We listen to it during travel, during times of stress, or even just to pass time. It is an art that was created by mixing different sounds and combining them with lyrics to produce a melody to the ears. People normally learn music for the below reasons –
Many educational institutions have a separate program dedicated to music education (as part of their course curriculum). In fact, there are graduate degree programs in music offered by dedicated universities. But as an individual, you may wonder how to teach music online?
In this post, we will look into the steps you can follow to kickstart your music-teaching career.
Music teaching has evolved over the years and is at its peak today in terms of the availability of different channels to teach. These days, online teaching has gained great popularity as compared to other forms of teaching. When you can combine online teaching and music, it can certainly create wonders. Let’s look at some of the benefits of teaching music using a Learning Management System –
This is one of the most common benefits of online teaching – you can teach from the comfort of your home. Using an LMS, you can teach a musical instrument to a student at a time that is convenient for both of you. You can schedule your time and adjust the classes for any number of students present anywhere in the world.
The online community is large and you get access to them through an LMS. You can share ideas related to music to improve your classes and get more students wanting to satisfy their musical needs. It also opens up a plethora of learning opportunities for the students as they can learn from a well-experienced teacher who can guide them on notes, methods of playing, and so on.
Cost is a major consideration before starting any business. An online mode is certainly a cost-effective approach to a business as you can easily scale up. It doesn’t matter how many students have, all you need to do is invest in a learning management system along with proper internet connectivity at your home.
Now that you have seen the benefits of using an LMS to pursue your passion as a music instructor, it is now time to see how to teach music online.
Here are the steps that can help you teach music online –
Starting an online music course instantly is never feasible. You need to have a bit of patience and put in a lot of hard work to make it happen. Before you start an online music class, analyze which genre of music you have a clear experience in. It could be classical, western, folk, etc. This analysis is important as it helps to design your course accordingly.
After deciding what you are going to teach with your knowledge and experience, the next step is to create the course. An LMS which also serves as an authoring tool is the best option for creating an online course. Learnyst provides excellent support for creating online music courses from your own website.
The basic requirement for a music class is the enhanced audio-video feature. Learnyst has in-built features for video-conferencing for taking live classes. In the case of musical classes, it is preferable to go live since learning music needs a lot of personal attention and a great amount of interaction. With these features and add-ons, your course is ready to be sold easily.
An online music class is seldom complete without proper audio-video equipment. You need to use high-quality video devices and good headphones with noise-cancellation technology for the class to function smoothly. The instrument you play, the techniques you follow to produce the sound, etc. should be clearly seen and heard by the students so that they can follow the same. An HD camera is an added advantage so that the music notes are properly seen,
After creating the course, it is time to start promoting the course and create an audience. Design a poster or an ad and post it on various social media platforms and music communities. You can also use a brochure maker to create visually appealing brochures for promoting your music course. This is where you can find students searching for music instructors. The Reddit music community is a good choice for searching for students.
Further Reading: Guide to selling courses online using Reddit
Pricing plays a crucial role in any online course irrespective of the concept being taught. Fix a price for your course considering the investments you have made for setting up the music class.
Related: How to price your online course: Key steps
You can use the LMS to teach a wide variety of music forms. Some of them are detailed below –
A choir is a group of people who usually sing in churches. Being a part of a choir band requires a great deal of synchronization and hence a lot of rehearsals. You can conduct virtual choir sessions using the LMS by making use of the live streaming feature. You can even send the song notes by uploading them on Google Drive or Dropbox and then conduct the session.
Private sessions are those where you have a one-on-one interaction with your student. This helps you to focus more on the student and develop their skill in music. You can send practice notes and make them send the recorded audio through Learnyst.
In the case of an orchestra, you can conduct student duets, trios, or quartets and make them submit their recordings. You can also send home assignments through the LMS to practice and make them play individually during the next class by taking turns.
Learnyst offers great support for taking online music classes. It offers a wide range of teacher-technology tools that can enable you to take your music classes with more effectiveness and comfort. Some inherent features like advanced security integration with authoring tools, attendance tracking, etc. help even further.
Now that you have seen how to teach music online, it’s time for some action. Sign up with Learnyst today for a free trial before you start with your class to get used to the user interface of the tool.