The time delay is going to be the first thing that you will notice when teaching online. To get the least time delay possible ensure that you are plugged directly into your router via a LAN cable. It’s also important to be plugged into power and shut down all of the background apps and programmes that you are not using.

At the start of a lesson a simple chat will get you and the student used to the delay and set the pacing of the lesson.

When you play along with the pupil you will hear them completely out of sync but for them they will feel like this is in time. It’s important to be aware that playing along with pupils is to help guide and build their confidence. As a musician, switching off from the time-delayed feedback is important but it’s not practical for you to hear what the pupil is doing. When playing, you can turn your volume down if you find it hard to work with the out-of-sync audio coming back from the student.

If you need to hear the student playing with your accompaniment, you can share a backing track or pre record yourself for them to play along with from their own device. In this scenario, the sound coming from their performance will be in sync and you can make an assessment of their progress more easily.

You may feel restricted as a remote teacher but remember when you are teaching to not only listen to what is going on but also ‘listen with your eyes’. Some fine detail in technique and sound may be missing, but by looking and talking to the student you will start to see the clues that build up a bigger picture about their progression on their instrument.