Starting to teach wind instruments online for the first time can be daunting, but can have great benefits for teachers and pupils alike. There are a range of things you need to think about before starting. Consider the following questions:
- Will you only teach online, or blend online and face to face tuition?
- What platform will you use for online teaching and do you need to invest in any equipment to maximise the quality of your audio and visual output?
- How strong is your internet signal – check it at speedtest.net – and can you do anything to improve it – for example using an ethernet cable rather than wifi?
- Do you have an appropriate teaching space, with good light, blank walls and enough space to move around and have a stand for your instrument?
- Think about how you will share music and record lesson notes/tasks/homework.
- Are there elements of your teaching you can create video or written resources for so that pupils can access this whenever they like – tuning, bow hold, etc? How will you share these with your pupils (website, You Tube, Facebook page)
- How will booking and scheduling work? Remember to schedule breaks between lessons.
- Have you updated your policies and paperwork to reflect online tuition – safeguarding, insurance, cancellation?
Prior to the lesson, encourage pupils to warm up and tune up so that you can focus on their development and technique. To help with this, investigate and share your favourite tuning apps and websites so that pupils (and their parents) can develop their confidence in tuning and assembling their instrument. There are also great videos for demonstrating embouchure, replacing reeds and so on – explore these, or create your own – so that you are ready to add extra elements to your teaching when required.
Spend some time making sure the pupil’s set up is optimal for the lesson and what you want to focus on. Do you need to see their posture or focus on finger positioning or embouchure? As in face-to-face lessons, listening will be key to teaching; don’t be afraid to ask the pupil to move their device or adjust their settings to make sure you can hear properly.
During the lesson, focus on building the listening skills of your pupils – “Can you hear the difference when you blow harder – how does changing the shape of your mouth change the sound?”
Within the Interface:Response team we have mentors who are experienced woodwind teachers and who have taught online regularly. If you’d like further advice and support please get in touch. Our mentors can work with you free of charge if you are located within the UK.
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