Author: sivanpiano

Return of the Students

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After nearly 18 months of teaching piano lessons exclusively on Zoom, students this summer have gradually been returning to the studio for their lessons. I had become so accustomed to virtual lessons that I was almost surprised by how nice it was to once more teach in-person! The returning students are older, taller, and more mature. The students I have only known “virtually” are a bit nervous, but excited to meet me for the first time. Side-by-side, each of us at a piano, I can play along with them, watch their pedaling, and hear more closely the nuances of their sound. And how much easier it is to hear the sound up close, rather than strain to discern the sound through the distortion of less than ideal audio!

In addition to the ease of once again speaking to students face to face, we have been able to return to some of the tactile activities we used to do before the pandemic. With young beginners, especially, these activities are tremendously important. We toss a soft ball back and forth to loosen up the arms, and we march around the room to feel the musical pulse. Students are happy to once again decorate the giant grand staff on the floor with the note names. Pop-the-Pig is a new addition to the studio: students can feed the pig a hamburger every time they complete a task correctly! They love seeing the pig “pop” when they feed him enough times.

I am hopeful that we will be able to continue in-person lessons this year, although if we’ve learned anything, it is that things could change at any time. We’ve all become more versatile teachers this past year, and can add virtual lessons to our teaching toolbox. In the meantime, we are definitely going to enjoy having our students back in our studios!

  • Pop-the-Pig motivates repetitions
  • A C Chord on the Giant Staff
  • Cookie the Bear greets students on their first day
  • A new student finds all of the “C’s”

Essential Equipment for Online Lessons

This resource is for students and teachers who want to improve the quality (from a technical standpoint) of their online lesson experience.

Now that most of our piano lessons have taken place online since March, we are used to this new way of teaching, and with Covid-19 showing no signs of letting up in most parts of the country, it seems this will be the reality of our music lessons for some time to come.  Even when we eventually return to in-person lessons, I suspect many of us will keep this newfound knowledge in our toolkit, and continue to utilize online lessons in some fashion.  When this began, we all made the switch so quickly from in-person to online lessons that I encouraged students to use whatever equipment they already had at hand.   Unfortunately, the poor quality of sound and video can be a real deterrent to the effectiveness of these lessons.  Everyone has different equipment, and some devices have better audio/video capabilities than others.

I’ve identified a few key areas that can drastically improve the quality of the lesson, if both teacher and student utilize them.

Ethernet

If it is possible to switch from a wifi to a wired connection, you should do so!  It was such an easy fix to make that I am kicking myself for waiting so long to do so.  At under $25 for 75 feet of cable, this is an affordable upgrade. I was amazed at the improved quality of video, and the improved synchronization between audio/video during the lessons.  

External Microphone

Some laptops and iPads have excellent microphones.  Some do not.  A USB microphone can dramatically improve the quality of the audio, and is easy to use (plug and play).  Even if your laptop/tablet has a good microphone, having the option of an external microphone can give you flexibility to place the microphone in different locations to pick up the sound of your voice or instrument more clearly.  I have found this becomes especially important  for advanced-level lessons, where the dynamics and nuances of the music become more complex. 

Headphones

The improvement (even without an external microphone) if both parties are wearing headphones is immediately noticeable.  When students do not have headphones, I often hear my voice echoing back to me, which is very distracting, and impedes the ability to speak back and forth. I do not  recommend ear buds for the lessons.  I recommend closed-back headphones with a very long cable.  The audio is an improvement from the internal speakers of most devices.   

Those three (Ethernet, Microphone, Headphones) will yield excellent results.  

Here are a few additional ideas:

Webcam

Some webcams have good microphones and are themselves improvements over the internal microphones of laptops. I have not yet mentioned the difficulty of securing a good camera angle with a laptop or iPad, unless you have a dedicated adjustable stand.  In most of my lessons, I am viewing a keyboard from an angle too low to actually see which keys are being played.  Those students who have webcams are able to place the camera high enough so that I have a view of both student and keyboard – an ideal situation! On a platform such as Zoom, a teacher or student could easily use multiple webcams for different angles (above the keyboard, for example).

Monitor

Finally, a suggestion mostly for teachers.  My online teaching experience improved significantly when I purchased a larger monitor, which I connected to my laptop.  I kept my teaching assignments open on the laptop screen, and viewed the Zoom window on the monitor.  Looking at a 21 inch screen resulted in far less strain on my eyes than my 12 inch laptop screen.

I hope that some of these suggestions will be helpful to teachers and students as we move into a new year of online learning.

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Virtual Music Making

Like many, all of my formerly in person music activities have gone virtual.  I have been teaching all of my lessons remotely, and have begun to offer my concert presentations online. I’ve done a few of these for communities where I used to appear in person.  Just as it took some adjustment getting used to teaching online, it was initially quite disconcerting to perform for an “audience” I couldn’t see or hear!

I’m thrilled to be able to connect with both my students and audiences virtually, and I look forward to more virtual music making until we can meet again in person. Above is a performance of Debussy that was taken from the video of a recent online concert. Below are some scenes from the virtual studio!

Latest Posts

Return of the Students

After nearly 18 months of teaching piano lessons exclusively on Zoom, students this summer have gradually been returning to the studio for their lessons. I had become so accustomed to virtual lessons that I was almost surprised by how nice it was to once more teach in-person! The returning students are older, taller, and more…

by sivanpiano

Essential Equipment for Online Lessons

This resource is for students and teachers who want to improve the quality (from a technical standpoint) of their online lesson experience. Now that most of our piano lessons have taken place online since March, we are used to this new way of teaching, and with Covid-19 showing no signs of letting up in most…

by sivanpiano

Virtual Music Making

Like many, all of my formerly in person music activities have gone virtual.  I have been teaching all of my lessons remotely, and have begun to offer my concert presentations online. I’ve done a few of these for communities where I used to appear in person.  Just as it took some adjustment getting used to…

by sivanpiano

Music at MGH

I recently enjoyed the opportunity to perform with the Volunteer Musicians for the Arts.  We played in the chapel at Mass General Hospital during their spiritual week.  Some people came and listened for a few minutes, and some stayed for the whole performance.  One couple was very grateful to spend an hour listening to music…

by sivanpiano

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Music at MGH

I recently enjoyed the opportunity to perform with the Volunteer Musicians for the Arts.  We played in the chapel at Mass General Hospital during their spiritual week.  Some people came and listened for a few minutes, and some stayed for the whole performance.  One couple was very grateful to spend an hour listening to music while their son was undergoing a 5-hour surgery upstairs.  I was glad for the opportunity to bring them some joy during what must have been a very stressful day.

Five Things You Can Do to Support your Child’s Music Lessons

 Parental involvement in music lessons is one of the key factors that can lead to a successful year of study.  Not sure how to get involved? Here are five things you can do right away.

  1. Encourage and support musical progress by asking to hear the songs your children are working on.  
  2. Help your child maintain a practice chart or log of some kind.  Consistent practicing is fundamental to success at a musical instrument.   Work with your child to schedule a time each day that can be dedicated to practicing.  Practicing happens more regularly if it is not left to chance!
  3. Find out what they are working on.  Take a look at their assignment book, or ask them (or their teacher) what their weekly assignment is.  Check in on their practicing periodically.  
  4. Communicate with their teacher!  If you do not regularly attend lessons, try to sit in once in a while.  There is no substitute for one on one communication, and actually seeing and hearing what takes place at a lesson.
  5. Listen to music together!  In the car, at home, on YouTube – whatever it is, listening to music can inspire your child. Consider attending live performances, if possible.  Ask your child’s teacher for recommendations in your area.  

How Young is Too Young?

 

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As a piano teacher and the parent of a four-year-old, I am often asked by other parents if this is a good time to begin piano lessons. Because every child is different, now might be a good time for some, but not for others. Even if your child shows a strong interest in music, they might not be ready to begin formal lessons. 

When I teach young children, I find that many of the activities we do in class are things any parent could do at home with their child. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. If you don’t already have a piano in the house, get one! There is a wide range of instruments for every budget.  If possible, have the instrument in your house well before starting lessons. It will become as familiar as a favorite toy.  When you do begin lessons, your child will already have a degree of comfort at the instrument.  
  2. Encourage musical experiments! Your child won’t break the piano. Let them experience the unparalleled range of sounds a piano can make.  Make up musical stories together, improvise together at the piano, listen to music together, and sing together.
  3. Show them the groups of black keys—they come in 2’s and 3’s. Learning to identify them with ease is the first step toward mastering the letter names of all the white keys.  They can improvise on the black keys, making up their own songs. The black keys all sound good together, and you can hold the right pedal down for extra effect. Encourage playing all over the keyboard, to develop a wide range of motion from the very beginning.
  4. Teach them the musical alphabet. It starts at A and goes up to G. Then it starts all over again.
  5. Learn the left side from the right side. I often spend considerable time on this at the first few lessons with a young student!  It is important to identify the left hand and right hand, and also to develop a kinesthetic awareness of both sides. This can be accomplished with fun games involving the whole body!  For example, a child can practice jumping to the left or right. This can also be tied into the foundations of ear training – jump to the right when you hear a high sound, to the left when you hear a low sound, and jump in place when you hear the same sound.  

Students with surprising talents

Sometimes I discover that students I’ve known for a long time have surprising talents I knew absolutely nothing about.  Here’s Simon, equally comfortable in two very different settings:

 

Schumann’s Arabeske

I’ve found myself frequently playing music by Robert Schumann over the past year.  His lyrical, dreamy side is on display in this composition.  Here is a video his Arabeske from a recent performance.

Three Works for Cello & Piano

Recently I’ve had the pleasure of working with cellist Elena Korableva on three major pieces for cello & piano.  The Chopin Sonata is one of his rare works for another instrument besides piano, and it’s certainly a towering achievement (and very challenging!)  The Debussy Sonata is a great composition from the early 20th century, showing Debussy’s more modernist inclinations.  We end the program with Piazzolla’s “Grand Tango.”  The Wellesley Free Library was kind enough to produce a video of our concert, which is available here.

Shadow Etchings

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in the recording of Orlando Cela’s new album for (almost always) solo flute, Shadow Etchings.  My contribution to the album was the realization of John Cage’s Winter Music (1957), which I played while Orlando played  Lou Bunk’s “Winter Variations.”
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The album has been garnering many reviews, one of which can be seen here:

You can listen to the album on Spotify, among other places.