Why Online?
As the pace of life increases and people get busier and busier, we may find ourselves abandoning favorite activities and hobbies we’re passionate about because there simply doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to do it all!
Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn to sing, but the idea of driving to a weekly session can feel overwhelming, especially when you consider the possibility of getting stuck in traffic for hours just getting there!
This is one of the reasons why I decided to explore the possibility of teaching singing lessons on the computer, by making video Skype calls. Although this would have been impossible even five short years ago, the technology is now available for consistently fast, reliable, high-quality video and audio online. I’ve been teaching online voice lessons for over two years now and my students love it.
Thanks to recent technological advances, it’s possible to receive private voice lessons from a distance. However, because we'll be relying on technology to bridge that distance, you may need to invest in some high quality--but not terribly expensive--electronic devices.
Technical Requirements:
- Computer (PC or Mac) with USB ports
- High speed internet connection
- A pair of good noise canceling headphones (not the little earbuds you use for an mp3 player or the over-the-head headset with microphone)
- A high quality microphone (see information below)
- A web cam
The reason for the headphones and the high quality mic is that teaching singing is pretty much all about listening to how the student uses (or "places") his or her voice, then correcting what needs correction. The teacher demonstrates how to place the voice and the student listens and imitates. So you (the student) need good headphones to really hear ME when I sing, while a good microphone is necessary for me to be able to hear the subtleties in your voice when YOU sing.
Good headphones are easily found in any electronics store.
I researched microphones and found Blue Microphone's Snowflake USB Connector Microphone to be best suited to these lessons.
If you don't already have a webcam, there's the option of purchasing Blue Mountain's Eyeball Webcam, which combines the same microphone with a built-in webcam.
How It Works
You start your computer; open Skype; put on your headphones; set up the microphone; I call you at the scheduled time; and we have our voice lesson.
Suggestion...
Please, practice using skype before your lesson so you feel comfortable using the software. We don’t want to lose lesson time due to technical issues. We will also schedule a brief (1 minute) test call a day or so prior to your first lesson to make sure the connection works.
