IT'S EASY TO GET STARTED! IN STUDIO & ONLINE PIANO INSTRUCTION FROM THE CURIOUS PIANIST!
Welcoming kids and adults of all ages for in studio, online, and hybrid piano lessons in the San Francisco Bay Area serving the local communities and school districts of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Los Gatos Mountains, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, Westmont, Campbell, West San Jose, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Cambrian Park, Santa Clara, Mountain View and for remote and online students everywhere! Traditional private instruction will be tailored to your student using with modern techniques and methods! For online or hybrid students, an immersive multi-camera approach provides engaging and fun remote lessons! Homeschoolers welcome!
Contact me for a "get acquainted" meeting/lesson! 🍎 🎹 🎶
Deborah's Piano Lessons
Private Piano Instruction with Deborah Savage
TAKE LESSONS IN PERSON, ONLINE, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH! FOR THOSE WHO PREFER, LEARN VIRTUALLY FROM THE COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE OF YOUR OWN HOME
For non-local students in the domestic US or beyond, remote instruction is also available to accommodate your time zone!
School Days, School Days!
It's a great time to set some musical goals for the new year! What do you want to accomplish?
🍎 🎹 HAPPY SEPTEMBER! 🎹 🍎
Best Practices for Online Music Lessons
In order to make online lessons as effective as possible, here are some hints and best practices to provide the best experience for the student, teacher, and parent.
If you are new to online music lessons and would like help in testing out your lesson set up, feel free to contact me. I would be glad to discuss and help you with any configuration questions.
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THE BASICS:
Rock Out Loud Live is the preferred video conferencing application.
I will be hosting the online meeting, and the student will join the meeting. You will be provided a secure link and personal ID information for this studio.
STEP 1: ROCK OUT LOUD LIVE
FOR PHONES AND TABLETS, DOWNLOAD THIS APPLICATION.
FOR COMPUTERS, NO DOWNLOAD IS NECESSARY AS THIS CAN BE RUN FROM A CHROME INCOGNITO WINDOW. PLEASE ENSURE YOU ARE RUNNING AN UPDATED COPY OF CHROME.
Please select a video conferencing compatible device (with camera) for use at your own home for lessons - this can be a phone, tablet, or computer. Ideally, a larger screen will be more useful for younger students as I will be demonstrating on the keyboard and showing detail of music.
STEP 2: SET UP YOUR DEVICE CAMERA VIEW FOR THE TEACHER AND STUDENT
As the teacher, I provide a multi-camera view for the student which may include:
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Full view of myself and keyboard
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Overhead keyboard view for demonstration
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Side view for demonstrating hand positions
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Music view for close up views of music, game playing, or staff notation and theory
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Pedal and foot view
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Other
Position your camera device for a side view of the student on either side of the piano so that a good view of both the keyboard and student is available. Ensure that there is adequate light for good resolution and that the student is not backlit or in shadow. A slightly elevated view (and slightly behind the student) helps the view of hands and keyboard. Depending on your device, headphones/earphones or an auxiliary microphone may help with feedback and audio quality on the student side.
STEP 3: PREP YOUR DEVICES AHEAD OF THE LESSON TIME & LIMIT COMPETITION FOR BANDWIDTH IF NECESSARY
Avoid unnecessary technical interruptions by ensuring the following:
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Perform any necessary application updates before the lesson.
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Limit competing high-bandwidth streaming devices in the household during the lesson. Depending on your home setup, wi-fi router distances, other streaming conference calls, videos, or games on the same channel may affect the audio and video quality of the lesson.
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Ensure that any device is updated, fully charged and plugged in if necessary (or not scheduled to update during the lesson).
STEP 4: PREP YOUR ENVIRONMENT AHEAD OF TIME - GATHER MATERIALS
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Miss Deborah will provide the assignment lesson notes for practicing, but please have all lesson books and materials out and ready, including standard pencils and erasers, a set of basic colored pencils (red, blue, green, yellow, orange) and/or a yellow highlighter ready at the piano.
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Please ensure that there is low background noise - even normal background noise can distort or interfere with the audio.
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Care should be taken to ensure that siblings, pets, or noisy appliances should not be intrusive (either to the student’s attention) or as contributors to background noise.
STEP 5: PREPARE FOR HITCHES AND GLITCHES!
It takes imagination and some adjustment to move from an "in person" to an online teaching strategy. Parental support for young students is essential. Please phone or text Miss Deborah directly if you are having trouble connecting prior to the lesson.
An adjustment in both the environment and mindset will be needed to streamline an online experience. Both teacher and student may have to modify their interaction to a more “taking turns” style of speaking and adjust to the visual context switching between views on the screen and back to the keyboard or music, and to those focusing on instruction vs demonstration.