Esther Ling3 Studio Must-Haves for the Piano Teacher
Updated: Jul 26
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Most private music teachers have possibly fully returned to in-person teaching at their homes.
The demand for online lessons however, is here to stay as many teachers realize online lessons are effective to implement especially with replacement lesson policies.
A new studio culture has surfaced since the pandemic where both teachers and students can effectively meet online for a lesson for various reasons such as illness, lack of transportation, or simply the convenience.
When I first started online teaching, it was scary. I was often confused with what I needed. I soon realized I did not need a whole lot of extra tech to give quality online music lessons.
There were, however, a few items that I was glad to have invested in, and still use with online lessons with students. Let's dive into the three teaching tools that I have found are here to stay in every music studio who has evolved into hybrid online teaching:
1. Adjustable Laptop Stand
If there was one teaching tool that truly made my online teaching comfortable and convenient, it was a laptop stand.
I really like the Samson LTS50 Laptop Stand for its sturdy and convenient stow-away design. This laptop stand functions like a tripod stand, with a secure tray that can swivel side-to-side with ease, and height-adjustable.
Some teachers have found ways to make a music sheet stand work as an alternative, but bear in mind ... a music sheet stand is designed to support books and sheets of paper ... not a heavier laptop.
As I teach out of my living room, I needed something that was not huge and bulky, and could stay beside my piano for a long period of time.
What I really liked about it was the ability to tilt the angle of my laptop screen whenever I needed to change the view for the student.
To quickly demonstrate a posture or technique form of the fingers and hand, all I had to do was tilt the laptop screen down. When I'm done, I readjust the laptop screen with my bare hands so the student can view my face as I continue teaching.
Quick and easy - no extra button clicks needed to switch from one camera to another!
This stand has become so useful in my studio, even with teaching in-person when I am showing a student an educational music video or a clip related to our music history learning.
I do have another camera (webcam) that sits above the piano to give a top view of the piano keys. Although, as I got more efficient in online teaching, I realized I was using less of it.
The less technology functions I had to manage, the more focused and engaged I can be with my teaching, which brings me to my next handy-dandy tool ...
2. Small Whiteboard & Whiteboard Gridding Tape
As much as I find drawing digitally on a screen with a mouse intriguing and exciting for students, I have realized that going back to basics using the pen and paper method is way quicker and efficient during online lessons.
When I need to demonstrate drawing notes, chords, or music symbols, the whiteboard is a quick pick-me-up and get into action. I draw using colored whiteboard markers as I hold up the whiteboard to the laptop screen. I create a music staff using whiteboard gridding tape.