Challenging. If there is one word to describe how I have been navigating my piano teaching, it is this word. Being used to conducting in-person piano lessons and only occasionally doing Face Time lessons for sick students, the pandemic situation has put me in a position where more patience and creativity are needed, and definitely, the use of more technical gadgets to help bridge the gap between in-person and virtual learning and teaching.
Here are some of the gadgets that I have been using: a laptop, an ipad Pro (the latest, thank God!), another iPad which serves as another camera, and where I can send emails, materials while doing Zoom, Face Time or Skype (preferences vary by student/families, so I like to have them all available); an iPhone which I use as an overhead camera; the ever useful ring light for extra lighting , and obviously to make me look better :-); a USB speaker with microphone; a plug in speaker for the old iPad, and which can also be connected to the laptop; and a blue tooth Bose speaker. I am still debating whether to put another microphone dedicated for the piano, but I think I will have to use it eventually, especially for the more advanced students.
For now, just staying sane and afloat teaching virtual piano lessons is my primary goal; of course, while injecting fun and humor to our constricted and contracted music teaching world. I hope to emerge unscathed and triumphant.
Adventures in 88 Keys 