My Online Music Teaching Setup - Webcam, Mic, Zoom Settings, and More!

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My Teaching Space

The space I teach in is a building on my parent’s property that has seen many changes through the years. It’s been used for my birthday parties, as a bar, as my dad’s work office, and now as my practice and studio space (and some storage). Many of these past lives still linger in the building, but my students mostly just have a view of me and my keyboard or viola with my desk and my boyfriend’s bass in the background.

How it Looks on My End

This is what my setup looks like from where I sit. My laptop sits on a stand with the top almost level like a table, with my webcam sitting on my laptop, and my microphone clipped to the back left corner of my music stand. I sit next to my keyboard, near my desk, with my viola beside me, so I’m ready for everything my students might need.

AirPods/Headphones

I always use my AirPods during my lessons (with students and with my own teacher) because the lack of wires is soooo nice! It also takes away an echo for my students, so I feel good knowing they’re not distracted by that. If my AirPods are dead or I don’t have them with me, I’ll just use regular headphones.

Microphone

I use my Samson Go Mic for the lessons I teach, and my Shure mic with the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface for lessons with my own teacher. The Samson Go Mic is a USB microphone, and it’s good quality for a low price! I clip it onto the music stand that holds my laptop, and it works really well.

Update: I now use my Shure mic and Focusrite interface for teaching. There’s a huge jump in the quality. So huge, my students have noticed!

Webcam

Having a webcam is really helpful if, like me, the built-in webcam on your laptop is smudged beyond repair (there’s something wrong with the coating of my screen). Mine is from Amazon, and I’m fairly happy with it. I know a lot of people recommend this one from Logitech, but it’s pretty pricey. Mine works just fine, and although the quality isn’t quite as good as I’d hoped (is it really 1080p like it claims?), it is an upgrade from the built-in webcam a lot of laptops have to offer.

Update: I’m now using the Logitech C930E webcam, and I absolutely love it! The quality is so much higher than the one I’d previously been using, and worlds better than the built-in webcam.

I talk more about my webcam setup and video settings in How to Ace Your Virtual Conservatory Auditions. Go check out that blog post/video if you’d like to learn more about my video settings!

Optimize Zoom Settings for Music

For my audio settings, the pictures above show exactly what I have enabled and disabled. My output is set to my AirPods (sometimes I have to choose them manually), and my input is set to my Samson Go Mic. You can change the output volume with the volume controls on your laptop or device, and you can change the input level (how loud or quiet you are–basically the gain) with the slider in these settings.

I have Suppress background noise set to low so Zoom doesn’t mistake my instruments as background noise (this is super important!)

I have it set so that “enable original sound” (or disable) shows on the main Zoom screen. Some days original sound sounds better, and some days it sounds worse, so I like having the option to enable or disable it whenever I need.

High fidelity music mode should be on, and right now I have echo cancellation turned on, because a student was experiencing an echo a few weeks ago and I just haven’t turned it off. I haven’t received any complaints, so I don’t think echo cancellation makes anything sound worse.

Stereo audio is really nice if you have two microphones plugged into an interface, but if you don’t have that setup, this option won’t do anything.

I really enjoy using my iPad to create interactive exercises and to fill out worksheets with my students, and they enjoy it too!

The first way is via AirPlay. Both your laptop/desktop and iPad must be on the same wifi (this won’t work if you’re using ethernet). Press “Share Screen” at the bottom of the Zoom window, then press “iPhone/iPad via Airplay.” On your iPad, go to the control center and press screen mirroring. Zoom should pop up as an option. Press that, and you should be good to go!

The second way is via Cable–this is the way I prefer, since I can stay on ethernet, which provides a better experience for both my students and myself. As long as your iPad is plugged into your computer and your computer recognizes your iPad, just press “iPhone/iPad via Cable,” and you’re ready to start sharing!

Using my iPad for Notes

I also use my iPad to create notes and assignments for my students. I use Google Docs for this, along with a Bluetooth keyboard since I’m terrible at typing on my iPad screen, and sadly Google Docs doesn’t input handwriting with the Apple pencil. I also make some notes of my own for planning purposes.

Water

I always make sure I have water (and sometimes hot chocolate or tea) nearby when I teach. I get so thirsty from all the talking I do! Remember to drink extra water on days where you talk more or exercise!

My Viola and Keyboard Setup

I always sit right next to my keyboard, and for violin or viola lessons, I always have my viola right next to me on its stand so I can play and demonstrate whenever I need to. It’s important for students to hear good examples, so I need my instruments nearby to provide them with a good example to look up to!

Sheet Music

I always keep the sheet music to everything my students are working on handy so I can follow along and reference them during lessons. A lot of my music is physical sheet music, but some others I only have on my iPad. Either way, I make sure all my physical sheet music and my iPad are always nearby.

That’s everything I can think to share about my online music teaching setup. Let me know if you’d like to see more, or if you have any ideas of ways I can improve this setup even more! If you’re a teacher, I hope this motivates you to try something new, and if you’re a student, I hope this encourages you to try online lessons! They’re really not all that different from in person lessons anymore, and it gives you access to teachers all over the world!

Interested in taking lessons with me? Sign up for a free trial lesson here!