Online Lessons
Presently, lessons are all on line in response to the Governor's order to shelter in place. Lessons on line are a great way to continue your work as an artist when you can't get to the studio in person. We have many years' experience with lessons on line and are excited to work with you! Some helpful info on how things work is below.
Check List of Necessities:
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Video Device: A laptop or desktop computer are preferred for video. A tablet works, but with a tablet, we lose access to zoom's audio settings which can downgrade our experience together.
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External Microphone: For the best experience, connect an external microphone to your laptop. Top choice is a usb mic. Top rated are the Blue Yeti ($79) or the Yeti Snowball ($49). Some students have also had success using gaming headphones as their external mic. This improves your experience by allowing your teacher to hear your clean, undistorted vocal sound.
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Playback Device: Ideally, this will be your phone or tablet. Connect this to a speaker, and we will experiment over time with distances to find what's ideal for your space in terms of audio quality.
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Accompaniments: Once you have been assigned vocal repertoire, please have the accompaniment track(s) or karaoke track(s) for your music uploaded and ready. Due to lag time, accompaniment must be played at your location. Your teacher may share a practice track with you, or you may find it is available on YouTube.
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Sheet Music: Have your notebook available. If your music is not yet organized into a notebook...well...time's a'wasting. Get that done. (o;
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If you have a music stand, please bring it into your music space so we can use it.
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APPS: Please download several options so that if one is not working well due to heavy traffic, we can easily switch. Your lessons will be scheduled via Zoom, with FaceTime and Google Duo as back ups. We may add more apps as new platforms develop.
Helpful Hints:
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Playback device should NOT be near mic of video conference device. The further away the better.
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Please close other apps, windows, devices that may be using your WiFi. I will do the same on my end.
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If connection is bad, we can easily hang up and call right back. Often, that's an easy fix.
Your Lesson Space:
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If possible, create a space you use consistently for your voice lessons and for your practice. If you have a keyboard or piano in your home, it would be great to have access to it during your lesson and/or practice.
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Choose a space where you can stand away from your computer/microphone to sing. This helps avoid distortion. Ideally, the location you choose for your lessons will afford you enough privacy to feel comfortable.
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Live Hallways, bathrooms, or any room with lots of hard surface and tall ceilings, would be less ideal. Such spaces tend to magnify sound and increase microphone input distortion. Distortion makes it tricky for me to hear your true sound.
Helpful Gear:
Most helpful is a speaker and an external microphone. All 3 suggestions below can be found for a total of about $100 and will greatly enhance the quality of your experience.
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Speakers, ideally use two for lessons. One for your video device and one for your playback device (accompaniments). If one is not already available in your household, there are many affordable options on Amazon.
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Music Stand: Collapsible (about $12.50 on Amazon) or solid (about $35 on Amazon)
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External microphone for your video device. This improves the sound that reaches me, allowing me to guide you more accurately. It also minimizes the distortion that is somewhat inherent in the small microphones that are integrated into computers, phones, etc. Popular choices are the Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic ($49.99 on Amazon) or the Blue Yeti microphone ($79 on Amazon).
The Basics on Rates and Payments:
Rates for private lessons range from $45 to $60 per half hour lesson, depending on the teacher. New students must commit to at least 2 initial lessons.
Register for lessons and learn more about our program and availability by emailing LaurieNelson.studio@gmail.com.
Payment method for all new students taking on line lessons is PayPal. Payment is due in advance of lessons. A direct link will be shared. Once our relationship is established, alternate modes of payment will be made available to you.
Current students who are taking video lessons during the Covid 19 crisis may pay by PayPal, check or direct bank payments.
See Policies for more complete information.