How do online singing lessons work?
In my last post, I went over how singing lessons work in a general sense. This post will address some common questions and concerns I receive about online lessons. While face-to-face lessons have a few advantages, online lessons will still work for most people. The first step is to simulate the face-to-face environment as closely as possible through video chat.
Vocal Lessons Using Video Chat
I teach many of my lessons online via video chat. I also took many of my own lessons online when I learned to sing. They work nearly the same as face-to-face lessons.
The video and audio capabilities on most video chat or conferencing services have enough quality to relay enough detail that a skilled vocal coach can determine if a student executes the technique correctly.
The video conferencing allows me, as the vocal coach, to observe your technique and provide guidance that ensures you develop proper vocal habits.
Microphones Tell The Tale
Different vocal techniques hit microphones differently. That may seem obvious when you think about a traditional performing microphone, but you might not think about what that means for the small microphones in your electronics.
Beginners do not need to invest in professional-level audio equipment.
Most modern computers, smartphones, or other devices you might use to access the internet have a built-in microphone. Devices that have video chat capabilities almost certainly do. These small microphones also pick up and amplify the differences between vocal techniques. As an experienced vocals coach, I can hear those differences as they happen and help guide you to the sounds you want.
Most video conferencing platforms handle sound well enough to conduct voice lessons, but some sound better than others. Also, some platforms design their default sound settings to optimize video conferencing with several people. Such settings may clip and mute many sounds to give the main presenter more sound capacity.
In one-on-one vocal lessons, we want to hear all the nuances, not silence the noise like we would with multiple people on a call. So, you may need to adjust your sound settings to optimize your online vocal lessons.
Monitoring
Monitoring is helpful but not required for learning.
Monitoring is the ability to hear your vocals through your ears from an outside source. When a performer wears headphones or a stage has speakers on the floor pointing at the stage, those are for monitoring. Your vocals sound different from the outside than they do from the inside. Monitoring will help you match the sounds you seek with the techniques needed to create them.
You do not need any monitoring to start lessons.
You can start lessons without any extra equipment. As you get better, monitoring becomes more important. As you get into lessons and want to keep investing in your improvement, you can get an audio interface for your computer. That way, you can run a microphone and monitoring during video chat sessions.
I highly recommend a good monitoring setup for any live performances.
Learning With Lag
While online vocal students will receive the same guidance and feedback as in-person students, they will face one challenge. Video chat often feels completely synchronized, but unfortunately, it still usually has some delay. This delay, called lag, disrupts the timing between teacher and student, which means we cannot play in time together.
The lag means that, for online students, instead of singing along with the exercises, we use a call/response approach. With this method, the student will listen to the teacher play or sing a melody and then repeat it. The call-and-response method works for most students without issue.
Lag also requires the student to play the track to sing along with when we work on a song. If I were to play the track, the lag would put us out of sync.
The call-and-response approach has the added benefit of working on your ear training while singing. I use some call-and-response during in-person lessons too.
Students who struggle with the call-and-response method can try singing along to pre-recorded melodic patterns they can play from another device. Then, they can try call-and-response again once the melodies become engrained in their memory.
Setup to Share Your Singing
As mentioned before, after some progress in developing your voice, you may want to upgrade your audio equipment. In addition to aiding with your monitoring, investing in a good audio interface can set you up to record your lessons.
A high-quality audio setup will also help you sound your best if you broadcast your singing online or record tracks to share later.
If you plan to share your singing online, get a microphone and an audio interface.
Beginners do not need to invest in professional-level audio equipment. Start your lessons with your standard setup, then upgrade as you improve. That way, when you're ready to show off your new vocal ability, you'll be ready to rock.
Thanks for reading. My next post will go into depth about how singing is exercise. Rock on!
Develop your voice!
Improve your singing voice without leaving the privacy of your home through online voice lessons. Wow your friends at the next karaoke outing or surprise that special someone with your own rendition of their favorite song. Schedule a free consultation to get started without any commitment. Let's talk about your voice and how I can help you reach your vocal goals.
