Teaching online is different from teaching in person. Even though there are limitations with the technology, excellent progress can be made.
I’ve found that over time, my ear has been trained to recognize the nuance in the students sound and how to experiment with them to achieve the results we’re looking for. It’s important to be flexible.
Latency is an issue, so demonstration is harder, and we can’t play together. I will play for students and ask them to play with me. Then I will have them play for me by themselves so I can evaluate them. I do a lot of showing the student what I want them to do and having them replicate what I just did.
Groups cannot operate in the same way, so the primary method of running a group class is to demonstrate while students are muted. Then having individuals take turns playing for the group. And, using apps like Acapella to play “together,” where each student records their part.
Mic placement is important. It’s better to have the mic placed farther away so the flute doesn’t overwhelm the mic. This can also affect the ability of the sound to transmit at all because of the noise suppression functions built into the software. Also, the most ideal placement for a mic for the flute is pointing at your forehead avoiding the air trajectory. If you have an external mic, and you can set up this placement, that is ideal.
Headphones are very helpful to avoid echo.
I keep a list of my students and which platform they are using so I can easily make the switch between each student. I also keep notes on exactly what we’re working on so I have a very clear strategy for each lesson. It can be more difficult for students to focus in an online lesson because I’m not a physical presence in the room.