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Are Online Music Lessons Worth My Time?

 by Autumn Huerter

Young girl playing flute, looking at laptop on online music lessons

These days during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost every essential thing that a person could need can be found or obtained online. That includes tutorials, classes, and lessons on any subject imaginable.

But still, isn’t music something that’s in its own category of learning?

Well, as it turns out, not really. In fact, online music lessons tend to work out extraordinarily well. Plenty of information for learning music is presented visually, so online music lessons can work just as well as classroom lessons from a book. And thanks to the availability of audio files, the auditory part of the learning can also be done online or offline. And finally, the best online music lessons will have a teacher providing personalized attention to students.

So not only are online music lessons worth your time, but they can also come with advantages that book learning or in-person learning can’t match. In this post, we’ll discuss in more detail the advantages of online music lessons and whether it’s the right course of action for you or your child.


How Do Online Music Lessons Work?

It may surprise you to learn that online music lessons work in a very similar way to in-person classes. The learning structure is the same; build a foundation and then do new tasks to build upon that. Lessons are available in small bite-sized pieces so that a student can expand their knowledge bit by bit.

Online music lessons are definitely better than learning by yourself from a book. However, they both have the same feel since you can do both at your own pace.

 

Why Get Online Music Lessons?

As the pandemic has gone on for well beyond a year, and there still remains much to be desired on the vaccination front, you should no longer put your music on hold. Online music lessons will help you to continue practicing and growing better.

Online music lessons have many different benefits that aren’t found in traditional music classes.


Go at Your Own Pace

A great advantage that online music lessons offer is the ability to go at your own pace. This isn’t always an option with every online school, but most of them let you do this. You sign-in to the class when you’ve got time, complete lessons at your own speed, and then go to the next lessons when you’re ready. It makes learning music stress-free, and it allows people of any skill level to pick up from where they left off.

 

More Flexibility

With online music lessons, all you have to do is turn on the computer or smartphone and get right into it. This is perfect for the busy people of today.

 

Record Your Lessons With Ease

It's much easier to record online music lessons than in-person lessons or classes. Applications like Zoom make this very easy.

Listening to yourself later or hearing again what your teacher said can help tremendously with learning retention. You can internalize your teacher’s feedback better and even take the exercises they did and adopt them into your personal practice sessions.

However, you should always ask your teacher first if they are ok with you recording the classes or lessons.

 

Be More Selective

With online music lessons, you aren’t at the mercy of whichever teachers live nearby. You can choose a music program and teacher that specifically meets your needs.

For example, you could ask a prospective music teacher if they specialize in certain kinds of music (such as rock or classical). Or you might ask if they offer lessons/classes for all ages, or if it’s just for kids or adults.

You should invest a certain amount of time in researching the company and teachers beforehand. Most online schools will post some information about the instructors so that you can learn more about them and their background in music before taking lessons from them.

 

Anxiety-Free

People who suffer from shyness can greatly benefit from online music classes or one-on-one private music lessons online. You can get your lessons in the comfort of your own home, without dealing with too much anxiety.

 

Lower Cost

Online music lessons can save you a lot of money. There are several factors for why this is. First of all, pre recorded lessons mean that a teacher doesn’t need to be present while watching. The lesson is also ready to be watched whenever. Since the teacher doesn’t need to be in the room or on video chat with you, you will spend less for each lesson. This is a win-win for both you and the teacher.

 

Close up of hand on guitar with laptop in background, taking online music lessons

Potential Disadvantages of Online Music Lessons

Nothing in life is perfect or without drawbacks, and online music lessons aren’t exempt from this. But, the potential disadvantages are easy to predict and can easily be worked around or reduced.


Staying Motivated

The biggest disadvantage of online music lessons is that it can be difficult at times to stay motivated. An online music student must be self-motivated and not ignore lessons. To benefit fully from online music lessons, a student should continue to stay focused and engaged. A high-quality music course will help significantly with this, as it will keep things varied and interesting, the pacing will be quick enough, and you’ll be able to keep things going that way.

 

No Physical Help

If you’re just taking lessons on composing music, then this issue shouldn’t affect you much. But, if you’re trying to learn a specific instrument, you’ll lack physical help with your instrument. Posture, holding your instrument, positioning your fingers and hands, and breaking bad habits will be more challenging at first without someone there with you. However, there are many ways to deal with these beginner issues.

 

Are Online Music Lessons Right for You?

So, are online music lessons worth your time?

In short, if you’re a self-motivated individual who is ready for the initial work necessary to get comfortable with an instrument (if that’s your goal), then you’re perfectly capable of handling online music lessons. Set yourself up for success by creating a schedule and stick to it.

 


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Written by Autumn Huerter
Autumn Huerter
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