Online Lessons - Zoom Instructions

Attention: Please use a laptop or desktop computer for music lessons

To set up 

Zoom for online music lessons, the primary instruction is to enable "Original sound for musicians" in your audio settings. Zoom's default settings are designed for speech and will otherwise filter out musical notes as background noise. 

1. Preparation

• Equipment: A laptop or desktop computer is recommended for better screen size and camera positioning. For better audio quality, consider a high-quality USB microphone and wired headphones instead of wireless ones to avoid latency issues.

• Internet: Use a wired ethernet connection if possible for better stability.

• Positioning: Position your device so the teacher can see your face and your instrument (e.g., side-on for a piano).

• Update Zoom: Ensure you have the latest version of the Zoom desktop application installed from the Zoom Download Center. 

2. Configure Zoom Audio Settings (Before the Meeting) 

You only need to do these steps once, though you will need to activate the feature in each meeting. 

1. Open the Zoom desktop app and sign in.

2. Click your profile picture, then select Settings (the gear icon).

3. In the settings menu, click on the Audio tab.

4. Under the "Microphone" section, uncheck the box for "Automatically adjust microphone volume". You can then manually set the input volume level to about 80% (adjust later as needed).

5. Under the "Microphone modes" section, select "Original sound for musicians".

6. Optional Advanced Settings (for professional equipment and stable connections):

   1. Check "High-fidelity music mode" to increase audio codec quality.

   2. Uncheck "Echo cancellation" (especially if using headphones).

   3. Check "Stereo audio" if you have a stereo microphone setup.

7. Close the Settings window. 

Windows Users Only: You may also need to disable "Enable Audio Enhancements" in your Windows sound settings control panel to prevent the OS from cutting out musical sounds. 

3. Join the Lesson and Activate Settings (During the Meeting) 

1. Join your music lesson by clicking the link provided by your teacher.

2. Once in the meeting, look for the "Original sound for musicians: Off" button in the top-right corner of the meeting window.

3. Click the button to turn it "On". It should then display "Original sound for musicians: On". This step is crucial and must be done for every lesson. 

4. Sharing Music or Tracks (Optional)

If you need your teacher (or student) to hear music playing from your computer (e.g., a play-along track or a YouTube video) while you are not playing your instrument:

1. Click the green "Share Screen" button at the bottom of the Zoom window.

2. In the sharing options window, go to the "Advanced" tab.

3. Select "Music or Computer Sound Only".

4. Click "Share". Only the computer's audio will be transmitted.