Best Zoom Meeting settings for Remote Music Lessons
Zoom Meetings has become the go-to app for most music teachers online. However, it uses speech-oriented sound “enhancements” that interpret long sustained tones as background noise. Unfortunately for us musicians, Zoom is very effective at filtering out our “noise.”
There are two things you must do in order to improve the audio quality of online lessons: receive better sound from your student, and deliver better sound to your student. Both the teacher and the student must take some steps, which are detailed on this page. Feel free to test the instructions, let me know if they work (or don’t) for you, and forward this to as many other teachers, students, parents, and music professionals as you think might benefit. This page will be updated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as Zoom updates their software, and as people write to me with feedback on how these instructions helped or failed them.
If you find the instructions overwhelming, don’t worry about it. Do your best with the sound you have, secure in the knowledge this crisis will be over in a few months and we can all go back to the most effective method of teaching: face-to-face.
FOR TEACHERS
Receive better sound from your student. This is why most teachers get frustrated with Zoom. It’s crucial to hear your student as clearly as possible in order to deliver the most effective feedback.
Go to http://zoom.us, create an account (free/basic is fine), click on Settings, and click/scroll to “In Meeting - Advanced.”
Enable “Allow users to select original sound in their client settings.”
Have your student go through the steps below in the “for students” section.
Deliver better sound to your student. This is arguably the most important part of the equation. As teachers, we can grit our teeth and deal with bad audio, but our students must receive the best experience possible if we wish to keep them engaged.
Use a computer/laptop. This unlocks options that are currently unavailable on phones and iPads. Your students will have to live with bad sound if you don’t.
Optional: use headphones and an external microphone. Your device’s internal mic will get the job done, but almost any other mic is better. Headphones should leave the left ear uncovered (for string players).
Download and install the Zoom app/program, don’t use the web version (if you can’t find the web version and am wondering why I even mentioned it, even better)! You should have already created an account in the steps above.
Once you’ve logged into your Zoom program, click on Settings, then go to Audio. These settings can also be accessed from within a meeting by clicking on the little up arrow ^ next to your microphone symbol in the bottom left-hand corner.
Optional: select your external mic if you have one.
Uncheck “Automatically Adjust Volume.” Play loudly, around 2 meters away from your microphone. Adjust the slider until the graphic volume bar reaches around 80-95%-ish.
Click “Advanced” button. If your version of Zoom doesn't have it, ignore this step and just scroll down.
Check the box that mentions “original sound.” Disable or uncheck anything underneath.
Next time you start a Zoom meeting, click on “Turn on Original Sound” in the upper left-hand corner of your window. Note: you may have to turn this option on every time you start a new meeting. Use the little drop-down arrow to ensure the correct microphone is selected. Your student will now be able to hear you and your music clearly, without the sound dropping out. Make sure you eliminate any other sources of ambient noise around you; your Zoom app will no longer block them out and they may become distracting to your student.
Optional non-audio-related enhancements:
The “In-Meeting - Advanced” settings referenced above are also where you can turn on your “Waiting Room.” It’s up to you if you want a different Meeting ID for each student, but I simply use my Personal Meeting ID for all students and turn on “Waiting Room,” so a student cannot join a meeting (e.g. at the tail end of another student’s lesson) until I let them in.
Deliver better video to your student. While this is outside the scope of this article, for a more professional look, consider using a standalone wide-angle webcam or even an Elgato Cam Link in combination with a real camera (https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/cam-link/camera-check) and wide-angle lens.
FOR STUDENTS
Deliver better sound to your teacher. If you want the best possible feedback, your teacher needs to hear you as clearly as possible. Follow these steps.
Use a computer or laptop. If you don’t have one, it’s still OK to use a phone or iPad, but you won’t be able to improve your sound much, except to take the optional step below.
Optional: use headphones and an external microphone. Your device’s internal mic will get the job done, but almost any other mic is better. Headphones should leave the left ear uncovered (for string players).
Download and install the Zoom app/program, don’t use the web version (if you can’t find the web version and am wondering why I even mentioned it, even better)! Go ahead and create a free basic account.
Once you’ve logged into your Zoom program, click on Settings, then go to Audio. These settings can also be accessed from within a meeting by clicking on the little up arrow ^ next to your microphone symbol in the bottom left-hand corner.
Optional: select your external mic if you have one.
Uncheck “Automatically Adjust Volume.” Play loudly, around 2 meters away from your microphone. Adjust the slider until the graphic volume bar reaches around 80-95%-ish.
Click “Advanced” button. If your version of Zoom doesn't have it, ignore this step and just scroll down.
Check the box that mentions “original sound.” Disable or uncheck anything underneath.
Next time you are in a Zoom meeting hosted by your teacher, turn on Original Sound in the upper left-hand corner of your window. Note: you may have to turn this option on every time you start a new meeting. Use the little drop-down arrow to ensure the correct microphone is selected. Make sure you’re in a quiet space, as your microphone is quite sensitive now.
Hope this helps my fellow colleagues, musicians, educators. We’re in this together. Now go forth and teach!
Paul
P.S. Covid-19 sucks.