online video chat lessons from the pros! does it work?

varunkapahi · #1 07-29-2010, 08:34 AM

some real good teachers offer video chat lessons over skype etc. are these worth it? is the medium a major difficulty? am just wondering if its a glitchy no go or something worth trying as am not able to find a teacher here and i have been searching for months.

Michael Campbel · #2 07-29-2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

some real good teachers offer video chat lessons over skype etc. are these worth it? is the medium a major difficulty? am just wondering if its a glitchy no go or something worth trying as am not able to find a teacher here and i have been searching for months.

There are several limiting factors in such a setup; your bandwidth, your teacher's bandwidth, connection issues in between you and him, your video equipment, and his.

Usually his video equipment (for you to see what he's doing, explaining, etc.) will be ok. Rarely will your equipment (so he can see what YOU'RE doing) be up to par.

I don't know what the internet situation is like in New Delhi, but if I were you I would contact some of these instructors and see if you could just get a quick 10-minute free lesson, or even just chat with him to see if a given setup will work for you.

varunkapahi · #3 07-29-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Campbel

There are several limiting factors in such a setup; your bandwidth, your teacher's bandwidth, connection issues in between you and him, your video equipment, and his.

Usually his video equipment (for you to see what he's doing, explaining, etc.) will be ok. Rarely will your equipment (so he can see what YOU'RE doing) be up to par.

I don't know what the internet situation is like in New Delhi, but if I were you I would contact some of these instructors and see if you could just get a quick 10-minute free lesson, or even just chat with him to see if a given setup will work for you.

i understand the bandwidth factor and its pretty sad here, at max i think i can 512kbps with my connection which is a total no go. but maybe i can get a better provider where i can get upto 2mbps which might work hmnm

varunkapahi · #4 07-30-2010, 12:38 AM

so has anyone done this and learned well?

N.F.A. · #5 07-30-2010, 12:56 AM

I tried it locally with a music teacher friend of mine to gauge how well it would work for him. Neither of us were very impressed. I guess once he would work out lighting and micing issues it would be better. It was hard to see his hands, there was a slight time lag between audio and video. (He needed 3 or 4 lights to light up his work area and his onboard computer mic was distorting just from him playing acoustic guitar.) Our joint conclusion is that he would need better equipment to make it work effectively. With the right equipment and bandwidth I think it would work well though.

devine · #6 07-30-2010, 01:26 AM

I teach regularly over skype and find that a 10 minute chat just to make sure everything is working is a great way to go. I've taught people from all over the globe from Australia to China. But unfortunately some countries aren't really there yet with their internet facilities so online lessons would be a struggle. Any decent guy though would let you try it out for five minutes just to check. Personally i would say if there is a noticeable delay it would be better to investigate another route as most of the lesson would be spent talking over each other. Connections are getting better though... i was talking yesterday (on skype) to a friend who is touring the states (i'm in the UK), i was at home on the imac but he was using wireless while on the tour bus that was driving at 60!... there was a delay but it's still crazy that it was working.

Take is easy,

Scott.

http://www.scottsbasslessons.com

devine · #7 07-30-2010, 09:50 AM

Hey, you also might be interested in this kind of thing...

http://scottsbasslessons.com/correspondence-lessons/

kesslari · #8 07-30-2010, 09:58 AM

I do Skype lessons with Anthony Wellington and find that they work really well. The media is *OK*, the value still depends on the teacher. I find that even with occasional media issues, I get much more out of an hour with Anthony than I did with a local "well known pro" (name withheld).
And on the positive side - there's no drive time, so let's say that bandwith issues eat 10 minutes of your hour - you've had 50 of 60 minutes. If you have to drive even 30 minutes to a lesson, you're really getting 60 of 120 minutes (60 minute lesson, 60 minutes of roundtrip driving). So even on that end, it compares favorably.

Anthony is a beast of a teacher AND player.