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Post by wolvoboy on Jan 19, 2014 9:00:57 GMT
Hi Bill i skype my son who lives in Australia and i find the connection to be pretty good,i think if you have a good internet connection and a decent camera it should be ok! Hi Michael count me in, having retired now i have plenty of time,as long as the wife doesn't find me to many jobs to do,i think its a great idea. i think you should do a test case to find out if it works ok! wolvoboy
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 19, 2014 10:42:27 GMT
Hi everyone,
Thanks for such a great response to this idea of Skype lessons. I have done a test lesson with a friend and it works really well. Both of us were using Apple computers; I was using a Macbook Pro with the onboard iSight camera and the Zoom H4N as a USB microphone, and the other person was using an iMac with on board iSight camera and built in microphone. We could see and hear each other perfectly. I am sure it all works just as well with Windows machines.
I don't think the distance between the two machines is an issue (UK to Australia), I think it is more to do with fast Internet connections.
I am now just working out the pricing of doing this and the logistics of when I would be available to teach online.
Thanks,
Shine On Michael
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Post by bod on Jan 19, 2014 12:54:14 GMT
Hi everyone, ... I have done a test lesson with a friend and it works really well.... I don't think the distance between the two machines is an issue (UK to Australia), I think it is more to do with fast Internet connections. I am now just working out the pricing of doing this and the logistics of when I would be available to teach online. Thanks, Shine On Michael I was going to post suggesting that some of those interested & who have Skype set up already try a "test transmission"... Can I ask, Michael, was your test lesson intercontinental, so to speak? I really like Harriet's workshop and follow up sessions suggestion, but when you are thinking about costing and logistics, etc, can I ask you to think about whether with individual lessons you'd really need people to commit to a certain minimum number of lessons or whether you could occasionally do focused one-offs (e.g., say a person was working on learning a few classic numbers by a particular artist, could you see yourself doing a kind of feedback and guidance session for them to help them progress in this?)
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 19, 2014 13:31:04 GMT
Hi Bod,
The test lesson was a UK to UK Skype call, but I do often Skype to other countries.
Re: your question about costing & logistics - I would not be asking for any commitment and am happy to do one-offs to teach a song, help with learning a song, or help with some techniques. If the individual Skype lessons are successful I may consider offering a course of something like 4 or 6 lessons.
The idea of a group workshop with say 2, 3 or 4 students could work really well, especially if there is a follow-up session with each student.
I think the private sessions should be 30 minute lessons and the group sessions 60 minutes, with something like a 15/20 minute follow-up session. How does that sound?
I think this could be a good service to offer and as long as both parties have good Internet connections it works really well.
Shine On Michael
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2014 15:01:03 GMT
Hello I'm pretty sure my kid uses my tablet to skype with her pals, so I assume it would work on a tablet, unless anyone knows any different. If so, sounds great. TT
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 19, 2014 15:03:54 GMT
Hi TT,
Skype works on all types of Internet machines >PCs, tablets and smart phones.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Stevie on Jan 19, 2014 16:03:50 GMT
I have experienced major and ultimately unresolvable problems trying to Skype from an Android tablet to my sister's iPad. We could see the other iPad end but no sound. The iPad end of the link could hear sound but the image was up-side down! I blamed it on Motorola because we were on the missus' Moto Xoom. (Better result with my Nexus 7.) There are no absolutes with computing devices. Until I can get the old thumb going in a prehensile fashion, I'll have to sit this idea out!
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laura
Serious MM Forum Member
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Post by laura on Jan 20, 2014 0:05:46 GMT
Hi Michael, how are you? I thought I'd chime in with this thread as I've recently started taking Skype lessons with a teacher in the US (I'm currently in Ireland). I have a couple of ideas that may or may not be helpful Firstly I think a 30 minute private lesson would be nowhere near enough time unless you have your lesson really well structured and planned in advance (and so does your student) because by the time you say "Hi, can you see/hear me - move your camera/ turn down your mic" etc, figure out that you're both in tune, find your slide or picks or whatever and then said "Bye" you probably aren't going to have covered much ground! I think 45 mins minimum would be fine - an hour better. Skype does not have an integrated way to record calls but there are third party apps/programmes which will do this. I think there are a few options for Windows users (some which may be free) but as another Mac user I had to buy a programme called "Ecamm call recorder for Skype" - it cost around 20pounds. It's a quality programme the calls are recorded instantly to my desktop and playable through Quicktime. I would not remember much of the material covered if I had no recording to go back over. It's worth remembering if you decide not to allow your students to record - they may be doing so anyway! I can't comment on the group lessons so much as personally I would not find them a desirable way to learn but I can forsee problems doing this over Skype as occasionally you get echoes or the sound will cut out if two people talk at once - I can imagine with 3 or more participants the sessions could become frustrating - unless you lay down some ground rules about when to speak but that could get weird... Well best of luck, I hope you'll get your lessons up and running. It's so great to be able to connect with awesome teachers/players from all over the world and spread the knowledge! Laura
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 20, 2014 9:41:19 GMT
Hi Laura,
Thank you for your comments about Skype lessons.
The amount of time spent getting started is not time I would include in actual lesson. I am not a clock-watcher when I am teaching, as many of my Pocklington & Blues Week students know. I often run over time and if it is an all day event, I have to be stopped at lunchtime!
One of the reasons for trying the 30 minute sessions is because if I only have a rate for one hour lessons, it could be too expensive for some people and I am trying to find a situation that is affordable for all.
The idea of group sessions on Skype is something that I too am unsure about, but I am prepared to explore it and see if it works. It could also be done though 'Concert Window', which is designed for online gigs, but would work well for teaching a group.
I have a very busy week coming up, but after that I should be able to take some bookings and get this idea off the ground.
The Ecamm Skype recorder is a good idea. Usually when I teach, at the end of each section of the lesson everyone gets their iPads, iPhones...etc and I go through it for the cameras.
I will also put up some ideas about pricing these lessons and see if it makes sense to everyone.
Thanks for your input.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 3, 2014 13:31:07 GMT
I am sorry I haven't updated the information on this thread for a while, I have been really busy and today is my first opportunity to catch up. I have thought a lot about how to structure this idea of doing Skype lessons and I think the best way to get it going is to keep it really simple. I have considered the pricing aspect of this and while real private lessons with me at my home are quite expensive, I do not want this to be in any way elitist. It defeats the object of what I am trying to do, which is to offer an affordable private lesson. I know session musicians who do this now, they have one rate for turning up at a studio and recording and another rate for online sessions that they can do from home online. It is really simple, to begin with there will be no courses, just one-off lessons, and after a while if it starts to work and people want a course of four, six, or eight lessons, we can look at that that and I would be happy to offer a discount on courses. So, the idea is that you can request a lesson on whatever you want - a song or a technique, "show me this or show me that" type of thing, and that's it. As I have previously said, the 30 minute window is realistically probably a 45 minute session - saying hello, losing your Skype connection and having to redial, making sure you can hear each other...etc. I am going to start this off by charging £30 (GBP) for a lesson. I think this is priced in a place where it is affordable and still worth my while. To avoid any confusion, payment is in advance and you can pay with Pay Pal. I think that covers it So.....I am ready to take bookings! Any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to write.... (You can ask about lessons on this thread, but to book a lesson it is probably better to PM me). Shine On Michael
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Post by slide496 on Feb 3, 2014 16:10:47 GMT
PM sent.
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