For students of Harmony House Music School

You will receive an email from Harmony House with a specific link for your lesson.  

When you click it for the first time, you will guided through the installation of the Zoom App.  Once the app is open, the Meeting ID and Password (contained in the link) will automatically appear in their respective fields, so you just have to click "Sign In".  If this isn't the case, the Meeting ID and Password are also included in the email.

You can install Zoom on your desktop, tablet or smart phone.

For additional instructions for installing and using the app, watch this video.

Here's what you'll see when you sign in:

The most important buttons are on the bottom left corner:  Unmute and Stop Video.  These are toggle buttons which turn your microphone and camera on and off.  A red line through the icon indicates the sound or video is OFF.  

In the top left corner, click "Turn On Original Sound" to reduce the digital processing of the sound, to get the cleanest sound possible.

In the top right corner, you can click the icon to go into Full Screen.  There will also be a button for either Speaker View or Gallery View, giving you the option to see the person talking full screen, or see all participants in a grid (especially handy during performance class)

The other buttons aren't needed for your lesson, though you can record your lesson if you wish.  Just ask your teacher to set the permission, and then click "Record."

Click "Leave Meeting" when you're finished.

Tablets have the controls in the top right corner., and both have the option of switching between front and back cameras.

Points to consider when setting up:

Lighting
Make sure to have sufficient lighting in front of you so you can be clearly seen on the screen.

Quiet Room
Try to keep your practice room as quiet as possible so that your teacher can hear you clearly.  Close the door if possible.

Where to place your camera/computer
For singers, it's important that you are visible on screen from the waist up.  For instrumentalists, it's important to also see the hands on the instrument.

For drummers and pianists, consider placing the camera over the students shoulder as if the teacher were sitting beside the student.  This allows the teacher to see the student and instrument from an elevated side profile, while allowing the student room to turn and face the teacher.

For vocalists and guitarists, the camera in front of you on a music stand or the like allows the teacher to view your fingers on the instrument (guitarists) and body simultaneously,

For our very young students:

Parents will likely have to sit in on the lesson to assist their children with the technology and aid in their comprehension of the lesson, demonstrating for their child as the teacher directs.  This may turn out to be a great learner opportunity for both of you.