Whether you’re in the middle of a pandemic or the middle of nowhere, you might be wondering if you can take flute lessons online. Well, you can take online flute lessons, but should you?
If you have the attention and discipline to focus and stay on task, you can do really well. However, younger students or students with attention issues may benefit more from in-person lessons.
But speaking of attention, I want to let you know this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links, I’ll get a kickback at no extra cost to you. Anyway, back to the post.
Can You Take Flute Lessons Online?
Taking flute lessons online is a great way to learn the instrument without having to leave your house. If you have a stable internet connection, you can use video chat to work with a flute teacher.
However, there are a few differences between taking flute lessons online and in person. When you’re in person, a teacher can more easily work with you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn flute well in online lessons.
How lessons work
The basics of taking flute lessons online vs. in person is very similar. You find someone to teach you, and you enroll in their lessons. Every week, you will meet at the same time to have your lesson.
However, instead of going to the teacher’s studio or home or the teacher coming to you, you video chat. For this, you’ll both need to have a good internet connection. Of course, you’ll also need to agree on the video chat program you want to use.
During the lesson, you’ll get to work with your teacher on flute. Some teachers have a set curriculum they use with all of their students. I, personally, prefer to work with each individual student to determine the best method books to use or pieces to play.
How to prepare
Preparing for any flute lesson can be difficult. If it’s your first lesson, you may not have any music to prepare.
However, you should have a good place to set your computer or phone. Try to choose a spot with good lighting and without distractions. Make sure you’re comfortable and can sit or stand, whichever you prefer. Bonus, you can have your flute out and ready before the lesson starts.
Of course, you should also have your current method book or sheet music readily available. You also need to make sure your internet is working right before the lesson so that you can minimize the chances of the video chat crashing.
Want inspiration for method books or sheet music? Check out my Flute Favorites page!
How to Be Successful With Flute Lessons Online
Unfortunately, not everyone should take flute lessons online. If a student is super young or doesn’t have much of an attention span, virtual lessons will be much more difficult.
Still, even teens and adults can encounter problems. Of course, a spotty internet connection can be an issue for many people. However, there are things you can control so that you can have successful flute lessons online.
Practice smart
The first thing you can do between lessons is practice smart. You don’t have to practice for hours a day, unless you’re maybe more advanced and looking to have a music career.
It’s more important to be attentive when you practice. As a beginner, you can refer to a fingering chart when you’re learning a new fingering. Or you can look at prior lessons in your method book to review certain concepts.
If you want to learn how to practice better, consider a performance check. You’ll send me a recording, and I’ll respond with feedback and a basic practice plan!
Have questions
Another reason you should practice well is so that you can ask good questions during your lesson. You don’t need to ask a ton of questions, but it can help your teacher understand where you’re struggling.
Your teacher can then demonstrate concepts or provide resources or examples to help you.
While you don’t have to have a long list of questions, having a few can help make the lesson more productive. You can write your questions down in your music book or on a separate sheet of paper.
Find the right setup
This can take some time, and that’s alright. However, you want to choose the right location in your home for taking flute lessons online.
First, you want to have a good computer, tablet or phone. Many recent models have excellent front-facing cameras that are great for video chatting.
As much as I love my iPad, I prefer to use my MacBook Pro for lessons so that I can load sheet music onto my iPad.
Next, you need a reliable internet connection. The best way to get this is to use an ethernet cable to hardwire into the internet. However, if you can’t do this, make sure you have fast internet. You can perform a speed test to see how good your internet is.
Finally, you’ll need good lighting. When learning the flute or any instrument, you need to see the other person. If you can’t see your teacher, you won’t be able to see what they’re doing, and vice versa. You can use natural lighting, a lamp, or whatever you have for lighting.
Be flexible
Even with fast internet, connections can drop. Your teacher may ask you to move around so that they can see different parts of you or your flute.
Especially if you’ve never taken flute lessons online before, this is all new. Both flute students and teachers need to be flexible and learn along the way.
However, taking flute lessons online can be more flexible since you don’t have to travel anywhere. You can still have your lessons even in bad weather.
Listen well
If a student doesn’t have a good attention span, taking flute lessons online can be impossible. Online teachers have to be good at explaining things and demonstrating them, while in-person teachers can work more with the student.
So when you take online flute lessons, you need to listen and watch your teacher. Then, you can attempt to replicate what they did to get a certain note or sound.
The more you can listen and watch, the more you’ll be able to learn how to play the flute online.
Pros and Cons of Flute Lessons Online
Of course, I’m biased toward flute lessons online. I think it’s a great way to study flute whether you’re in a city or a rural area.
You can learn from almost any flute teacher, and location doesn’t matter. However, it’s not all perfect.
Pros
The biggest advantage is that no one has to travel to lessons. Students and teachers can be in their homes or location of choice.
Not having to commute can save on time for you as a student. You can warm up right before the lessons, and you don’t have to worry about driving a long distance.
You also have access to more teachers when taking flute lessons online. If you take lessons in person, you have to choose from your local area. In some cases, that could mean driving for a while.
Cons
On the other hand, taking flute lessons online means there’s no physical interaction. If you need a teacher to move your flute for you, you may prefer in-person lessons.
Online, you’ll have to watch your teacher and try to recreate the hand position, posture, and more.
You also need to have a good attention span and discipline. If you don’t have an attention span, your teacher can’t do much to help you. And if you don’t have discipline, it will be harder for you to stay attentive and motivated during lessons.
So…
Taking flute lessons online can either be a dream come true or your worst nightmare. However, if you have the right tools and skills, you can be successful.
Want to learn more? Download my Ultimate Guide to Learning Flute Online!
