How to set up your space for online music lessons

Choose your space: quiet, echo, and room to move

Before thinking about the camera, think about the room. Find the quietest spot in your home, away from the kitchen, washing machine, and street-facing window. In Bogotá, buses, motorcycles, and alarms are easily heard indoors, and your microphone picks up more of that noise than you think.

Next, listen for echo. Large rooms with tile or wood floors and bare walls reflect sound, making your instrument sound distant and unclear on the call. A room with a bed, curtains, a rug, or a bookcase absorbs those reflections. If the living room is your only option, a rug beneath you and closed curtains already help.

Finally, check how much space your instrument needs:

• Violin and viola: clear space to your right so you can use the full length of the bow without hitting a wall or desk.
• Cello and double bass: a floor where the endpin won't slip (a nonslip endpin stop helps) and an armless chair at the right height.
• Trombone: clear space in front of you to extend the slide fully.
• Guitar and bass: an armless chair and, for classical guitar, a footstool or guitar support.
• Drums: keep the camera and microphone away from the cymbals; we explain where below.

If possible, sit near the router or somewhere an Ethernet cable can reach.

Lighting: help your teacher see your hands

• Your main light source should be in front of you or to one side, never behind you. A window at your back turns you into a silhouette.
• If your only light is a ceiling bulb, add a lamp aimed at the instrument: on piano and guitar, avoid shadows over your fingers.
• In Bogotá, it gets dark around six in the evening for most of the year, and cloudy days are common. If your lesson is late in the afternoon, test the lighting at that time, rather than at noon.
• Turn off the TV or any lit screen behind you: the camera adjusts its exposure to that brightness, leaving you dark.
• Light your sheet music too. Reading in shadow makes you lean forward and changes your posture just when your teacher is checking it.

Where to put the camera for your instrument

The general rule: phone or camera in landscape orientation, secured on a tripod or stand, at the height of what needs to be seen. Never have someone hold it or prop it against a glass. Then adjust for your instrument:

One camera angle isn't always enough. In piano, for example, your teacher may ask you to bring the camera closer to your right hand to see the fingering in a passage, or lower it to check the pedal. Keep the stand easy to move and practice that adjustment before the lesson.

Music stand and screen: seeing your sheet music and teacher

Almost no one anticipates this problem: if the camera is beside you to show your hands, the screen is also to the side, and you end up turning your head to see your teacher. That changes your posture just when they're observing it.

• Set the music stand at eye level, rather than laying the music flat on a table, so you don't play with your neck bent.
• Put the screen beside the music stand or just above it, so you can shift your eyes from the sheet music to your teacher.
• If you use your phone as a side camera, consider a second device in front of you to see and hear your teacher. Turn off the microphone and speaker on the camera-only device to avoid echo.
• Print or download the sheet music before the lesson. Reading it on the same screen as the video call shrinks your teacher to a tiny box.
• For piano, put the sheet music on the instrument's music stand; the screen can sit on top of an upright piano or on a support beside the music stand.

Remember that online lessons work in turns: your teacher explains, then you play. You don't need to see them while playing, but you do as soon as you finish, so you can receive feedback without changing your position.

Noise and agreements at home

• Tell your household when your lesson is: no blender, vacuum cleaner, or loud phone calls nearby.
• Close windows and doors; if you have a dog, keep it out of the room.
• Put your phone on do-not-disturb mode. On some phones, an incoming call interrupts the video call.
• Ask others to avoid heavy internet use during the lesson: downloads, online gaming, or high-quality videos.
• If you live in an apartment, be mindful of lesson and practice times; sound from acoustic instruments travels easily through walls and floors.

For children, an adult should also stay nearby, especially during the first few lessons. Here we explain how to support your child in online lessons.

Checklist before connecting

1. Instrument tuned. If you play strings, use the online tuner before joining.
2. Camera secured on its stand in landscape orientation, with the framing checked.
3. Light on and any window behind you covered.
4. Music stand, sheet music, pencil, and notebook within reach.
5. Device charging or fully charged, with notifications silenced.
6. Water nearby, especially if you sing or play a wind instrument.
7. Connection tested and video-call audio set without noise filters.

We explain audio settings, microphones, and headphones in detail in what equipment you need for online lessons. You'll also find full details of online music lessons with our teachers.

Frequently asked questions