The Pros and Cons of Online Piano Lessons vs In Person Lessons

What is the best way to learn piano at home? Are you wondering how to find piano lessons, or how to choose between online piano lessons vs in person lessons?

Trying to start beginner piano lessons for adults can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. There are so many options for how to find piano lessons these days. You find the best way to learn piano at home for you, whether you are taking beginner piano lessons for adults in person, or trying remote piano lessons from home. For in person piano lessons, you can set-up house calls, or visit a studio. To take online beginner piano lessons for adults, you can have zoom piano lessons, or other types of online remote piano lessons. Here is a comparison of online piano lessons vs in person lessons, so you can decide which piano lessons are best for you.

In Person Piano Lessons

Taking piano lessons in person, the old school way, you will go to a music studio or to a piano teacher’s home for your lesson. This means you will be limited to studying with teachers that are in your local area. If you are looking to work with a specific teacher or in a certain style this may be limiting. Because you are sharing a physical space, you will often be sharing one piano during this time. This just means if your teacher needs to model something on the piano, you will have to swap seats for a second. This also means you have the benefit of playing music together, having duets as a part of your learning, or having your teacher accompany you as you go along. In person lessons also mean that, if you are comfortable with this, your teacher can guide your hands or move your arms to help get comfortable with new physical motions. This might be helpful if you are a kinesthetic learner, and have a teacher that you can trust. Of course, engaging with a real life human being is one of the potential perks of taking a piano lesson in person. Here are a few of the pros and cons of taking private piano lessons for adults in person.

Benefits of In Person Piano Lessons:

Guidance with physical movement and form

By taking piano lessons in person, you will have a teacher there to help you make adjustments to your posture, hand position, and to model best practices for physical movement on the piano. This is especially great if you learn through physical actions.

The ability to play duets together in real time

The one thing that remote piano lessons cannot offer is playing together in real time, like with duets or jam sessions. Zoom piano lessons do offer an equivalent, if different way to play together. In person lessons is the only way to play two parts simultaneously while hearing both players in real time.

Your teacher can accompany you as you learn new skills

In addition to playing duets, most method books for beginner piano lessons for adults include teacher accompaniment parts for your teacher to play along with you and your new song. Again, there are equivalent options for zoom piano lessons, but it’s not quite the same as playing together in person.

A real life human connection

There really is no substitute for making music in person in a space with another person. If you have the time to commute to and from your lesson, and access to a piano teacher that is a good fit for you, it’s worth it to spend that time with another person. If you are looking to physically connect with another person, when choosing between online piano lessons vs in person lessons, in person will when every time.

Downsides of In Person Piano Lessons

Sharing one piano

One of the limitations of taking lessons in person is that you will likely be sharing one piano, and taking turns playing for each other as your teacher models excerpts. One of the unexpected perks of remote piano lessons is that each of you has access to your own personal piano during lessons.

Must commute to and from your piano lesson

We’ve learned this from a year of work from home behaviors, but one of best perks of zoom piano lessons is that you don’t have to travel anywhere. There are a lot of other barriers in between you and taking beginner piano lessons for adults- don’t let a commute keep you from learning something new.

You are limited to the teachers available in your area

This can be a huge factor in deciding whether you want online piano lessons vs in person, especially if you’re not sure how to find piano lessons. If you know that you want to learn something specific, such as taking jazz piano lessons, or you would like to study with someone with a certain personality, remote piano lessons lets you find a teacher that is absolutely the best fit for you.

You have to hold your farts in

It is what it is.

Online Piano Lessons

When you’re deciding whether to take online piano lessons vs in person, there are some obvious benefits to taking remote piano lessons. One benefit, especially if you’re not sure how to find piano lessons, is that you have access to a wide variety of teachers offering private piano lessons for adults. Professional musicians have been accessing remote piano lessons for a long time, as a way to study with experts and specialists globally. There are limitations to zoom piano lessons, all due to the fact that you are not sitting side by side in person. There are unexpected benefits to zoom piano lessons, too, and if you’re not sure if online piano lessons vs in person lessons are the best fit for you, this list might help you decide.

Benefits of Zoom Piano Lessons

Feedback about personal set-up at home

By tuning in from home during your zoom piano lessons, you can see your piano teacher’s piano, but even better, your piano teacher can see your personal home set-up. This way, they will be able to tell you if something about your personal set-up is actually making some things more difficult than they need to be. They can also give you tips about how high your keyboard should be, or how far away you need to place your chair or piano bench.

Easy lesson recordings

Making recordings of private lessons isn’t a brand new concept. I had a professor in college who required us to make recordings of our lessons using our computers or cell phones, and I’m sure high level players have been recording lessons and run throughs on video cameras or cassette tapes long before the era of the smart phone. Zoom piano lessons make this process incredibly easy, though. Your teacher can turn on the feature to allow you, the student, to record the class. That way, you have your own copy of the lesson instantly. I have some students that record the entire lesson each time, and play along with it while practicing for extra accountability. Others choose to record bits and pieces, especially when I model a tricky rhythm or challenging section. The ability to record also elevates the experience of online group piano lessons.

You’ll each have own piano

Another perk of online piano lessons vs in person lessons is the fact that you both have your own piano during the entire lessons. While some high end collegiate level teachers will have this available, most piano lessons will not have two pianos in a studio. This means you don’t have to awkwardly share a piano, you won’t need to take turns for your teacher to model something, and you will never have to peer over each other’s shoulders to see what is happening on the keyboard. You’ll each be able to play from your own instrument.

The option to have “play-alongs” during lessons

Another cool things about remote piano lessons is the ability to play along with your teacher while you are on mute. This is possible because you each have your own piano, and you each have the ability to mute as needed. This gives you a chance to practice something or internalize a new skill privately, before trying it for your teacher. This is really nice for people nervous about playing for other people, or who are intimidated about taking private piano lessons for adults.

Downsides of Zoom Piano Lessons

Risk of audio distortion

Many of the potential downsides that come up when comparing online piano lessons vs in person lessons were listed as benefits of in person lessons up above, but one unique limitation of any remote piano lesson is audio distortion. Luckily, during zoom piano lessons you have the option to “turn on original sound,” which goes a long way to correcting the natural compensation that these programs use. Be prepared to make adjustments as you go along, moving your electronic piano keyboard to a quiet space, or adjusting the volume and sound settings.

Inevitable internet lag

We all know about this one! This is why you can’t play at exactly the same time, unless one of you is muted and is following along with the other. This is the price we have to pay to have other cool perks like screen and audio sharing, or the ability to each record the call.

We can’t play together in real time

While you can play at the same time during zoom piano lessons, one person has to be on mute. This is one of the main limitations of online piano lessons vs in person lessons. The biggest difference about playing simultaneously during remote piano lessons is that you can’t have your teacher play a duet or accompaniment part with you.

Which is better? Online piano lessons vs in person lessons.

Ultimately, you have to choose what the most important factor is for you when deciding if you want online piano lessons vs in person lessons. Like anything, there won’t be a one size fits all answer.

As a teacher, I have chosen remote lessons all the way. Zoom piano lessons give my students complete flexibility over their lesson times and schedule, allows us to share resources in real time, eliminates the need to commute or share physical space, and most exciting of all, allows me to connect with people from all of the world, and allows them to choose a teacher that is the best fit for them! So for me, when choosing between online piano lessons vs in person lessons, I prefer remote piano lessons. For you, the answer might be different.

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