Online Carnatic and Hindustani lessons using Zoom. 

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on how Gurus teach Carnatic and Hindustani music lessons and how students learn both music forms. COVID has significantly changed how music is taught effectively. In the past, Gurus preferred in-person lessons at a school like the Raaga School's Saratoga, South San Jose, Fremont or Foster City locations. 

However, now, Gurus have adapted their teaching styles and have also adapted their teaching methods to to adapt to this new normal. 

We at the Raaa School of Music record all of our lessons and make them available to our students so the students can re-watch these lessons and practice at any time. 

Learning Carnatic and Hindustani Music using Zoom

People may be wondering how one could impart music lessons over an online platform. Moving away from a face-to-face teaching-learning method to online teaching is very hard to imagine. But with the help of Zoom, the impossible task has become easier. Zoom can connect multiple people by synchronizing the audio and video; so, one does not face issues in screen sharing. For all these reasons teaching music has become easier through zoom as a teacher can sum up all of his/her disciples and teach them on Zoom. 

Over this platform, you can use the screencast that will help you to record the lesson. The teacher can use the whiteboard to write annotations related to Varnams so that students can understand the excerpt that the teacher is teaching. Needles to say, for an uninterrupted learning session one needs to be well-equipped. If the student is well-equipped then he/she can record the class lesson for future practice. It is undeniable that music class audio is very important. 

How to prepare for a Zoom class?
Proper equipment

To start with Zoom class one needs to have a gadget, for a Carnatic music class if the student has a laptop then it will be better. Without internet connection Zoom class is not possible, so you need to have WiFi. When it comes to music class audio is important so you need to have a standard sound system, one can use headphones as well. 

Checking everything before the class
While one is attending an online class, anything may go wrong anytime. If any technical problem happens you will be cut off from the ongoing session. So you need to provide the teacher with your other contact details so that the teacher can contact with the students. 


Pause for better learning
Not all students in a class have similar learning capabilities. This is the reason students can pause the class for a better understanding of the excerpt that the teacher is teaching. It will help to reflect on a students’ skill. 


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While you are attending a music class audio is more important than video. So, a student can opt for audio more by muting the video. It will also save a lot of data and you will not have to face the breakage of internet connection.

Participating in an Online Carnatic and Hindustani Music Class

Like the offline class, you can participate in the class online as well. Creative art is nothing without participation and interaction. So, you can sing, and play instruments along with other teachers. It will make learning more effective as the teacher will be able to correct the student during the session. 

Steps to record Zoom class 
Zoom is a web-based video conferencing tool so you can easily record the session. Zoom lets two types of recording- local recording and cloud recording. If the account has permission for recording then a student can record the online class session. In such a scenario local recording is free so, besides the paid subscribers, the free subscribers also can do the local recording. Whereas, the cloud recording is only for the paid subscribers, and if you are using your phone then you will get a record one-way cloud recording. But, to record an ongoing class the host or the teacher needs to allow the students to record the class for future use. 


Step 1:
After joining the class, the student needs to click on the record button. You will get an option regarding the record on the computer or cloud.

Step 2:
You need to choose the convenient option, as if you are comfortable with a computer then you need to record for a computer as that will be a local recording. 

Step 3:
A student can record the class as much as he/she wants. One can choose to record some portions of the class that are important for practice. So, one can pause after recording the important part and then can resume recording for the following important part. Once you choose to stop the recording, you will see that the recorded portion is converted to mp4 format. 

Step 4:
The mp4 format will be saved on the Zoom folder and you can easily find them later. You can also change the default location and save the video elsewhere at your convenience. 

How does it help in practice?
While you are learning music, it is very important to practice what you have learned in the class. Without practice, there will be no perfection and the teacher will not be able to teach anymore lessons to the students. As you are not able to present physically in the class in front of the teacher so you need to find out a way to learn and practice perfectly. If you have the recording of the class, then you can replay the recording to see what your teacher has played and taught you, and according to that, you can practice at home.You can share the recording with your classmates if they have missed the class. It will make learning better for every student in the class. So, it can be said that there is no more miss out on music class as one can be connected through technology. There is no pause in learning music due to any adversity. A student can continue learning on Zoom even after we re-start in-person lessons. 

Learning Carnatic and Hindustani Music with a Guru

Students of Carnatic Music spend many months learning these core concepts of Swaras. It requires constant practice and feedback from Gurus during your online or in-person classes. It is also best if students record their practices and share with their Gurus so the Gurus can help the students identify mistakes and correct them so the students sign correctly. Also, when students record their singing and playback, these students can then identify whether they’ve sung the Swaras correctly. 

For a no-obligations  trial with one of our esteemed Gurus, please fill out the form below. We can help you schedule a Carnatic Music lesson (Carnatic Vocal, Flute, Vioin, Mridangam). You can also visit our studios here in one of our four location in San Jose, Saratoga, Fremont or Foster City. Qutie a few of our students also attend our online-only lessons. 
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