Cherthemusic

Sound makes up a huge part for music lessons. The in-built mics of smart devices are better in quality compared to in-built mics of laptops. This is due the embedded CASA (computational auditory scene analysis) technology used to detect speech and it is the reason why our phone calls are clear. It also picks up the sound of instruments but they may sound thin and even noisy because it also detects environmental sounds.

Laptop mics are not known to be great. You may consider getting a cheap lapel mic to improve the quality of speech transmitted from your laptop. As it is omni-directional, it also picks up the sound of your instrument as long as it is close to you. You may also use the in-built mic of some earphones but it is less sensitive compared to lapel mics.

I think it is only sensible that if you want to invest in a piece of equipment for online lessons, microphones should be at the top of the list. It makes a world of difference to sound quality. I already own a condenser microphone which is connected to an audio interface. This setup provided a lot of audio clarity and my student is able to hear my demos well. Besides that, I am now working both offline and online at a music school. I use a cheap lapel mic for portability and to use with my laptop when I’m working there.

To know more about microphones:
(1) Dynamics vs Condenser Microphones
(2) BOYA BY-M1 Lavalier Mic Review

To read more about how you can improve or setup your online music lessons, subscribe to get FREE eBook “Practical Guide to Setting Up Online Music Lessons”