Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Amateur Musicians, Cello, Getting Started on the Cello, Online Lessons, Professional Cello Gear, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Getting the Most Out of Online Lessons

The Covid-19 Pandemic has banished face-to-face music lessons to Skype, Zoom and other online video chat options. We private music teachers are fortunate to be able to continue teaching during this global upheaval, but teaching and learning online is certainly not without several frustrating hurdles. Grainy, pixelated images, unintelligible audio, screen freeze and numerous other glitches can make lessons feel like a lost cause, especially for teachers and/or students who are new to online learning.

What follows is a breakdown of the most common technical headaches and how to fix them.

1. Is your Internet Up to Scratch?

Fast broadband is far more widely available these days, but for some rural areas, the rollout of fiber optic broadband is still a painfully slow work in progress, as are the existing internet speeds. The good news regarding video conferencing is that you can get away with a very modest download speed of 1 – 4mbps, so long as your upload speed is at least 1 mbps. If your average speed is less than that, unfortunately you’ll find that most video calls will consist of badly pixelated video and barely intelligible audio that sounds more Dalek than human; and the call is likely to be split up into several short-lived sessions that time out due to insufficient or non-existent connection speed. Needless to say, music lessons are impossible under these circumstances.

You may already have a connection speed of 4mbps or more, and still experiencing the aforementioned frustrations with your video calls. Alas, there are more factors than just your internet speed that can cause problems. Fortunately most can be fixed.

  • WiFi vs. ethernet: You may have a perfectly respectable speed, but a weak wifi signal can make your browsing and video call experience as much of a lost cause as the sub 1mbps speed dilemma. If possible, be in the same room as your router, and use a device that can be connected to the router with an ethernet cable. That way, your internet speed and stability will always be what your provider is giving you, rather than what your wifi signal can offer. If you can’t be in the same room as your router, consider upgrading it or investing in range extenders. These clever devices plug into a normal wall socket and boost your signal, as well as some models allowing you to plug in an ethernet cable
  • Bandwidth: The more people in your household are making simultaneous demands on the internet connection, the slower your download speed will be. While general browsing, social networking and email shouldn’t make much or any difference to your connection speed or stability, you should aim for your lesson slot to be at a time when others in your home are not downloading, file sharing, streaming or video calling.
  • Traffic management: You may find that your speed drops at certain times of the day due to general traffic, especially while so many more people are working from home. In addition, many internet providers use traffic management techniques to deal with increased demand, which often includes slowing speeds at certain times of day. It’s worth checking your provider’s small print to see what (if any) traffic management policies they apply to your subscription, especially when it’s time to renew.

2. Your device

If the computer, phone or tablet you’re using is a bit of a relic, you may experience the same sorts of issues you’d encounter with insufficient connection speeds, such as poor video and sound quality, image freezing. In addition, you may encounter software or even system crashes. Without getting too technical, if your computer is generally limping through its daily tasks and prone to crashes and system errors, it’s time for an upgrade. If you’re not sure what specs you should go for, fear not – all new laptops and desktop computers are more than adequately equipped to deal with video conferencing.

3. Camera and Microphone

At a pinch you can use your onboard camera and microphone, but really, if you want to get the most out of your online lessons, you’ll need to invest in a reasonable quality webcam, tripod, USB microphone and mic stand. Quality issues aside, the main problem with relying on your onboard camera and mic is the very limited camera angle and mic level you get. In order for me to be able to assess your playing, I need to be able to see a full length image of you, and I need the best possible representation of your sound. If you’re using your laptop, tablet or phone you have your camera and mic in the same place which is problematic. Being close to the camera means I’ll be able to see your head and torso at the very most. Move away from the camera and you end up too far away from the mic, so I can see you but I can barely hear you. It also makes it challenging for you to see and hear me properly if your device is too far away from you. Solution:

  • Don’t use your phone – the screen is too small.
  • Tablets are okay, but only if you can plug in an external camera and mic.
  • The ideal device is a laptop or desktop with external camera and mic plugged in and placed in such a way that you get your ideal camera angle and mic placement, and you can be as close to your computer screen as you like because it makes no difference to the sound or picture.

You can spend as little as £30 or splash out as much as £300, depending on just how impressive you want your webcam to be. £30 – £50 will buy you a basic but respectable camera that will comfortably outperform the onboard camera on your laptop or most tablets. The opposite end of the scale will buy you something capable of streaming in ultra HD (4k) quality. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what that means – you don’t need it for basic 1 to 1 video calling. If you’re thinking of taking up vlogging in your spare time, or just fancy getting something top of the range, this is the sort of camera you’ll be considering.

The same is true of USB microphones, although the high end options can run to thousands of pounds. You’re not trying to compete with Abbey Road Studios or BBC Radio 4, so don’t fret about the pricey end of the scale. Like webcams, £30 will buy you something perfectly adequate and significantly better than your nasty, tinny onboard mic. You’ll also find that many, if not all budget USB mics come with a very handy desktop mic stand.

As for Webcam tripods, a simple desktop stand or tripod can be found on Amazon for as little as £2, but I wouldn’t vouch for quality at that price. If you want more flexibility in terms of where you can place your camera, traditional floor standing tripods start at around £20 and can be used for a range of devices.

Deryn Cullen Advanced Technique, Cello, Cello Accessories, Cello Strings, Professional Cello Gear

Review: Larsen Magnacore G and C Strings

magnacoreNew strings! We string players are spoilt for choice these days with new brands popping up on a regular basis. As a rule I try not to get carried away with the need to try every string new to the market – no matter how tempting.  For the past five years or so I have settled with either Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Soloist, Larsen, or a combination of these. It so happened that the G from my most recent set of Pirazzis was not behaving very well – so much so I suspected I might have a seam crack. I took my cello (a Mittenwald instrument made C 1880, probably by Neuner and Hornsteiner) to my luthier for a check-up. The fingerboard needed shooting, but there were no cracks and the G string was still excessively volatile. We tried another Pirazzi and found it to be equally raspy; then tried an old Larsen and the buzz disappeared but the sound was rather dull compared with the brilliant, sparkling tone of the Pirazzi A, D and C strings.

For my session work I need a high performing set of strings with quick response and a big open sound right up to the highest register of each string. Normally the Pirazzi Soloist set delivers admirably on all fronts, but it seems the lower strings no longer suit my instrument. Whether it’s to do with slight changes they’ve made to the manufacturing process or a slight change in my instrument is anyone’s guess. I adore Larsen Soloist A and D, but find the G and C strings to be a little tame with a slower response than the Pirazzis. Enter the Magnacore G and C. Having read several user reviews, they certainly sounded like the strings to meet my requirements. Fingers firmly crossed as to whether they will agree with my cello.

Day 1

As expected and in line with every user review I’ve read, the strings are extremely metallic and volatile. I expect they’ll need a good 2 – 3 days of playing in to find their true voice. Listening past the ‘new string sound’, I can tell they are magnificently colourful, and should project very nicely indeed once the initial ‘zing’ has worn off.

Day 2

Still finding myself playing cautiously on the lower strings. After spending around 30 minutes playing exclusively on the G and C strings – scales and arpeggios with a variety of articulations, and exploiting the fullest possible range of each string – the metallic quality has diminished considerably and those wonderful colours I was looking forward to are really coming through. The strings still require frequent tuning, and the brashness hasn’t been tamed quite as much as I’d like.

Day 3

The tuning is still a little unstable (significantly flatter than the upper strings), but after a good half-hour warm-up I am doing my first recording session with them. I’m very happy with the results, especially the dynamic range on the new strings. I think they could still do with a few more hours’ playing in to realise their full potential. I’m also not convinced that the Pirazzi A and D strings make the best combination. Tomorrow I will be replacing the existing Pirazzis with new ones to see whether the overall balance is better.

Day 4

So it’s off with the 4 month old Pirazzi Soloist A and D, to be replaced with brand new ones. And what an incredible difference! My cello is now singing from top to bottom, and the strings compliment each other beautifully. After around 20 minutes playing in the Pirazzis I feel I have a robust, fully played in set with excellent projection, complex tonal qualities and a huge dynamic range. The Magnacore G and C are still a touch volatile, which I think has as much to do with my instrument as it does with the strings, but the G is much better balanced than the Pirazzi Soloist G was, and they lend themselves to just about any style and genre.

Conclusion

Overall, I love the Magnacores. As with all string manufacturers, Larsen had to decide whether to produce a string with no playing in time and a shorter playing life, or longer playing in time and a longer playing life. Thankfully they opted for the latter, and I certainly hope my strings last a good long while. Which brings me to my only gripe: the price. At a recommended retail price of £89.43 for the G string and £103.30 for the C string, they simply won’t be my regular lower string option – as much as I’d love them to be – unless the price comes by a good chunk. My rating: 4/5.

Here’s a recording I made with the Pirazzi/ Magnacore string combination on day 4: