BXP-01 Teaching Guitar via Skype
About this guide
Teaching guitar online is a great way to expand your guitar teaching business. If you find that you have trouble finding students to fit in your schedule, opening yourself up to online lessons via Skype could be the solution. Not only can you find students across the globe to fit your schedule, but it's also a great way to build your reputation as a teacher.
This guide will explain in detail the pros and cons of using Skype (or similar applications) to teach guitar online. The guide will also explain the important points you need to succeed with this type of lesson. The biggest mistake people make when teaching guitar via Skype is to assume it's the same as a lesson in person. This guide will show you how you can succeed with online lessons.
Why teach guitar online?
If you're not sure if online lessons are for you, here's a few reasons from other members on why they teach guitar online:
- Flexibility with schedules
- Reach more students
- Able to teach full time
- Low cost
- Convenience (no travel)
There are many more reasons but the above reasons were quite common. The main reason you may decide to teach guitar online is flexibility. Want to teach guitar at 3am? You may have trouble finding students in your local area wanting to learn guitar at that hour but you're sure to find somebody in a different time zone. Have trouble finding students to teach during the mornings? There will be people in other countries keen to take those times.
The basics on Skype
Although this guide is on Skype, you can use any similar program and achieve the same results. Some teachers use Google+ Hangouts instead and some Mac users prefer to use iChat. If you're not sure which to use, choose Skype because it's popular and it's free.
Basically Skype allows you to make video calls to other Skype users. That means the student must have Skype installed prior to lessons with you. In addition to video via Webcam, Skype does allow you to share your computer screen in addition to a video of you which can be used to show Guitar TAB, guitar lesson plans, etc. For a full explanation on what Skype can do, visit www.skype.com
Keep in mind that there are other more comprehensive alternatives to Skype or Google Hangouts. Read through this guide first, then check out BMG-01 for a review of online tutoring platforms.