Category: Technology

Posts from the Technology topic category, including Zoom settings for online music teaching.

Posted in Technology

Top 10 MuseScore Uses for Studio Teachers

Posted on by J Melin

The MuseScore open-source notation app has been an incredibly helpful tool in my studio for several years, and as I get more familiar with its many features, I’m finding even more uses for it. Here are my top 10!

1. Notating
It’s MuseScore’s primary function: a “word processor” for writing music! Get started here by writing out your favorite scale assignments for students, using the MuseScore menus, palettes and helpful online manual (search for the function you need). Practice copying and pasting, and raising or lowering pitches by octave. Add repeats and endings. Listen to playback to check your work. Change key signatures to learn about…

2. Transposing
This capability is such a time saver! Besides changing keys for your own self-created scores, you can download user-created scores from the MuseScore website and edit them freely. Want to give your violin student a piece notated for cello, or clarinet? Change the clef, key signature and octave if necessary, and it’s instantly playable. Set up your own MuseScore account and share your scores with others.

3. Marking up
If you have a nice clean copy of a teaching piece without bowings or fingerings — or if you want to mark your own preferences — add these markings from the Articulations and Fingerings palettes. You can also add or change dynamics — the Lines palette has hairpin markings.

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Posted in Technology

ZOOM Settings for Online Music Lessons – Desktop Version

Posted on by J Melin

{This post has been getting the most hits on my studio website since April of 2020. I’ve updated it a few times as Zoom settings have changed. Here is the current procedure as of August 2024.}

When using Zoom for online music lessons, both the teacher AND the student need to avoid using Zoom’s default sound settings! Zoom is primarily a verbal-communications app, so the default settings are designed to cancel out sustained background noise, high pitches etc. — the type of sounds that are generated by musical instruments! Zoom has had an “original sound” setting since 2020, which curbs their aggressive filter for these types of sounds. In the fall of 2022, Zoom specifically labeled their Original Sound feature to say “Original Sound for Musicians.” Clearly they are aware that using Zoom for music lessons is a very popular application! If you’ve never seen the “for Musicians” addition, or if you never got the audio settings just right, here is a quick guide to the desktop version of the app. The iPad settings are covered in this post.

Follow these visual steps to update the Zoom app on your desktop or laptop, and configure the Audio settings for music lessons.

Continue reading “ZOOM Settings for Online Music Lessons – Desktop Version” →

Posted in Technology

ZOOM Settings for Online Music Lessons – iPad Version

Posted on by J Melin

Click here if you’re looking to set up the desktop version of Zoom.

{This post has been getting the most hits on my studio website since April of 2020. I’ve updated it a few times as Zoom settings have changed. Here is the current procedure as of August 2024. Go to the Zoom website for detailed information on using this app’s other features.}

Zoom’s M.I.Q. (Music I.Q.) has risen quite a bit since the spring of 2020 when music teachers began to widely use the Zoom app for online lesson delivery. The sound settings for transmitting music are now explicitly built in and identified. In case it’s been a few months since you last updated Zoom, or if you never got the audio settings just right, here is a quick guide to the iPad version of the app. The desktop settings are covered here.

Follow these visual steps to configure the Zoom app’s Audio settings for music lessons on an iPad.

Install or update the app.

Go to the App Store on your iPad to set up Zoom initially. If you already have Zoom installed, you can’t update it from inside the app. You need to go to the App Store, find Zoom in the list of your installed apps, and see if it is flagged as needing an update. If so, with one touch, it will be updated to the latest version.

Access the Audio Settings.

Run the Zoom app. In the startup screen, touch the SETTINGS gear.

Select the Audio Settings category. 

Adjust the Audio Settings.

Here is the selection for Original Sound. “Recommended for musicians or studio environments. This will enable a toggle during meetings that will disable noise suppression.” You should select this feature before you start a meeting.

Turn on “Original Sound” in-meeting.

When you’re in a live meeting, tap the screen to view the control icons. Touch the three dots that represent “More” options. The third item down is Enable Original Sound. Touch this to turn on Original Sound during the meeting.

If you want to turn off Original Sound, go back to the “More” menu and your option will look like this:

As you can see if you compare this post to the one on the desktop Zoom app, there are a lot fewer sound-control options in the iPad app than the desktop version. That is why I only use a desktop or laptop computer during online music lessons, and encourage my students to do the same.