ZOOM Settings for Online Music Lessons – Desktop Version

{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.

Update the app.

Open Zoom and click on your profile badge in the upper right corner. Then click “Check for Updates” in the drop-down. If an update is available, confirm you want to install the update.

Access the Audio Settings.

After the update is installed, run the Zoom app. Click the Settings gear icon below your profile badge in the top right corner. Select the Audio category in the column down the left side of the Settings box. (You can also adjust the audio settings from within an active meeting. In the lower left corner by the microphone icon, click the up-arrow [carat] and select “Audio Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.)

Adjust the Audio Settings.

Below — what the Audio Settings window looked like in August 2024. Uncheck the “Automatically adjust microphone volume” box and increase your microphone volume to over halfway — at least this works well for me!

Next, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP:  In the Audio Profile section, select “Original sound for musicians.” You’ll have to toggle the sub-selections “High fidelity music mode”, “Echo cancellation” and “Stereo audio.” The second and third options may compromise your connection speed and/or the sound quality for either you or the person on the other end. Experiment to see if they help at all. If they don’t, you can leave them unchecked.

Here are the Zoom descriptions of the Original Sound for Musicians settings: “Enables in-meeting option that disables Zoom noise suppression and removes high pass filtering and automatic gain control.”
High-fidelity music mode: “Optimizes Zoom audio for highest quality music.  It can… consume greater network bandwidth. For best results, an ethernet connect (not Wi-Fi) is strongly recommended.” 
Echo cancellation: “Prevents echoes from being captured or created… Unless you are using headphones or playing a musical instrument, we recommend that you enable this option.” (In other words, leave disabled when playing an instrument or using headphones.)
Stereo audio: Encodes mic audio in stereo. Requires a stereo-capable microphone or audio interface.
Live performance audio (BETA FEATURE): recommended for multiple instruments in different locations, “…Requires high-speed internet”

In Meeting, Turn On “Original sound for musicians.”

When you’re in a live meeting, click the Original Sound for Musicians: off selection box near the top right of your video window. Read this as saying “Original Sound IS OFF.” When you click it, it will then read Original Sound for Musicians: on and you are good to go.

To see how much more control the desktop version of Zoom gives you than the iPad version, check out how to perform this same function on an iPad.

More Helpful Hints for Zoom Music Delivery

• If you or a student have not used Zoom for a few weeks or months, make sure you have both downloaded the latest updates!
• Optimizing the Zoom settings cannot overcome the deficits of poor microphones! Most laptops have very basic built-in microphones, and so do some older desktops. Anyone planning to use Zoom extensively to transmit music should invest in a moderately priced USB external microphone. I recommend the Blue Yeti mic [affiliate link], which I’ve been using since 2020 for online teaching.
• If background echo is a problem for either participant, first experiment with Echo Cancellation in the Zoom Audio Settings. In tandem with that, have one or both participants wear headphones!
• It probably doesn’t need to be said, but: Avoid giving music lessons to students who can only connect via a cellphone!

BETA Zoom setting for “Live Performance Audio”

Since March 2023, Audio Settings displays an additional Audio Profile, titled “Live performance audio BETA (recommended for multiple instruments or voices in different locations)”. Click to enlarge the image. The explanatory text overlays describe this feature as helping to reduce latency for playing “together” over Zoom, but warn that a fast internet connection is needed.