Online lessons - the future?
With the covid-19 pandemic hitting us we've been forced into social distancing measures, tier restrictions, isolation and lockdowns. This has caused the move to online learning in the past year. Daniel is now fully equipped to run lessons remotely from his studio using a platform called Rock Out Loud Live, a live streaming based platform run in Google Chrome browser.
Many tutors will be using Zoom as their choice to deliver online lessons but the problem is its audio-processing system, as its not made for music lessons, more work meetings and presentations. It doesn't seem to like 2 audio sources playing at the same time (instrument and backing music) causing cut outs and lag due to background noise suppression. This makes the online learning experience very frustrating and a hassle to tweak so many audio settings.
With Rock Out Loud Live there is more emphasis on audio quality without Zoom's processing and very little latency. Its designed for music lessons. There is no sign up or accounts to make. Students simply click on a custom url link Daniel provides, type their name in and click 'join lesson'. It's that simple! All you need is a computer/laptop with a webcam and mic, a good reliable internet connection (ethernet preferably) and your guitar!
Daniel's voice, guitar and backing music is run via a mixer (not the webcam mic) before being sent as one signal to the student. This results in a clean, balanced clear audio for the student to hear. Daniel wears in-ear headphones to ensure there is no echo. Students are now more engaged and involved meaning a more enjoyable online guitar lesson experience.