Jenny Ziefel's Clarinet and Saxophone Studio

Monday, March 23, 2020 by Jenny Ziefel | Uncategorized

Lessons will be exclusively online until at least April 13.  I have cleared the schedule on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for the next two weeks, so please sign up for a time that works for you each of those weeks.  I will start teaching in person again when Governor Inslee gives the ok.  The first location to reopen will be Kirkland because it is a large space that allows for 6 feet between people.  Please see my previous post about making the most of online lessons.

In the meantime, practice well and early in the day and stay safe everyone!

JZ

Thursday, March 19, 2020 by Jenny Ziefel | Uncategorized

Here is a list of pointers for getting the most out of your online lessons.

—if you get a free Zoom account, you can record your lessons—this is a good way to have a reference for practice if you need it.

—have your device set up in an out of the way part of the house so that disruptions are minimal.

—have a pencil, music stand (if you don’t have one, it will be hard for you to have good head position), all of your music, and your instrument set up ahead of time.  You will need to write things down even though I will send you lesson notes.

—try to play so that the camera view is from the side (right side preferably).  This way I can see your fingers, posture, and embouchure.

—try to minimize other uses of broadband while your lesson is taking place.  Schedule it for a time that others won’t need to be online if possible.

—go into the advanced audio settings for Zoom, set “Suppress Persistent Background Noise“ and “Suppress Intermittent Background Noise” to disable and select  “Show in Meeting option to ‘Enable Original Sound‘“ to give me a better idea of what you sound like—this works well for instruments and not as well for voice, though you don’t need to change the setting to talk. Also, uncheck “Automatically adjust microphone volume” in the main audio screen.

—don’t play directly into your microphone—back off a bit, otherwise the sound clips out.  Get a bit closer to it to speak.

—if you can, use an external condenser microphone.  I’m using one and it makes a real difference. Do not use a headset microphone because these are for speaking, not music.  They are too close to the instrument and will flatten out the sound.

—headphones can improve the sound, but earbuds do not.  Good over-ear head-phones are the best.

—though we cannot play real time duets, I can record a track for you to play with.  Please let me know if you need one—and early tracks were not recorded optimally, so let me know if you need a redo now that my recording software is up to snuff.

—If you are using play alongs, you will need to have them on a separate device.

—Email me if you have problems or questions during set-up, contact, or with lesson assignments.

--There is should be a button on the site so that you can get to your lesson.  If not, I will send you an email close to the start time of your lesson.

Monday, March 16, 2020 by Jenny Ziefel | Uncategorized

Here is the latest on lessons for my studio:

—YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR A ZOOM LESSON TIME—even if you have a previously scheduled live lesson.  I cleared 2 weeks worth of lessons because I wanted to consolidate my online teaching.

—After 2 weeks, I will reassess the situation to see if the Zoom lessons only policy needs to continue and if so, for how long.

—There will be group classes on Zoom—not everyone has FaceTime, so Zoom is the best option—after I’m totally recovered from my sinus bug.  Probably around the end of the week.

—Feel free to email me with any concerns or questions.  I’m happy to help you structure practice time and to help set goals.

Thank you for your patience at this bizarre time in our history.  Stay safe and well and make sure to clean your mouthpieces and reeds if you haven’t already.

JZ