Learn guitar, bass and 5-string banjo
online via Zoom!
Taking music lessons online with Jeff Foster via video-conferencing has many advantages. Here’s just a short list:
- Competitively priced: $30/hour, or $20/half-hour
- Personalized lessons focusing on your needs and goals as a player
- Flexible lesson times to fit your schedule
- Learn from a lifelong professional musician and instructor in the comfort of your own home
- Ask questions in real time for immediate feedback
- Record and archive the lesson to review later
- And much more!
- Ready to begin? Sign up now! Already taking lessons? Pay via PayPal here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
“What do I need to begin online lessons?”
First and foremost, a playable instrument and time to practice. Beyond that, the technology involved in online lessons is fairly easy to acquire. Most modern computers and devices have all the tools necessary to engage in video conferencing. Here’s the breakdown:
- A webcam and microphone (a computer is best for visibility, but a tablet or smart phone can work, too)
- Video conferencing software (Zoom is preferred, but Skype and Facetime and Zoom are also supported)
- An internet connection robust enough to transmit and receive live video
- A PayPal account for making your lesson payments.
“How often are my lessons?”
That’s up to you. Students who want to more aggressively pursue their studies will take lessons weekly. Others prefer every couple weeks, or monthly, and some every few months… or whenever they feel a need for some fresh input.
“Do you take beginners?”
First-time players are the ones most in need of good instruction. Even if you’re studying YouTube videos on your own, trying your best to emulate what you see and hear in the video, it’s very easy for beginners to develop poor or ineffective habits, and once learned these bad habits are hard to break.
I often introduce more advanced playing concepts fairly early, not with the expectation that my student will remember or immediately utilize the concepts, but just to plant the seeds of awareness so that, over time, students internalize the information, and recognize poor or inefficient technique in their playing, and take steps to correct it. This can save a student a lot of time in the process of learning to play an instrument well.
“How long have you been teaching music, and where?”
I have been teaching privately since the early 70s, and have held teaching posts at two major universities and a prominent community college. Click here for more info on my teaching background.
“How much do you charge for online lessons?”
At present, $30/hour, or $20/half-hour. Whether you live close by my home in Brown County, Indiana, or halfway around the world, the time and cost of travel is eliminated, so you come out way ahead.
“Are there disadvantages to taking lessons online?”
A few, yes, related mostly to not being together in the same room. For instance, I cannot take the eraser of my pencil and tap on target notes on your instrument, or help nudge your fingers into a better stance. There’s also the inevitable latency in transmitting live video over the internet, even with the fastest of connections. This makes playing duets in real-time impossible.
There are work-arounds, however. I can prerecord each part of a duet separately, and send you the MP3s to help with your practice. I can also provide multiple versions are various tempos, so you can go slowly at first, and then play at more of a performance tempo.
- Ready to begin? Sign up now! Already taking lessons? Pay via PayPal here.
- If you have questions you’d like answered before scheduling a lesson, click here.
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