We will be conducting our classes on the Zoom platform. You’ll need a computer with speakers and microphone, smart phone, tablet or iPad, and a reliable internet connection.
- Download the Zoom app. It is painless, fast and free.
- If you are new to Zoom please watch this introductory video from Zoom.
- If you have a computer, choose that over a tablet or smartphone. Not only will the sound be better but also you can interact more and see more of others.
- Consider using headphones. They can help you hear music better, especially when playing along with the presenter.
Some helpful features of Zoom:
- Speaker view and Grid/Gallery view – you can toggle between the two to see the difference.
- The ability to MUTE AND UNMUTE – when you are on ‘mute’ it reduces feedback, echo, and background noises that can occur. It also means you can make as much sound as you want without others hearing you. The Host and co- hosts can mute everyone. Bonus for musicians taking a class: You can practice and play along with the instructor all that you want! You will be muted much of the time during group music classes. Use that to your advantage for practicing and experimenting.
- The ability to have your CAMERA OFF AND ON. Keep it on as it helps build connection. Your presence matters!
- The CHAT feature.
- The ability to NAME YOURSELF if you haven’t already – click the three dots in your own window.
Very Important for us:
SOUND SETTINGS FOR PLAYING MUSIC OVER ZOOM
Zoom is designed for voice conferencing, not for playing music. By default, it attempts to reduce background noise (like the heat or air conditioner), cancel out random sounds, and to reduce echo and feedback. That is good except that when we play our instruments, it often mistakes the sound of our instrument as feedback, echo, or background hum. So, it can suppress the sound of our instrument and no one in our session will be able to hear us.
Fortunately, Zoom allows us to turn off those features, allowing our flute playing to get through, mostly unimpeded. The settings you’re going to look for are for “Original Sound”, meaning to preserve the “original sound” caught by the microphone and transmit it to the listeners.
- You can watch this video which will help you to configure “Original Sound” on your desktop computer
- The configuration of “Original Sound” is now also possible on devices like iPad, iPhone or Android phone but the steps are a little bit different. Google something like “zoom original sound ipad” or “zoom original sound android” and you will find online tutorials. It takes just a few seconds.
- We’ll also go through these settings at the beginning of our retreat.