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I received a lovely message at Facebook from the great musician William Ross, who has done a great amount of work with Barbra Streisand. He viewed the Skype lessons and found the improvements of 'Sam' staggering. I am indeed happy to receive Bill's enodorsement:

"I just watched your Skype teaching with Sam. That is absolutely fantastic! So great Jeffrey. I could hear immediately the difference in sound when you got Sam to focus on his pinky finger and relax the thumb. Beautiful."

Ah yes, Babara Streisand. Didn't you just love her Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 11?

I would dare say that anyone who gets the opportunity to work with Barbra Streisand, who is very detailed and picky about everything, as musicians tend to be, I salute. Bill is a legend in his industry and a very respected musician. I value his words greatly.

Could a person ask exactly how much more of this thread do you need to blow this trumpet of yours?

keyboardklutz, do you really want people to have the kind of impression of you that they're going to get from your comments on this thread?

JBiegel, if I were an aspiring professional pianist, I wouldn't hesitate to pay a lot of money to have a Skype lesson with you or some other skilled teacher. It seems to me a very useful model for advanced students, especially students who may live in an area of the country where it's hard to find advanced teachers.

Probably about as many times as you make inane remarks without any substantiation.

At least Jeffrey is trying to provide the facts that support what some of us have already observed for ourselves.

I'd prefer that to your constant efforts to shoot down the entire process without giving it a chance, as evidenced by your replies throughout this thread...

Originally Posted By: eweiss
Lilylady,

You might want to ask PW's own Jeffrey Biegel. He charges $125 an hour. And that for an online skype lesson. More info at http://www.pianoworld.com/Piano_Lessons_Online.html

keyboardklutz:
For an on-line lesson I find that over the top - from nearly anybody.


Originally Posted By: Piano World

In my own case (not being an accomplished pianist), I took flying lessons from an instructor who had 50 years experience flying (all types of aircraft, including fighter jets) and who specialized in working with commercial pilots.

keyboardklutz:
Online!?


Originally Posted By: John v.d.Brook
I sense an underlying murmur of disapproval for teachers receiving $100 per hour or more. I wonder how many have calculated what a classroom teacher or college professor receives per teaching hour, say an individual with 20 or more years of experience. Note, not what they get paid per hour of work, but per hour of teaching. Obviously, these are generally group lesson situations, so the cost is shared by many.

keyboardklutz:
No murmuring here, that's a perfecly acceptable price for a good teacher. It's just the Skype thing - how ever good the intentions, I can't see the student getting their money's worth.

keyboardklutz:
There are a million and one things that need doing to ensure an effortless technique. Lesson after lesson some students never get it. Interpretation you could certainly manage over the net but the rest?


Originally Posted By: JBiegel
Be it in a studio or online, anything can be taught if it is done correctly. The apparatus changes, but the lesson remains the same.

keyboardklutz:
Sorry, no way I can go with that one.

Originally Posted By: JBiegel
The challenge in a Skype lesson is that the teacher isn't on top of the student clapping or singing or banging out the rhythm. Rather, the student feels compelled to be a better student and be 'on the ball' and have the best possible rhythm simply because the teacher is not there to instill the rhythm from the 'outside in'.

keyboardklutz:
Oh dear, in other words limited interaction.

Keyboardklutz:
So, Jeff sits in a chair a few feet away when he teaches?

keyboardklutz:
Ah yes, Babara Streisand. Didn't you just love her Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 11?

keyboardklutz:
Could a person ask exactly how much more of this thread do you need to blow this trumpet of yours?

If there is somewhere like that then yes I agree. Otherwise a Skype lesson could only be second best, and a very poor second at that. I refuse to accept that in anyway it is the future. Obviously Jeff's free to sell whatever he wishes here and people are also free to make up there own mind about it.

Frank, so you don't find flying lessons over the net funny?

Snarky,* aren't we?

*1 : crotchety, snappish
*2 : sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner

As an interested Skype user, I found the YouTube video, to be excellent. Thanks for sharing it.

Both teacher, and student, appeared very relaxed, and not at all conscious of the medium.

It was, after all, less than 5 mins, out of what was, (maybe?) a 1 hour lesson.

For people who are, for one reason or another, housebound, or living many miles from a teacher, this video proves that Skype can be be a very real alternative.

Congratulations, JBiegel.

Thanks, ROB, for your kind and thoughtful posting. If I ever had a doubt about teaching in this manner or thought it would be unfair to me as a teacher or to a student to use Skype, I wouldn't waste my time with it. I am in the middle of learning two new works for piano and orchestra written for me, finishing up the Mozart sonata cycle cds and other projects for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 season which requires a good deal of PC time on a global level. OK--following several discussions regarding everyone's perception of fee for lessons, I have personally decided to introduce this new way of teaching at a very special introductory rate. If you go to this link, http://www.pianoworld.com/Piano_Lessons_Online.html
the new lesson charges will be posted there via PayPal. As this is new technology, I find it appropriate to offer an introductory rate. I check my email address located at that URL and will respond to those who would like to try the lessons using Skype.

The person who takes lessons from a well known celebrity then has bragging rights ..but also it looks good on a resume..

FWIW...to go off on a philosophical tangent. This is exactly why we have capitalism. In a capitalist economy, the market enables individuals to decide what things are worth. Prices reflect the demand of the consumer, and if someone wants to spend $200 for a video lesson with a highly regarded concert pianist, then so be it.

The most obvious alternative is communism, where a bunch of "experts" sit around and decide what a video lesson should be worth, if anything. If we decide that a Skype lesson with Jeffrey Biegel is only worth $45, then Mr. Biegel will stop offering them because they're not cost effective, and nobody will be able to get one, even though it's cheaper.

This is why communist economies fail. They don't allow people to decide what they want and how much they're willing to pay for it. It kills innovation, and it ignores the fact that not everybody has the same needs or wants.

Everybody should read "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell. At the very least, people should get over the idea that something has intrinsic value. Things are worth what people will pay for them.

A case in point - the XBOX 360 costs more to make than it sells for. ( Read this article... ) But Microsoft knew people wouldn't pay $715 for the console, so they priced it at a loss and found other ways to make up the shortfall (Live memberships, game and accessory sales, etc...)

That's what I've always said. Good post!

I wouldn't be throwing stones re: economies if I lived in the US. Doesn't it kinda owe rather a lot of money to a certain very large communist country?

I'm not saying capitalism is perfect.

I rather like the Churchill quote:

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."

The same is true for capitalism I think.

Bravo!!

Here's a quote from me - "Without Chinese communist slave labour the American economy would have collapsed several times over."

Try reading Das Kapital. Marx points out that capitalism can only survive through finding cheaper labour markets.

And yeh, right on AZN!.

I heard the singer Angela Gheorgiu recently on the radio, talking about her education in Rumania under "communism".

Anyone who heard that would turn off their innovative Skype lesson and pack their suitcase, firstclass to the Eastern Block, for a place in a killed-innovation conservatory.





Boyscout economics like that is hard to stomach, first thing in the morning.





That's pure AgitProp, and I don't believe a word of it.

Besides, it in no way confirms your point.

Very interesting comments from tax haven Andorra!

[In a capitalist and democratic society], I have decided on my own free will to lower the cost per lesson using Skype as an introductory offer. The link is:
http://www.pianoworld.com/Piano_Lessons_Online.html
Reason? Many people do not know my teaching, and, if only by the videos provided, they cannot understand the transition of playing in the student. Makes sense then, to offer this new means of teaching in a more affordable manner to start.