Best equipment for Skype lessons?

[Sevelos]

I would like to start learning and teaching Mandolin by Skype.

I guess that you need video of good quality (correct me if I'm wrong):
- The teacher should see how the student holds the mandolin
- Both hands of the student and the entire mandolin neck should be inside the frame
- The video should be smooth enough so the teacher can see the precise pick direction and movement of the student
- The lighting in my place is weak, so the camera should be able to handle that.

I have a webcam in my laptop but I somehow doubt that it is good enough.

Any advices on equipment and software?

For example, I was thinking of the Logitech C920 / C922 cameras.
They seem to have 70 degrees shooting angle. Is that enough to capture the entire neck from reasonable distance?
Do these cameras handle weak lighting well?
Is the video smooth enough to capture pick direction and movements?

Do you indeed use Skype, or there is better software?

Any suggestions and considerations will be appreciated.

[Nevin]

I am not sure this is any help but the limitations of skype are likely to be more of a problem than the equpment you use. The picture quality is poor and the lag time makes conversation stilted and playing together impossible.

[Sevelos]

Thanks, this makes sense. Perhaps someone experienced with Skype lessons could still advice me about which equipment to use?

[UsuallyPickin]

Any modern computers built in equipment will work well enough. The key to a good SKYPE experience is bandwidth .... SKYPE will test your equipment and tell you if it will operate at speeds sufficient to use the service.
Yes I use a Logitec camera with a stereo microphone and a large screen monitor but it isn't absolutely needed. I have taken lessons from teachers that just use their laptops.
Insofar as lighting is concerned a pair of inexpensive plug in directional lamps will solve that concern.
The student or teacher needs to see both hands and hear clearly what is going on. R/

[bigskygirl]

Agree with UsuallyPickin, I have Skyped using an iPad and it went fine. The connection speed is most important, as far as position it’s easy to just adjust for you/the student to see and it would depend on the student...if you’re teaching other than a rank beginner pick direction and position has probably already been addressed.

Lighting is important and consider the background...don’t want everyone to see you haven’t straightened up the room or someone/thing is there distracting the session. Also, test your setup by Skyping with someone you know and see how it goes, most teachers have a brief Skype call to test the connection and say hi and such before the formal lessons begin.

I have been taking Skype lessons for years now and it goes just fine, I’d say we’ve only had a few times there were issues, do keep in mind that it’s not a two way broadcast...when one is talking, playing the other is muted so it’s not possible to play at the same time unless one plays very quietly. Consider making mp3’s of the tunes/concepts and jam tracks for your students to play along with for practice.

[Steve Baker]

The connection is of prime importance. Wifi didn't do it for me but when I hard wired my laptop to the cable modem the speed and accuracy jumped way up. The camera on my laptop seemed to work just fine. FWIW.
Steve

[JeffD]

I got another camera so as not to need the built in camera on the frame of the screen. I got a 1080p HD AutoFocus made by HP. It gives real sharp pictures and works well in low light.

The problem for me is the tendency to want to play with my teacher, which is impossible with the digital latency even if you solve the problem of the automatic muting. So via Skype we make do with playing alternately.

Still a very valuable way to learn when I can't be there in person. Seeing odd fingerings and configurations is very helpful.

[CWRoyds]

Yup, the previous comments are correct.
It is more about bandwidth than equipment.
I took lessons from a great mandolinist, and he was just using his iPhone.
Worked fine.

Most laptops, iPads, or iPhones have awesome cameras these days.
If yours doesn't, then just get a USB camera at best buy.
Other than that, just make sure you have as good an internet connection as possible.
If your connection is lacking, the picture will suffer, and you will occasionally loose the connection, etc.

As for lighting, you MUST have good lighting.
It is annoying to strain to see someone sitting in the dark.
Just get a good lamp.

The bad side of Skype lessons is that you can not play together at all.
The lag makes jamming together impossible.
BUT, it is certainly good for the teacher showing you things and then you repeat back, etc.
I found Skype lessons to be great.

I do suggest getting an add-on to record your Skype sessions.
I have every lesson I took on my computer, so I can go back any time.
I also went through the lessons and cropped out the individual fiddle tunes so I could have a collection for easy reference.

[mandroid]

Cable+Internet Modem, is better than DSL , phone line, modems .. for bit speed /band width.

[Marty Jacobson]

Seconding CWRoyds' suggestion for lighting. Any webcam, even the basic ones in a laptop, are quite good in ideal circumstances. Ideal circumstances means lots of light. So sitting on a sunny day in the shade, for example, where you have lots of photons raining down on you, but diffused. If you get one of those halogen floor lamps which bounce off the ceiling and are incredibly bright, that would work well for almost any indoor scenario. Or you could get one of those 4000 lumen LED light strips and bounce it off the ceiling when you're streaming. You can get them for about $40 these days.

Then get yourself a decent USB microphone and you're all set. Quality will be seriously reduced by Skype, but a good microphone is even more important due to the ability to reduce background noise, and the ability to position it near you so a high-gain situation doesn't cause every motion of your chair, pen on paper, etc to be picked up.

[CWRoyds]

Then get yourself a decent USB microphone and you're all set.

Good point about the microphone.
It is much easier to talk and play to someone if you have a mic close by, and it sounds so much better than the little built in mics.

[Escaped Cellist]

I haven't done instrument lessons via Skype yet, but I have done voice lessons. The inability to play simultaneously is, I think, a mark in favor of doing lessons this way. It encourages you to actually listen to your teacher and observe their technique closely.

When I'm playing along at in-person lessons, it only takes a moment to slip into my own bubble and forget that there is someone right in front of me with more experience, and I could learn a lot by just looking and listening as closely as possible.

So for me, Skype lessons have been a great complement to lessons in person. On Skype, there's a very focused back and forth. I listen intently to my teacher, watching her breathing and every aspect of her technique. Then when it's my turn, she turns just as much focus on me. Good stuff!

I second the recommendations above for good lighting and a good USB mic. Most laptops nowadays have webcams that are good enough for this task, but microphones that will not convey the full detail of your performance. Spend your money on a microphone - you probably won't need a better camera.