Sound during piano lessons

[Sue_V]

I teach piano lessons online to a number of students.  Recently, the sound as really gotten bad.  I might hear a few notes and then suddenly the sound goes out and I can't hear the student playing.  I can hear their voices.  Can someone help?  I suspect it has to do with the zoom on their side, but I don't know how to tell them to fix it.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!!

[rkearton]

This is happening to me too.  See if the students have recently updated to Windows 11.  That is the common thread among all my students having this issue.  I'm hoping Zoom will address it soon. 

[Sue_V]

Thanks!  I'll check with them!  I think some of them are using iPhone, though.  Do you have any idea how to get the issue in front of Zoom?  

[Frank_TB]

Hello,

 I suggest you submit a ticket with Zoom support (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/requests/new)  
Regards

[MB88]

I am having the same issue, and it has become a problem only recently.  Would appreciate help here, too! 

[ZoomZoom]

Sounds like noise supression is on.

For all participants, please follow the instructions in this document: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115003279466-Configuring-audio-for-music-and-singing 

[Mike_fpMA]

Baloney. Cruise through this community & see how many people are having similar audio problems. I am too. I have a Mac laptop, an Ethernet connection, Zoom client v5.14.5 (the latest), Original Sound is ON ON ON. I STILL have problems with the audio going COMPLETELY SILENT when my student is playing. I'm going over to Google Meet and it works, unlike Zoom. I've been complaining about this issue for a year & nobody there cares enough to address it.

[Sue_V]

Mike_fpMA  Check out Fortelessons.com before you do anything else.  It is designed for online music lessons and is free.  It is working 100% better than Zoom for me.  

[Mike_fpMA]

I believe it (Zoom sets a pretty low bar), but you said phones don't work with it. Many of my students are on phones.

[Sue_V]

They are currently working on it.  I don't think it will be too much longer.  It currently works with iPads, tablets, laptops and computers. The difference is worth it if you can make it work with your students.  

[ZoomZoom]

To add to what I said, there is a new Beta feature since 5.14.0 called live performance audio mode.

• Live performance audio
  Users performing live in a meeting, with a physical instrument or their own voice, can enable the Live Performance audio option in the client, which aims to reduce the audio latency to ~30-50ms. This setting must be enabled for all users in the meeting, otherwise standard audio latency is achievable. This requires an audio device that supports 48kHz sample rate, and can be impacted by your network connection, so ethernet connections are recommended.

Some of the online documentation is already referring to it:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115003279466-Configuring-audio-for-music-and-singing

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360046244692-Configuring-professional-audio-settings-for-Z... 

If you are having issues or have questions about the audio setup, I would strongly recommend to reach out to our support, via https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362003 

[janets]

Many posts describe this issue of lack of compatibility between Zoom and Windows 11 (hearing voice but not instruments).  Referring to the above document about original sound for musicians is not helpful as the problem is not about how to use the feature.  I've tried just about everything suggested by community members and nothing works.  Am forced to retain my old laptop with Windows 10  just for piano lessons as a stopgap.  Will someone at Zoom please take ownership of this issue and update documentation with specific settings to adjust noise suppression so instrument sounds can be heard.

[Sue_V]

I am using an iMac desktop for my lessons.  My students use a variety of devices.  I have worked with Zoom support and although they are pretty good at getting back to me, their solutions have not been effective.  For anyone that is interested, I suggest you check out Fortelessons.com.  It is a platform designed specifically for online music lessons.  I am switching over.  Zoom is a great platform for meetings, but not for music lessons. Forte is AWESOME!!!  It works with iPads, tablets, laptops and computers.  The sound is far and beyond that of Zoom.  It currently doesn't work with phones, but that is something they are working on as we speak.   I highly recommend it.  By the way, it is free!

[JanisPiano]

I am having the same problem.  I am very disappointed because I have paid the annual fee.  I work from a MacBook Air.  I am hoping that Zoom will look into this, or they will have a customer retention issue with piano teachers like me who need reliable music communication.

[Sue_V]

Look into fortelessons.com. I am VERY happy with the results and it is free!  

[MB88]

I also tried fortelessons.com and it worked very well!   Now I am trying to get a refund for Zoom for part of the yearly subscription.