Setting up Music Lessons for Zoom

Before starting your music lessons using Zoom, it is important to configure your computer to ensure your musical device can be heard for the meeting.

The Zoom Support site has information on how to set up for music lessons and can be found https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115003279466-Configuring-audio-for-music-and-singing.

Below is a brief summary of how you should set up your device. It is highly recommended that you set up your Zoom meeting prior to the music lessons by first testing from: https://zoom.us/test.

When using https://zoom.us/test to check your setup, Zoom will first ask you to verify your camera and audio settings. At the end of a successful test, it will display "Your device is working properly!"

Instead of pressing the "End Test" button, click on the red circle on the top left to close the message. You can then continue with the instructions below.

After you join the Zoom meeting, click on the Up arrow next to the Microphone icon on the bottom left of the screen and select "Audio Settings". You will then be placed in Zoom Settings.

In the Audio Profile section, click on "Original sound for musicians" and initially make sure none of the other options are checked.

Next, play the musical instrument as you would during the lesson. Make sure that you see that the "Input Level" is green from the Microphone section.

If levels are not moving or are very low, it means that Zoom is unable to hear your playing. Make sure to move your classroom device (e.g., laptop) or use an external microphone placed closer to the musical instrument.

You may need to try different settings to see if they improve the quality of the sound through Zoom. For example,

Once you have successfully tested, close the Zoom Settings.

Finally, from the top left of the screen of the Zoom meeting, click on “Original Sound for Musicians” and set it to “On”.

You can click it again to turn off this feature, which will allow you to talk using the normal settings; however, you must enable Original Sound for Musicians for each music lesson.

If you continue to have problems with this, please contact Outschool Support.