I have an adult student in Florida. I have a teen student in Washington state. We are able to have live lessons every week because of the amazing technology of the 21st century. I also will give make-up lessons online as needed to my local students. As I watch them through the window of my computer screen I can also see the music that they are playing on the other half of my screen. I have also given these lessons on my cell phone when I'm traveling.
I think of myself as a guitar teacher. Yes I perform, compose, and arrange, but that's a sideline. Deep down I'm a teacher. I often dream about teaching but I never dream about the other stuff. As technology advances I ask myself if it will help me teach or help my students in other ways.
My students have goals. Some want to play in a band. It might be a rock or country band, the jazz band in school, or praise band at church. Some just want to join in around the campfire. Others want to play guitar in a fashion similar to the way others play piano. All of them want to have fun. The technology should help them.....or at least help me to help them.
There are places online where the aspiring player can get lessons. They can watch videos and learn from them. But most won't. That's a lot harder that it seems. As a self taught musician I know. Also, I've seen some of these "lessons" and I'm pretty disappointed. "Put your fingers here and then practice a lot" is not particularly great advice. Then again it's free.
I've thought about putting some free lessons on YouTube. Actually, I've got a couple out there that I did for Marshall Music in Lansing. Not many people watched them. That's the other problem. How do I rise above the noise?
So how much technology do I use? There is a bunch of stuff available to me. My students now use their phones to record me playing their assignment. I can do some simple arrangements of songs for them on my computer and then email the songs to them. YouTube videos are a great resource for listening to music. Sometimes I assign a song for them to listen to. Sometimes they assign a song for me to listen to. After all these years I believe strongly that if you're not learning from your students then you're not a very good teacher.
I keep my schedule and attendance records in the cloud. I'm toying with the idea of doing more. I tried to set up a program where I could email lesson results and upcoming assignments to parents but I totally messed that up and put it on hold. Maybe after I regain a little confidence and enlist some 12 year old to help me set it up I'll try again.
There are free PDFs of blank staff paper and blank chord diagrams on my website. There are also links to guitar tuners and metronomes that can be downloaded for free. These can be used by anyone just by visiting www.rogerhumphrey.com and then clicking on the "Lessons" page.
As someone who started life at the dawn of television I am constantly amazed and occasionally amused by todays technology........ when it works. When it doesn't work it makes me use bad words.