I don’t know about you, but when my children were little I had dreams of them playing endless hours of piano, being featured violinist and even singing in front of the whole church.  Slowly they grew up and took a few classes here and there and to some degree my musical dreams did come true.  That said we hit several bumps in the road along the way.  With moving around, having unpredictable work schedules and dealing with chronic illness it was almost impossible to take lessons consistently.  Now, my kids are much older and Mahala is getting ready to head to college.   She said to me that she regretted not taking ukulele lessons.  We checked around locally, but with her current commitments it looked like we may have to wait till Winter break.  And then we found Lessonface and all the stars and planets aligned for her. 

Lessonface is an amazing online service that connects you to a plethora of music teachers for face-to-face, live online music lesson.  This service is easy to use and everything you need is just a quick click of the mouse away.  You can browse for instructors, schedule and pay for classes, communicate with the instructor and even receive notes or homework all from your dashboard.  This was super important for my daughter and I.  We needed the convenience and the ability to have everything in one place.  Even though it sounded great from the start I was a little worried about the quality of the video and audio connection.  But, once we used it my daughter and I were both impressed with the clarity of sound and the picture quality was crisp too.  Also, during her lessons she never had a problem with lag, or anything that would hinder her learning experience. 

Once we logged on we browsed under her instrument of choice, which was ukulele.  They have everything from singing and beatboxing to piano and Irish tin whistling.  So many options to choose from, there is truly something for everyone.  All you truly need to use Lessonface is a computer or tablet with a webcam and reliable Internet access, that’s it.  I appreciated being able to see pictures and videos of the different teachers on their profiles as we were selecting our teacher, as well as student reviews of the teacher and their experience.  We were able to read their bios and teaching style, which really gave us a glimpse of what they would be like in a teaching situation.  That was very important, because I would like to start some lessons for my youngest who has learning challenges and I need more than just a,“Hello, I’m your teacher and this is what you need to do kind of thing.”  Our current teacher listed that he was open to tailoring the lessons to fit the student’s needs and by reading about his style I could tell that mastery of the instrument is not the main focus.  We liked that, we knew we needed someone flexible.  My daughter wanted to be able to learn pieces on her own, so the confidence to do so has really been enhanced since we started with Lessonface. 

We settled on an instructor and he offered a trial class, a lot of them do.  We conveniently had scheduled a few classes after that first one and realized the more you book at a time there is a discount, that’s a great bonus.  The class times can be just 30minutes, or you can do a whole hour.  More than once I was relieved to receive both the confirmation email and reminders about her lessons.  If you are a busy family like us, there is plenty of help to keep you organized.  The very first time she meets with her instructor she needed to download the zoom software, which is completely free and easy.  It’s a lot like Skype, but if you would rather use another system you can reach out and ask your teacher.  But, for us it was easy and simple to use.  I was interested in how this would work, so I sat in on the first lesson.  After introductions he found out what she knew about music and the ukulele.  He found out her goals and had her play something that she knew and then he was able to correct her finger placement.  The flow was great and after a few more tips and instruction they went over her homework.  She had an amazing class, it renewed her enthusiasm for music and she has been practicing almost every single day since then.

Our experience with our teacher was wonderful.  My daughter said that he was kind and knowledgeable, while always offering feedback and encouragement.  He was easy to talk with and helpful when discussing different songs and any challenges she had.  He was willing to send files for further information because she is a visual/hands on learner.  And she said she was pleasantly relieved that the sessions didn’t feel any different than being in the same room with him.  We both agree it is both economical and convenient to take music lessons with Lessonface.  And it’s something that we could literally take anywhere with us, so it’s perfect when we are on the road.

-Product review by Sheila Quach, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September, 2018