When you think of it, traditional lessons where a student goes to a teacher's studio or the teacher comes to the student's home, are terribly inefficient ways to develop a skill that is more akin to learning a foreign language. Here are 3 ways in which I think Video Exchange® lessons are actually a far better way to learn to play the piano (or any other ArtistWorks Video Exchange® subject, for that matter!)

1. Video Exchange® lessons provide unlimited 24/7 opportunities to learn directly from a teacher

To expand my above example, learning a foreign language effectively requires daily learning and practice so that it becomes a natural part of your thinking and expression.  That's why immersion courses produce far better results than once or twice weekly classes. Despite two years of traditional French and 2 years of German in my middle school and college years, I can't for the life of me remember more than a scant few phrases (much to my chagrin and regret!) Learning music is no different. And although you can certainly study a language by yourself and memorize words and grammar on a daily basis, no one in their right mind would think that they could accomplish adequate pronunciation or correct grammatical usage without the aid of a skilled teacher to correct bad habits before they become ingrained. Same goes for music! Video Exchange® lessons are like having your teacher on call to work with you every single day for as many hours as you have available to learn!

2. Video Exchange® lessons aren't limited by live time restraints

In a traditional live lesson, the student plays something, then the teacher makes some comments and perhaps demonstrates the correct way to play. That's great for the half hour or hour duration of the lesson, but then the student is left on his/her own to remember what happened during that lesson time. It's up to the student to develop adequate note taking skills to take the lesson home and hopefully work with the material until the next interaction with the teacher (or perhaps the teacher scrawls notes on the music that the student has to interpret) - that leaves too many opportunities for learning memories to slip through our mental sieves. And, if the teacher is honest, sometimes we miss things here or there while the student is playing - we're looking at the music, or at the student's hands, but it's awfully hard to really pay attention to everything at the same time, and you are limited to your own powers of focus in real time. With Video Exchange® lessons, you can watch, pause, rewind and review your teacher demonstrating and explaining the material as many times as you need to really understand what you have to learn. The same goes for the teacher - we can watch the student's performance over and over, each time focusing on different things to address, so that the resulting Video Exchange® response is much more comprehensive than a live one. It's like having your powers of attention multiplied a thousand-fold!

3. Recording Video Exchange® submissions hones performance-level focus

This is probably one of the most under-estimated effects of the Video Exchange® interaction. The reason that traditional live teachers set up student recitals is to help the students focus and hone in on what they have learned. Nothing reveals the shortcomings of practice like nerves in a performance! But what if every lesson was actually a performance? Imagine how much stronger the student's powers of focus would develop! Recording a Video Exchange® submission is very similar to giving a recital - everyone in the Video Exchange® school can see each other's videos, so you're preparing your video for a real audience (personally speaking, I found that recording CDs and videos have always been much more intimidating than live concerts).  Most of my Video Exchange® students have commented on how nervous they feel making their first videos. But with nerves comes the best exposure of the weaknesses that we need to address to strengthen the student's learning and eventual mastery. And while traditional live teachers only typically set up class rectials a few times a year, the fact that every Video Exchange® is like a class performance points to the fact that "VE" (short for "Video Exchange®") students typically learn much faster and far more effectively.

Learn piano with Hugh Sung through Video Exchange® at ArtistWorks: http://artistworks.com/hugh-sung