News item that may be of interest:

Regards,  Terry Smythe

 - - -

Wired  (17 April 1999)

TICKLING THE IVORIES FROM AFAR

by Joe Nickell

A Canadian company has introduced software that allows piano students
and teachers to meet and play music in real time on the Net.  "With
this program, a student's piano lesson is as far away as the den," said
Andrew Mercer, president of the Newfoundland-based Online Conservatory
<http://www.onlineconservatory.com>

According to at least one teacher, working together on-line could
produce even better results than working in a more traditional setting.
"I find that the time spent doing this on-line is more constructive than
one-on-one in the same room," said Korona Brophy, who began teaching
for the Online Conservatory after 23 years of offering private lessons
in her home studio.  "The students are more concentrated on one thing:
They're looking at the keyboard and the computer, and the interaction
is more concise," said Brophy.

On-line piano lessons are nothing new.  However, existing sites such as
Piano on the Net <http://www.artdsm.com/music.html> and Tono the Music
Educator <http://www.swv.ie/tono>  haven't allowed for actual student-
teacher interaction.  Instead, those sites offer audio-enhanced
tutorials ported to the Internet.

To facilitate real-time voice and musical interaction over the Net,
Mercer spent three years developing NetSessions, a Windows-based
application that allows two-way transmission and interpretation of
live audio streams.  Students must have a MIDI keyboard, a Pentium-
based computer, speakers, and a microphone, along with an Internet
connection.

Mercer said that while the software allows seasoned musicians to jam
on-line -- a potentially useful application in itself -- his primary
focus is education.  "We're trying to cover the whole spectrum,
students of all ages and skill sets and interests," said Mercer.

In its second week of operation, the Online Conservatory has signed
up 25 students from Europe, the United States, and Canada.  Mercer
believes that he'll soon fully book the 30 teachers he's hired, and
he plans to find more teachers as demand grows.

Mercer believes that he can engineer a better teacher-student match
on-line than would be possible locally.  "Traditionally, because of
the limits placed on people by their geographical location, even within
a city, students would not always get the exact teacher they needed,
the person who [could] provide the best information and the best
inspiration," said Mercer.

"We can pinpoint exactly the kind of teacher that the student wants,
whether the student's interested in learning the Spice Girls, or New
Orleans-style jazz, or rock and roll.  We can find the teacher with
the exact skill set that can best suit that student."

At this point, students will need to leave home for one reason: to buy
books.  The Online Conservatory's required texts include Bastien Piano
Basics and the Royal Conservatory of Music method books.  Mercer has
yet to forge an agreement with publishers that would allow him to offer
the materials on-line.