Skype

[Neo Bri]

Hey chattle!

So, I've been doing a lot of Skype lessons recently. I work with people addressing embouchure/chops problems, improvisation, doubling, etc. I want to streamline things to be done completely on the laptop without needing a phone, bluetooth speaker, etc. I wonder if it's possible.

Let me explain. I like to use play-along stuff like Aebersold recordings or iRealPro to demonstrate ideas, exercises, etc. But I find that if I try to multi-task on the computer, things don't work great.

Problems:
1. No iRealPro for PC (only Mac...aggravating)
2. PC speakers not loud enough for demonstrating for students
3. Bluetooth speaker linked to PC is loud enough, but the speaker (UE Boom 2) tries to take over recording capabilities via it's internal mic, which is poor. I think I solved this in Windows' sound settings by disabling it.
4. I could theoretically use my phone instead of my PC but I find the video quality is poorer and multi-tasking support is even worse.

Ideas? I"m curious about what others are doing.

Also, anyone interested in lessons and what I can do for them is welcome to contact me. Check out some of my stuff here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnbwO7 ... eTnoq7EVwQ
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeQ82 ... F_7SbYR1kg
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQ2Ut ... subscriber

[FOSSIL]

From looking around online, it seems that Zoom is the platform of the moment. I'm finding it better than skype, but early days. You are much more skilled than me so I would be interested to hear how this thread develops.
Chris

[harrisonreed]

If you're doing skype, use your DAW to control your backing track and your microphones, and test it before hand to make sure that the levels are good. You will have to have a mute hotkey or effect pedal to mute your clip on mic for your voice, for when you are playing. You could even add minor effects like slight convolution if your room is really dry. Have the DAW route the master track as stereo audio output, as if it were a speaker. Have Skype use the DAW output as the microphone. You monitor the Skype session and backing track with your OPEN back headphones.

So the setup is:

1. Laptop with webcam and internet, etc
2. Audio interface with two inputs, at least
3. DAW, I think Cakewalk is FREE
4. A mic on a boom stand for the room, input 1
5. A lavelier mic, input 2
6. Add convolution if desired to get the room to sound OK.
7. Route tracks to the master and get your levels right
8. Play backing tracks as audio clips in the DAW, also routed to the master. Get these set up before the lesson.
9. Put master track output as a speaker within windows
10. Use that speaker as the mic input for skype.
11. Wear open back headphones plugged into the audio interface so you can monitor everything, but also hear yourself when you play.

Using a mic to record a speaker and your voice and your playing all at the same time won't work very well, because these sources are all too different in too many ways for one mic to do a good job of sorting out, and there's no way to set levels.

[Neo Bri]

Thanks! Funny, it occurred to me before I read your post. I started updated Reaper (my DAW) with this exact idea in mind...the updated to a new version so I paid for and installed that. My plan was to use a single mic (Royer 121) and set up some compression to see if I can get the levels to auto-adjust levels for my speaking and playing volume.

[Neo Bri]

From looking around online, it seems that Zoom is the platform of the moment. I'm finding it better than skype, but early days. You are much more skilled than me so I would be interested to hear how this thread develops.
Chris

Hey Chris! Glad you're back. As for Zoom, yes it's very popular at the moment. Hugely popular. But they also got nailed for privacy concerns, namely passing along information to Facebook in spite of being logged into it or not, or even having an account (I do not), so I'm staying away from that one. I wonder if Discord does video chat...I'll look into it. At least that's open source.

[Bach5G]

I read a couple of articles about Zoom and privacy issues. To my inexperienced eye, it looked a lot like “nothing to see here”. Privacy issues? Of course. Welcome to the 21st C.

There can’t be that many serious privacy issues if companies use it for internet meetings via video conferencing.

I was looking for an ad for the London RoB on my FB feed, scrolled down but couldn’t find any. I went to their website, came back to FB a few minutes later and the second item down was a new LRoB ad. That’s just how it is I think.

Privacy? Fuggedaboudit I think.

Microsoft bought Skype and re-packaged it as Teams I’m told.

FWIW, I’m taking lessons via FaceTime. No complaints.

[Burgerbob]

All of the big teleconferencing apps are a bit slow right now... lots of demand.

The best audio inputs and outputs don't help a whole lot when they're bottlenecked.

[Matt K]

There can’t be that many serious privacy issues if companies use it for internet meetings via video conferencing.

Companies can fork over a pile of cash (staring at $200/month) in exchange for privacy at Zoom; they can actually even sign a BAA, letting you use it for use cases that fall under HIPAA.

[bbocaner]

the biggest privacy issues I've heard about Zoom are that if you have an account that's tied to a corporate master account, the corporate administrator has a lot of visibility into what you are doing and who's joining your meetings. If you are going to use Zoom, make sure you've got the "original audio" setting. Their noise reduction algorithm tends to kick in and suck all the sound out.

[JLivi]

the biggest privacy issues I've heard about Zoom are that if you have an account that's tied to a corporate master account, the corporate administrator has a lot of visibility into what you are doing and who's joining your meetings. If you are going to use Zoom, make sure you've got the "original audio" setting. Their noise reduction algorithm tends to kick in and suck all the sound out.

There are simple audio settings you can have set on both devices (yours & students) that allows the audio processing and mic not to mess with the audio as much. The only issue I ran into so far is that the audio settings are only available when you're on a computer (not tablet or phone).

But they're pretty simple:

AUDIO SETTINGS (under microphone)
1) uncheck "Automatically adjust microphone volume"
2) set your microphone volume to 3/10

ADVANCED AUDIO SETTINGS
(1) check "show in-meeting option to "enable original sound"...

under audio processing
2) Set to Disable "Suppress persistent background noise"
3) Set to Disable "Suppress intermittent background noise"

And you should be good to with your audio settings. I just started messing around with using my Forcusrite Scarlett 2i4 with a SM57 as a talkback and my studio trombone mic as my playing mic. I'm hoping it'll add an audio quality to the lessons that the students weren't getting over these last two weeks. If anyone has any questions about this setup I'll have more experience with it by the end of this week.

[JLivi]

In regards to the privacy issue, couldn't you just set up a teaching email and not worry about privacy or am I missing the boat here?

[harrisonreed]

Thanks! Funny, it occurred to me before I read your post. I started updated Reaper (my DAW) with this exact idea in mind...the updated to a new version so I paid for and installed that. My plan was to use a single mic (Royer 121) and set up some compression to see if I can get the levels to auto-adjust levels for my speaking and playing volume.

If you can, get a lapel mic. If your craft is sound and music, and you're getting paid to do it, a $18 lavelier mic is asmall price to pay for being able to show dynamics and have a clear voice.

[BGuttman]

In regards to the privacy issue, couldn't you just set up a teaching email and not worry about privacy or am I missing the boat here?

We're talking about live face-to-face lessons using Skype or Zoom to enable the conversation or demonstration.

I bought a "professional" account on Zoom so I have unlimited meetings and meeting length (free accounts limit meetings to 40 minutes). I don't do lessons on it; I'm doing meetings for my Orchestra Board.

[JLivi]

We're talking about live face-to-face lessons using Skype or Zoom to enable the conversation or demonstration.

I bought a "professional" account on Zoom so I have unlimited meetings and meeting length (free accounts limit meetings to 40 minutes). I don't do lessons on it; I'm doing meetings for my Orchestra Board.

Yeah, but Neo Bri was saying that Zoom passes information onto Facebook and such. So I was saying, use a school email or create an "online lesson" email address and you should be good with Zoom giving away your email address.

Again, could still be missing the boat...

[Matt K]

We're talking about live face-to-face lessons using Skype or Zoom to enable the conversation or demonstration.

I bought a "professional" account on Zoom so I have unlimited meetings and meeting length (free accounts limit meetings to 40 minutes). I don't do lessons on it; I'm doing meetings for my Orchestra Board.

Yeah, but Neo Bri was saying that Zoom passes information onto Facebook and such. So I was saying, use a school email or create an "online lesson" email address and you should be good with Zoom giving away your email address.

Again, could still be missing the boat...

It was far more than the email address:

As people work and socialize from home, video conferencing software Zoom has exploded in popularity. What the company and its privacy policy don't make clear is that the iOS version of the Zoom app is sending some analytics data to Facebook, even if Zoom users don't have a Facebook account, according to a Motherboard analysis of the app.
...
The Zoom app notifies Facebook when the user opens the app, details on the user's device such as the model, the time zone and city they are connecting from, which phone carrier they are using, and a unique advertiser identifier created by the user's device which companies can use to target a user with advertisements

They don't need your email to positively identify you so even a 'throwaway' account sent this information off to Facebook. From what I can tell it was a problem with the way the "Login in Facebook" was integrated so it might not have been all users but if you don't want Facebook to know your location 24/7 then really the only way to prevent that is to remove anything that could send those data to Facebook.

Incidentally, Android and iOS devices track your location even when location services are disabled and on flight mode. It's trivial to retrieve these data from both OS as a developer though I don't recall how far back it stays on the device. So one couldn't just disable location services for the duration of the service.

[ssking2b]

There is currently a law suit pending over Zoom sending private info to Facebook. Zoom has announced that it will cease sending info to 3rd party groups will the law suit is underway and will not send if the suit goes against them.

Besides, Zuckerberg wouldn't know a trombone if it hit him in the head.