FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What do I need to get started?
- a computer
- internet connection
- Zoom (www.zoom.us)
- any kind of (MIDI) keyboard / organ / piano
Do I need a Hammond?
No you don’t need a Hammond. You can use any MIDI keyboard, a clonewheel organ, a synth or even a (MIDI) piano for my Hammond lessons. Of course an organ is recommended.
How can I pay?
At the moment I accept Paypal, IDEAL and Credit Card.
Do I have to be able to read sheet music ?
No, although being able to read helps and is recommended in the long run, it’s not a requirement.
What software do I need?
At the moment all you basicly need is Zoom (which is free). Of course there are apps and software for both Windows and Mac that make things easier on both sides, but in order to take lessons Zoom is a minimum requirement.
Where to get Zoom:
Does it matter what operating system I use? Windows or Mac?
No.
What software do YOU use for your "virtual camera"? (experienced users)
Don’t read this if you have no experience with or don’t have or want a multicamera setup. It’s not required to do my lessons.
In Zoom you see me use multiple cameras. I do this by using a so-called virtual camera that handles my stream to Zoom.
I now use the free open source software OBS (https://obsproject.com) to handle my multiple camera setup (available for windows and mac users).
Remember that Zoom is all you need to get started. We can discuss possiblities when you’re interested in using more advanced software while getting started with Skype.
How do YOU setup your audio interface ? (experienced users)
Don’t read this if you have no experience with audio routing and interfaces and remember it is NOT required to do the lessons!
If you want more than just a built-in microphone setup for our audio connection in a lesson it is possible to use an audio interface to transmit the audio of your instrument in combination with a microphone (or multiple microphones) connected to your audio interface.
Because most conferencing software only handles microphones on Channel 1 (and sometimes 1 and 2) in most situations you cannot use all channels needed (for instance 2 channels for your stereo instrument and one for your microphone). In this case you need to route all the channels you use to channel 1 and 2.
I use a program called Loopback (not free) to do this (link below). Loopback is MAC only and the windows alternative is a free program called VB-Cable (link below). There are free Mac solutions (like Blackhole for example) as well, but I found that Loopback was so easy to work with that I felt buying it was worthwhile. What these programs have in common is that they create a virtual audio interface, which you then can select as your microphone in Zoom.
LINKS:
Blackhole (free mac alternative)
What other optional software do you use? (experienced users)
Below is a little list of optional software I use. Don’t buy anything without discussing the options and without knowing what would work best for your situation.
1. Midiculous: I use Midiculous as a keyboard for my screen that shows which notes I play. There is a FREE version of Midiculous.
2. VB3 : a virtual organ plugin LINK
3. Hammond B3x: a virtual organ plugin LINK
We can discuss all options and what would be best for you in a Zoom meeting.
Will the lessons be recorded?
At the moment the lessons will not be recorded. Recording lessons is possible, but not standard. Of course this is negotiable. On request I sometimes do record fragments of the lesson.
Bass pedals or Left hand bass?
I have always played left hand bass myself, so that’s what I teach as most of my own influences were organ players playing left hand bass while bass pedals were mainly used to fatten the attack of the left hand bass lines by kicking just a random pedal on every count.