Gather your instrument and accessories (rosin, shoulder rest, etc.) and your music books and a pencil.
Have a pair of wired headphones (not Bluetooth) handy - we may need them to help with echos that may develop.
Check your tuning.
If you have access to a wired connection (Ethernet), you may find it gives you a smoother connection - but wifi should work well in most cases.
If you have a USB microphone, that's an added bonus, but not necessary.
Zoom is easier to setup and use on a laptop or desktop, but iPads and tablets also work with some extra tweaks.
Download Zoom to your device, and check that the software is up to date.
Visual Setup
If possible, set up at a tall desk so that you can stand while you play. Alternatively, find a chair with no arms and set up sitting at the front of the seat with your feet flat on the floor.
Position your device with the camera at eye level a couple feet in front of you. (Prop your computer on a stack of books?)
Check that your body from your waist to above your head is showing on the screen.
Face a window or bring some lights in front of you so that you are not backlit.
Audio Setup
In the bottom left of your screen, find the microphone icon and select the ^ arrow.
If you are using an external microphone or headphones, check your Microphone and Speaker setting and select the devices you would like to use (I am using my Blue Microphone Spark Digital in both cases).
At the bottom of the menu, select Audio Settings.
You can test your Speaker or Microphone in this section, if need be.
Make sure the box for Automatically adjust microphone volume is un-checked.
Set Suppress background noise to Low.
Under the Music and Professional Audio heading, check all the boxes to match mine. If they don't all show up for you, just check as many as are available.
You may have to log into your web account for Zoom to adjust these options, if they don't show up the way I've described. Please take the time to do this! It will make our lessons far more fun and productive!
You're all set! I'll give you more directions as needed during our lessons.
