I hope this works.

As I have just read a post on Apple Macs for teaching. I would like to know which type of computer (if any) is used the people who use this forum for teaching.

Thanks

mac - in spite of (or is that because of) being a PC/Windows techie.

OOPS - just noticed you had separate teacher/student polls. I shall avoid the temptation to vote twice even though I have apparently voted in the wrong poll. These PCs at work are doin' me 'ead in.

Do you mean which computer we use for *teaching*? (ie. with studio programmes, cubase or whatever). (Which most of us probably don't do at all.) Or which computers we use generally?

Some ambiguous phrasing going on...

I have computers, but don't use them for teaching.

Me, too. I use an HP.

Don't use a computer during lessons, but my PC is equipped with Sibelius 4 which I find invaluable.

It never entered my head that you might have meant use computers in teaching. I took the question at face value. If you meant "in teaching", then the answer is "none"! Are we that keen to do away with the human touch?

LR

Precisely the reasons why I use a Mac. Barely a problem ever and there is a fantastic on line community ready to help when I have had the odd question.

Music software has been a dream compared with the bad old days of the Dell PC.

Not exactly. Its just that with a PC there are so many things that can go wrong, and worse still, you never get to the bottom of why. Is it the hardware, the software, the graphics card, the sound card etc. With a Mac, they are all made by the same people.

Hard drives should not wear out unless they are quite old or under very heavy constant use, PC or Mac.

I regularly use a computer (Windows PC) during piano lessons. Typical uses include:

* Printing notation (using Sibelius 5 software)

* Listening to great performances (with advanced students) - I have a huge piano CD library backed up onto a plug-in external hard drive - massively useful

* recording pupils: I have a boundary microphone on the piano which I can record directly into the computer. Then we listen back and analyse ways to improve a performace. For this I use the software Ableton Live 7.

* recording myself playing a new piece which I then email to the student as an MP3 to listen to during the week

* Using backing tracks - this is more for the younger players and teenage beginners. Using the Ableton Live software it is possible to slow down tracks without altering pitch, which is again very useful indeed

* when I require students to buy sheet music I print off the page from MusicRoom website

* Checking examination sylabus - I keep the PDF of the new ABRSM piano syllabus which I refer to in terms of the new scales requirements, etc, in the same way that in the past I would have had a paper copy.

Because my website includes resources for students to use at home, I also show them how to access that stuff for the avoidance of doubt.

I also use the computer for admin purposes, such as fee sheets, reports, etc.

I don't use the computer much for teaching at all.