The Consultant

MacTEK Consulting & Training
• Apple Certified Technical Coordinator
• Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist

The Client

Skouson Vocal Studios provides high-end vocal training to clients across the globe—from local music groups in Las Vegas to renowned singers abroad. But this worldwide reach wasn’t always possible. Working from a home office with on-site classrooms and music studio facilities, this small company, comprised of a lead vocal coach, administrative assistant, and additional traveling coaches, was set up only to train students on-site in their studio. No longer willing to allow business growth to be thwarted by technical limitations, owner and lead coach Jeffrey Skouson expanded his company’s reach with an innovative remote classroom solution.

The Assignment

Skouson Vocal Studios offers a large range of services, from training community choirs to helping successful performers with voice maintenance and rehabilitation. Their highly sought-after expertise is what has maintained the studio’s success, but with growing requests for remotely delivered instruction, Skouson found themselves re-examining their use of technology. They needed to improve their model for delivering training to take advantage of increasing opportunities for providing instructional support to traveling performers and remote students. In addition, because Skouson vocal coaches rely heavily on iTunes to access a large collection of music for student accompaniment, they required enhanced access to multimedia during in-studio sessions. Coaches also needed to record and play back vocal clips from previous sessions without interrupting the flow of the lesson by leaving the piano to manage those recordings on the computer. Overall, Skouson Vocal Studios needed more reliable network connectivity and an effective solution for managing multimedia content and handling complex scheduling. With their growing business in mind, owner Jeffery Skouson contacted MacTEK, a member of the Apple Consultants Network.

The Solution

MacTEK developed a creative solution that improved the management of content on iTunes during in-house training sessions and helped the studio reach additional, remote students worldwide. Featuring built-in and easy-to-access applications on a new iMac with the Intel Core Duo processor, the solution included:

• • Transitioning to an Intel-based iMac with built-in iSight video camera for high quality capturing of both audio and video for remote vocal sessions over the Internet.
• • Utilizing iChat AV for easy, multi-way videoconferencing between vocal coaches and remote students with high-quality video and audio compression.
• • Implementing Front Row and Apple Remote for total across-the-studio control of music and session recordings via iTunes.
• • Installing Conference Recorder software to automatically record remote lessons on iChat AV for future playback by coaches and students.
• • Updating the studio’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) to increase Internet speed and bandwidth, which enabled the studio to rely on a more stable Internet connection.
• • Incorporating a Bluetooth-enabled modem to facilitate Internet access from any location, allowing Skouson employees to log onto the Internet when traveling.
• • Using Airport Express to increase the quality of wireless connectivity within the studio and classrooms, providing coaches with easier access to iTunes while teaching.
• • Streamlining the scheduling process with iCal and .Mac, so that the administrative assistant and vocal coaches are more in synch.

“MacTEK has been enormously influential in helping my business grow. Thanks to their help and iChat AV I’m now able to train singers all over the world. This has been an enormous boon for my business, and I plan to continue improving my company’s performance with the help of MacTEK.”

— Jeffrey Skouson, Skouson Vocal Studios

The Benefits and Results

As a result of their expanded global reach and enhanced in-studio capabilities:

• • Jeffrey Skouson has seen greatly increased business success, with 40 percent of revenue coming from new students all over the world.
• • Skouson Vocal Studios has significantly improved the productivity and effectiveness of its team of vocal coaches and administrative staff with software and tools that are part of the basic Mac platform without the cost of expensive add-on components.
• • The studio has benefited from enhanced wireless connectivity and remote access, significantly improving the student’s learning experience.
• • Scheduling of the studio’s growing clientele is more efficient using iCal for calendaring and .Mac to enable synchronizing between coaches and office administration.
• • The company plans to continue its growth with future enhancements, such as transitioning to a full-featured scheduling solution using Marketcircle’s Daylite.

Thanks to the creative solution provided by MacTEK, Skouson Vocal Studios is now equipped with the best tools for delivering their expert services to all of their students—both on-site and over the Internet.