A virtual music lesson setup (teacher with camera, student on screen) highlights the importance of audio settings. In Zoom’s desktop client, click your profile picture (or initials) and choose Settings. Then select Audio from the left menu.
In this pane you’ll see Speaker and Microphone dropdowns. Choose the correct devices and use the Test Speaker and Test Mic buttons as needed. The Output Volume slider (top) controls what you hear, and the Input Volume slider (bottom) sets mic sensitivity.
For best results with instruments and vocals, use headphones (avoiding speaker feedback) and turn off “Automatically adjust microphone volume” so the input level stays constant.
- Suppress background noise: Under Zoom Optimized Audio (the default profile), set Suppress Background Noise to Low. Zoom explains that “Low… is best for casually playing music, as it will preserve as much of the original sound as possible.” (Auto can be left on, but avoid Medium/High which aggressively filter sound.)
- Original Sound for Musicians: In Audio Profile, choose Original Sound for Musicians. This disables Zoom’s automatic filters. Once selected, three checkboxes appear: High-fidelity music mode, Echo cancellation, and Stereo audio.
- High-fidelity music mode: Enables 48kHz sampling and higher bitrates (up to 96kbps mono or 192kbps stereo), while removing Zoom’s audio processing. This lets instruments and voices be transmitted with studio-like quality.
- Echo cancellation: By default, Zoom cancels echoes between mic and speakers. For music, disable this if you use headphones or a direct interface, so the instrument’s natural reverb isn’t cut out. If using speakers, keep echo cancellation on to avoid feedback.
- Stereo audio: Enable this if your mic/audio interface can capture stereo. It “encodes mic audio in stereo,” preserving left-right balance (e.g., stereo piano or multi-mic setups). Without it, Zoom forces mono.
Musical instruments (like the guitar above) produce rich sound. Enabling Original Sound and High-Fidelity Music Mode preserves the guitar’s tone and harmonics. Disabling Echo Cancellation (especially when wearing headphones) prevents the sound from being unnaturally filtered. If using a stereo microphone, checking Stereo Audio keeps the instrument’s spatial cues intact.
Adjusting Noise Suppression (Desktop)
Zoom’s default Zoom Optimized Audio profile applies noise suppression at varying levels. In Audio Settings, find Suppress background noise (Auto/Low/Medium/High). For music lessons, choose Auto or Low. Zoom notes that “If music is detected, [Auto] will not treat the music as background noise,” and that Low “is best for music.” Avoid Medium/High unless your environment is very loud (they can chop off instrument detail).
In-Meeting Controls (Desktop)
Once Original Sound for Musicians is enabled in Settings, use the in-meeting audio controls: In a meeting, click Join Audio > Computer Audio, then look at the top-left of the Zoom window. You will see an Original Sound button (it may say “Original Sound: Off”). Click it to toggle Original Sound on or off. When on, all noise suppression and echo cancellation are bypassed; when off, Zoom reverts to the chosen suppression level. This lets you switch between Max Fidelity (for playing) and Mute Filters (for talking).
Live Performance Mode (Desktop)
Zoom also offers a Live performance audio profile for ensemble playing. In Settings → Audio, under Audio Profile select Live performance audio. This mode further reduces audio latency (~30–50 ms) for synchronized playing, but requires high-end gear (48kHz input device and multi-core CPU). All participants must enable it and bandwidth is higher. (Note: Live performance mode is limited to up to 5 users per meeting and isn’t available in large webinars.) Once enabled, a “Live Performance” icon appears in meetings (top-left) to toggle it on/off.
Zoom Mobile App Settings
On iOS/Android, audio settings are simpler. Tap More (⋯) in the bottom toolbar of the main Zoom app, then tap Settings and Meetings. Under Audio, enable Use Original Audio (sometimes labeled Original Sound). This one toggle disables Zoom’s noise suppression on mobile. In a live meeting on mobile, tap More and select Enable Original Sound. (When Original Sound is ON, noise suppression is OFF.) There are no separate “High Fidelity” or “Stereo” switches on mobile — the single Original Audio mode is all Zoom provides on phones and tablets. Always use headphones with mobile to prevent feedback, since echo cancellation is effectively disabled when original audio is on.
Each of these settings is found in-app under the Audio/Meetings sections as described. Adjust them before or during lessons to let musical voices and instruments come through clearly. For example, using Original Sound for Musicians and High-Fidelity Mode preserves a singer’s vibrato or a piano’s overtones, while lowering or disabling aggressive suppression prevents Zoom from cutting off soft notes. Following these steps will help music teachers and students achieve near studio-quality sound on Zoom.
Sources: Official Zoom support documentation and guides on audio profiles and settings, plus university tutorials for music settings.