Last Updated on 2022-11-16 | Originally Posted on 2020-04-13
Introduction
This article is specifically intended to help piano parents in my studio to make online recordings for recitals and festivals. As so much of music-making has been in 2020, these events have been online-only since March. We might as well get used to doing it well!
I dedicated my entire April 2020 Monthly Practice Corner article to cover technology for online lessons. The good news is that if you are correctly setting up your equipment for online lessons, you have mastered the important steps towards launching a video recording. Even if you have only done in-person lessons, you may have mastered many of these steps already. This guide is just to help those making their first recordings, since there are best practices to share. Once you do one, the next one will be so much easier!
Quick Start Guide
- Choose your device and put it in landscape mode.
- Make sure to capture full body and keys; look at the man playing piano below.
- Use the easiest software available for your device.
- Allow enough time to make at least several recordings across a couple of days.
- Learn how the Dropbox link works; test it with a simple text file.
Video Hardware/Software
Apple Devices (iOS)
Since almost everyone in my studio has an iPhone or iPad, I’m going to start here. For recording, use whichever device has the larger storage to hold your files. That’s going to be much more important versus choosing which device has the newest camera hardware. Before I switched over to doing recordings on a laptop, I would have to erase about half of my iPad apps just to clear enough space to do several takes of short recital pieces. If you do have to delete apps, choose the largest ones that don’t purge old cached data unless you uninstall/reinstall. For me, this was Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Instagram. Even if you have to uninstall a program that is legitimately storing lots of data on your device, you will get it back as long as the main data store is in the cloud.
Most people can use the built-in Camera app. I liked using iMovie, which is a free download from the App Store. It allows you to do simple editing, including trimming dead space at either end of a performance, or two put several recordings together. I’ve made a short YouTube video that takes you through the entire process, from recording to exporting. The one snag will be that you may not have Dropbox on your device, which means you’ll have to do the transfer from your PC or Mac. This support post from Apple should do the trick to establish a connection between your device and your computer, if you don’t have one established. Please transfer the file(s) in MOV format to the Dropbox link I have provided.
Samsung, Google, Other Manufacturers (Android)
I have no experience or guidance to give on recording on an Android phone or tablet. I’d be glad to add a link or to mention helpful hints, if anyone wants to share them. The result of any recording will yield an MP4 file, which works just fine for sharing.
PC or Mac
I use an open source program called OBS Studio for video recording on a PC laptop running Windows 10. There is an equivalent program called Ecamm Live on the Mac. Although my experience is only with OBS Studio, I understand that there’s a similar learning curve to learning Ecamm Live. Both are powerful software packages for their respective operating systems, and you shouldn’t try to learn them at the last minute before recording. Each program will export file types that I can use: MP4 from OBS, and MOV from Ecamm.
Device Placement
If you don’t have a microphone stand, music stand, or something that your device can attach to or sit on, then use a small table built up with books and put it a foot or two to the side and behind the pianist. The angle used in my YouTube video above works well. Also, make sure your device is placed in landscape. This is super important, especially if you’re using a phone. Rotate it 90 degrees so that it is oriented wider versus taller!
Record Early and Often
Please don’t wait until the last moment to do your recording. It’s good to do some testing recording, to make sure that you have your camera set at a good place. It’s also instructive for the student. Your goal is to take just one or two takes, since subsequent takes will actually get worse as you get more picky about the output! Although playing for a camera is different than for a live audience, you may face some of the same performance anxiety. It’s better to get used to playing for, and ignoring, the technology!
Grouping Your Recordings
I will also let you know how to group together your recordings, but the general guideline is below. Also, super important: Between movements, or between pieces, please put your hands in your lap for two Mississippis (one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi). Then, put them back on the keyboard and continue when ready.
I prefer if you can record all of your pieces together, in one file per student, in the order that we determined at your lesson. If you can’t join the files together, I’ll be glad to do it in my editing software.
Dropbox
Hopefully, all of you already use Dropbox. If not, I’d strongly urge you to try it out, even if it’s just for our project. It’s really the gold standard for cloud-based file storage, and works incredibly well for exchanging files securely. If you would like an invitation to get started the software, I’d be glad to provide. It doesn’t benefit me at all, to my knowledge at least, since I’m on a paid plan with massive storage. However, with the free plan, you often can get more storage simply by inviting others to sign up for the software.
Permission to Post
Please make sure that you answer the SurveyMonkey request that grants me permission to post photos and videos of your child/children as specified. Most people give full access, but I want you to have a choice since your privacy is important to me.
Stay Tuned for Updates
This video and audio recording guide will remain a working document for us, as we find out what works and what doesn’t. I’ll update and send you a link or reminder once any major changes are made. Let’s see what kind of playing fun we can have, even if we have to do it within our own four walls!
