5 Tips for Recording your Playing
When preparing to record any programme, knowing how to effectively film and perform in one take is paramount: that is, how to play and present all your pieces one after another without any editing. Here are a few practice and preparation suggestions:
1 Keep the camera rolling as you do your practice
You might be tempted to wait to record your pieces once you feel they are ready to play. However, this might be a mistake. In order to become accustomed to ‘being recorded’ why not start your preparation early and film yourself as you learn each piece hands separately. This can feel less scary and intimidating, and is without any attached or expected outcomes.
2 A tip my pupils all find useful is to record themselves whilst using the metronome.
Set a slow pulse on your metronome (much slower than the performance tempo) and play one of your pieces through sitting on the ‘tick’ or pulse whilst recording your efforts. This is an excellent way to highlight any rhythmic deviations, that is, passages where you might be rushing or slowing down. Although the metronome keeps us in check, when you ‘hear’ yourself playing along to it on the playback, you’ll know where your weaknesses lie in this respect.
3 When ready, play the piece up to smpeed but still use the metronome as a 'prompt'.
This will further highlight any rhythmic imperfections and it will also direct your attention to any note or articulation issues, too.
4 Once each piece is prepared and up-to-speed, now is the time to record one piece at a time.
If you’ve four works to record make sure you play and record each one separately. This might be necessary for a couple of weeks at least, or until you are comfortable with each piece and know how to best use your recording device.
5 Now 'add' a piece every week.
Aim to record two pieces together in one take followed by three, and finally, all four. You may find that you need to do this every day for a few weeks to become really secure and ‘unfazed’ when the camera is rolling. For a 28/30 minute ARSM performance diploma exam, my students find they need to record the programme at least 10 times to get one reasonable ‘take’.
Make sure you have a good quality video camera on your phone or electronic device and keep it fully charged! Aim to record your pieces every time you play them through because you never know when your best performance will take place, therefore it’s worthwhile recording them all.
© Sarah Barnes