It has been quite some time since my last post. Thank you everyone for your comments and support and I hope that everyone is safe and well as we start to live with COVID-19!
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the music industry has been greatly affected. Live performances/face-to-face music lessons were not allowed for a period of time and scheduled music exams had to be cancelled or postponed. It was a challenging period for our industry. Most music lessons had to be moved online and soon after, music exams had to be done via recorded submissions instead of the usual live exams and recitals. Glad to know that live music exams are resuming here in Singapore!
While preparing students for their recorded submissions, I have noticed that we could have done certain things better. Quite a number of students have realised that their first take is usually the most musical one, but it may not be the most accurate version. It then starts to go downhill as they start to get tired and the pieces become more overplayed… Therefore it is better to be as prepared as possible so that you can preferably get a good take on the first (or first few) tries.
For my students, I realised that they could have practised more thoroughly, practise in front of the camera, and for my violin students, to be more familiar with the piano part. For the rest of you, these are some things to take note of when you have to do recordings in future.
Practising more thoroughly
I understand that all of us have our own obligations and commitments outside of music-making. However, I have to emphasise that if you have to do recordings, then you have to prepare your part thoroughly! Do enough slow practising to get the notes accurately, sort out all technical issues, and remember to play with phrasing/dynamics/expression etc., so that all the details are under your fingertips. Know your part (and other parts, if any) inside out. Make sure that you are also able to play your pieces at performance tempo comfortably! Most of the time, the more prepared you are, the less that your nerves will get the better of you.
You may also revisit my previous posts on practising here and here.
Practising in front of the camera
This is the step that some students conveniently skip, and they learn a really hard lesson once the camera rolls, simply because they find that they are unable to play in front of the camera! Similar to how we practise for performances by doing dry runs in front of friends/family, we can also do this for recordings by running the entire programme and recording it on our own, before the actual recording session.
Trust me, it feels different when the camera rolls. Depending on how effective your practising was, this will reveal the spots that you are not entirely comfortable with, or even the parts that you thought were alright, were now not, when in front of the camera. This means back to the practice room, focus more on those parts, and repeat the process until you can perform under pressure!
More familiarity with the piano part
This point applies mainly to my violin students who have to perform with the piano. For the rest of you too, if you play other instruments such as cello, flute etc. or if you have to play in an ensemble/orchestra.
Although we usually refer to the piano part as piano accompaniment, do treat your pianist as an equal partner! When you play music with someone else, it is already considered chamber music. Therefore, it is important that you know what exactly is written in the piano part, recognise how your part fits in, and how both instruments can work together to perform the work.
And again, have enough rehearsals with your pianist to get used to playing together. Do check for intonation and balance along the way as well. Remember to rehearse in front of the camera if possible (see previous point)!
To conclude, do be as prepared as possible before your recording sessions, learn your parts well, and remember to run your programmes in front of the camera! All the best!
As always, do leave a comment to let me know your thoughts and subscribe to the blog for future updates!
~Vanessa