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Recording for your music exams/auditions – A quick guide 

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  

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What type of piano should you buy?

With so many options for buying pianos, we are definitely spoilt for choice. Over the course of teaching I’ve been asked this question quite a number of times and I think that this is a good time to share my general opinion on this matter, in terms of classical piano playing. I will not be going into the nitty-gritty on specific models as it is not the point of this article to open a huge can of worms and spark fierce debates. In short, I prefer students to get acoustic pianos (be it new or second-hand, upright or grand) as compared to digital pianos and keyboards although those can be considered second and third choices respectively, depending on your circumstances. 

The first choice – Acoustic pianos 

An acoustic piano. Image from Piano Mall.

I think it is a no-brainer for piano students that their first choice should be to always consider getting an acoustic piano to do their own practising. Besides, if you are learning classical piano, you are expected to perform on a proper piano. The instrument will help you to build the required techniques to control your sound – such as the touch and strength, weight etc. needed. 

There are many options out there if you consider getting a piano. Most people get the upright piano as opposed to a grand piano due to space constraints, at least in land-locked Singapore. Many of the established brand names (Yamaha, Kawai etc.) sell brand new pianos and you can always head down to their stores to try them out. 

But oftentimes, students and parents talk about some of their worries. They are usually hesitant on spending a considerable sum of money on an entirely brand new piano, especially if they are unsure of their commitment (or their kids’) to learning the instrument. In these cases, I’m glad that there are many second-hand pianos for sale out there. You can check out the warehouse sales by the usual big names, or at Piano mall (more on this in the concluding section). 

You definitely have a lot of choices here and it’s always best to head down to try the pianos. These pianos have been checked and maintained to ensure that they are in a proper condition even though they are second-hand pianos. It is also possible to install silent systems on second-hand pianos at an additional cost if you intend to practise late into the night. And you get the best of both worlds since they are relatively easier on our budgets. Of course, you can also get a brand new piano if your circumstances permit. However, do try to choose one that doesn’t have such a light touch, i.e. produces sound too easily. This is to enable one to develop more stamina in one’s playing too!  

The second choice – Digital pianos 

A digital piano. Image from Lazada.

If it isn’t possible for you to get an acoustic piano, you may want to consider getting a digital piano instead. Digital pianos have just slightly smaller dimensions than proper pianos so if you are ruling out a proper piano due to space considerations, I suggest that you get the exact dimensions of each before you decide. If not, digital pianos still allow one to develop technique to some extent, although they usually don’t offer the players as much subtlety in tone colours as compared to proper pianos. Thus, they are the second best alternatives available and you can find brand new or second-hand ones in the market. Some brands include Yamaha and Korg. 

The third choice – Keyboards 

A keyboard. Image from Lazada.

I usually wouldn’t recommend students to get keyboards unless they really can’t get either an acoustic or digital piano. However it is the last resort so that students can do some work on getting their notes and coordinating both hands. The challenge in practising on keyboards lies mainly in building up adequate technique and adapting to playing on acoustic pianos especially during lessons and performances, since keyboards usually only require a very light touch to produce sound. They also do not have the full range of keys as compared to pianos which will not usually be able to cater to more advanced students. 

Conclusion

To conclude, I will say that I’d always prefer students to practise on acoustic pianos – be it a brand new or a second-hand one (somewhat like getting a new car vs an old car). The brand new piano will definitely cost more while the second-hand piano can provide a relatively less costly option for others. If these are not possible options, you can still consider digital pianos or keyboards too, but keep in mind that you will have to make more adjustments when playing on an acoustic piano. 

Note for Singapore residents/those residing in Singapore:

In view of our collaboration with Piano mall, you can use the promo code ‘VCT50‘ to get $50 off your second-hand piano purchase (I’ll also get a small fee which will go a long way in maintaining this site), if you decide that you want to get one. 

Piano Mall is a piano store which offers curation of only the best pianos at value-for-money prices. At Piano Mall, reliability of pianos is of the highest importance. All pianos have been assessed by professional technicians and assured to be in good working condition. To inspire confidence in their pianos, all piano purchases come with free warranty, guaranteed trade-in and buy-back.

Of course, like any other purchase, do consider your circumstances thoroughly before making a decision. I hope that I have discussed in greater detail on why I prefer proper pianos (be it new or old) as compared to digital pianos or keyboards. Do also note that I am not saying that you should get second-hand pianos because of the promo code above, but I just hope to give you a better idea of all the options out there – and Piano Mall is an option for second-hand pianos too, apart from all the other established piano brands. 😉 

As always, do leave a comment to let me know your thoughts, and if you have any topics that you’ll like me to write about. Do subscribe to the blog and stay tuned to future posts! 

~Vanessa