#1. Find your Sheet Music and your Guide Video.
- Practice! You can use the guide to practice or learn the music independently.
- When you know your part, put on headphones or use earbuds and start to sing/play along with the Guide Video.
- Do some test recording. It’s always good to record yourself practicing and then play it back to hear how you sound.
- Once you feel secure in the piece and the guide, move on to step #2!
#2. Find a quiet space and set up your video.
- You can film with: a cell phone, a webcam, a tablet, a desktop, a laptop, a digital camera, a video camera. …Anything you have that you’ll be able to upload to a computer is OK. Ask a family member for help, if needed.
- Make sure you look good! Can we see your face? Your smile? Turn on a light behind the camera so your face is well lit. Don’t record with a bright window behind you.
- Make sure the background looks good. Tidy up if you need to.
- Is the room still quiet? Turn off any fans or anything else that makes noise.
- If possible, set up up your video orientation as “portrait” — that means the frame is up and down, so we can see more of you and less of the background.
Here’s a good example. Keep your eyes on the camera and give a great smile!
Here’s a bad example. Too dark, wrong orientation, and we’re looking up my nose!
#3. Time to Record!
This will be different for each person. Don’t be afraid to experiment to see what works for you. Remember to use headphones or earbuds so only YOU hear the Guide Video.
Option 1 – ONE DEVICE
Most smartphones can play YouTube and record at the same time! Open the Guide Video on YouTube and open your Camera app too. Try a test recording while the video is playing. Many laptops and tablets can do this as well. (Windows 10: type in “camera” into the computer search or start menu.)
Option 2 – TWO DEVICES
If you can’t play the video and record at the same time, have no fear. You’ll just need one device that can Record and another device that can Play. Hit record on one device, then hit play on the Guide Video on the other device.
It’s OK to record multiple takes (just like a recording studio), so you are happy with your performance. Only upload one video.
#4. Upload your video!
- Click on the link provided by Mark.
- Click the Plus Sign. Click on your video.
- Put your VOICE PART and FULL NAME in the ‘Your name’ field.*
- Provide a valid email address.
- Click Upload. That’s it!
*If you have a dropbox account and are currently signed in, the file request will not ask you for these details. If this is the case for you, please include your name and voice part in the filename of the file you upload.