Practice a festive or cheery piece of music. Play either solo or with friends or family. A one or two minute piece is ideal.
Dress up if you like and make a video recording. See 'Notes on privacy' and 'Tips for recording' below.
Upload to Martin's dropbox (Dropbox Transfer does NOT require a dropbox account)
Simply select the video from your phone or computer, enter the performer name/s and the parent's email.
No pressure here — It's fine to use a smartphone and keep it lo-fi — the main aim is to have fun!
But, if you like, here are a few things you might want to try to make the recording look and sound as good as possible.
Start by introducing your piece. Eg. "This piece is called 'Un moto di giola' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart"
Don't rush the ending. When you've finished, lower your instrument and give the camera a big smile.
Ask someone to help you with setting up and recording.
Make sure to hold the phone/camera really still — maybe you have a tripod or stand?
Landscape is best — so set up the camera on its side.
Make sure we can see your instrument as well as your faces.
Try to find a nice bright area with light source (window or light) behind the camera.
It's fine to use the microphone on your phone. You can also use the microphone on headphones if you need the microphone to be closer than the camera.
Set up in a quiet place and try to minimise any background noise like traffic, TV or barking dogs (unless they're part of the performance!). Closing the windows and doors makes a big difference.
Too quiet/distant? Try moving the microphone closer.
Too echoey? Try a room with more carpet/soft furnishings.
Faces too dark? Use a lamp or move so you're facing a window.
To make it easy to share with friends and relatives, videos will be uploaded to youtube.com and collected as a playlist on the music@anpspandc.org account.
Settings will ensure that videos are not 'listed' and therefore will not appear in internet or youtube searches. They will be viewable by anyone with the link — including via the publicly-available (but also unlisted) Music Matters website.