• For GCSE students little has changed in the practice expectation. Students must continue to submit evidence each week of practice. Where this is usually covered by a parental signature, email or text to students' phones during the lockdown students will now be required to send recorded evidence of their practice EACH WEEK. Not all students will receive feedback from their music teacher but this will allow us to listen in to students and give advice and feedback where needed

• It is recommended that students use an AUDIO recording app to record a minimum of 1 minute of their practice. Videos can be too large in size but for some students they might have to send a video, for example to show technique on a guitar technical exercise. This evidence might be part of a piece of music for a performance piece, or an example of a practice exercise, or scales, riffs or runs and anything relevant. Note that this is just the minimum length. Students might be asked to submit a whole recording of a piece they are working on. Comprehensive guidance on what students should be practising can be found HERE.

• The two apps below work well for recording audio and allow for easy sharing of the files. Students can share the recordings from their phones or device/s to their teacher via Teams or email. For some students this will inevitably involve them sending via their personal email address/username. This is unavoidable but will always be sent to a school email address and through the school servers (jthompson@wrotham.kent.sch.uk). Both of these apps are FREE:

  • • iPhones and iPads - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/voice-record-pro/id546983235 

    • Android phones and tablets - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hiqrecorder.free&hl=en_GB 

This feature is very much a new 'trial' feature whereby we aim to still have GCSE and Key Stage 5 students submit performance material for both assessment and entertainment performances. Modern technology allows for students to quite easily record themselves performing and we can then take this media and using a DAW (Reaper) and video editing software (HitFilm Express) clean it up and have it ready for presentation on this website. 

All students need to do is submit the performance

Checklist below to get a good recording:

Do not ignore these tips! Check that you are following each guideline one-by-one...

• Let your family and household members know that you are performing. You want them to support you but at the very least you don't want them to disturb you when you come to record - you need silence for that time, 15 minutes or so

• Dress appropriately, just as you would or have been advised to for music performances to the public at school (showcase and summer concert performances)

• Ensure you are not recording anything you do not want to be seen or heard. For example, other family or household members, conversations (although you should really be recording in a quiet environment with no other noise), displayed information you don't want others to see such as posters which could be possibly offensive and anything else

• Only share your recording to jthompson@wrotham.kent.sch.uk or via Microsoft Teams to Mr Thompson. You can also share to parents/carers for them to pass on if you wish

• Keep your recording professional:

  • • Treat it like an actual audience is in front of you

    • If you make a mistake, keep going! 

    • Ideally, look straight ahead and focus on an object at eye-level (you wouldn't just stare at an audience member would you??!!) 

• Be in a well-lit room. Lights on, or even better use daylight or as much daylight you can get in your room as possible

• Set your phone/iPad/tablet to silent mode or turn notifications off while recording

• If performing to a backing track then ideally have headphones on with the backing track playing while you perform. Mr Laviolette can then match your performance to the same backing track you used

• For audio recording it is recommended that students use an audio recording app which gives control over volume and peak levels. The apps below are FREE:

  • • Android phones and tablets - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hiqrecorder.free&hl=en_GB

    • iPhones and iPads - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/voice-record-pro/id546983235 

• For video recording, while students can use the stock camera app on their device, it is recommended they use the below FREE apps which give control over audio levels which is important when recording music performances, and also give finer control over effects and filters. Please note that the cameras on iPads are usually of far lesser quality than those found on iPhones:

  • • Dolby On is a FREE recording app which gives much better audio quality when recording video

      • Android phones and tablets - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dolby.dolby234&hl=en_US&gl=US 

      • iPhones and iPads - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dolby-on-record-audio-video/id1443964192 

• Students do not need to purchase any additional equipment. However, if they wish to they can purchase the below accessories to assist with improving recordings (likely for students for whom this could be a future career ambition or serious hobby)

  • Lammcou flexible tripod - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073N9687P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

  • Microphones for phones and tablets - 

    • • Lolly Microphone for iPhone and iPads - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Certified-Lightning-Microphone-Condenser-Connector/dp/B07DL6SXNV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lollipop+microphone&qid=1611508747&sr=8-1

      • Boya BY-MM1 phone/device/camera microphone - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Livestream-Recording-Smartphone-Camcorders/dp/B0874DGG5H/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=phone+mic+boya&qid=1611508801&sr=8-8 

      • Lighting ring - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-14-inch-Outer-Dimmable-Light/dp/B07F3SFD23/ref=sr_1_20_mod_primary_lightning_deal?dchild=1&keywords=neewer+phone+light&qid=1611508927&s=electronics&sbo=Tc8eqSFhUl4VwMzbE4fw%2Fw%3D%3D&smid=ACEDV317JKG06&sr=1-20

      • Camera light - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077VL3DDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

• For video recordings, it will help if students get someone to film them performing rather than having a 'still' shot where the camera/phone is placed on a tripod. Parents or family members can assist with this and as you will see from our performances, having someone slowly pan and provide a handheld shot can greatly improve the performance video!

• Students can share their video content quite easily, usually directly from the app they're using. They can share this to dlaviolette@wrotham.kent.sch.uk or they may use Teams. While it is recommended that students do not use their personal email address to share media, if they cannot use Teams to share content (which has a much more generous 200MB attachment limit which will cover most videos/audio recordings) then they have little choice but to use their personal email to send to a staff school address (jthompson@wrotham.kent.sch.uk). Alternatively they may choose to share it to parents first for parents to then pass on to jthompson@wrotham.kent.sch.uk.