{"id":1870,"date":"2020-11-15T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/?p=1870"},"modified":"2021-01-31T12:33:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T12:33:23","slug":"creating-virtual-performances-recording-parts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/2020\/11\/15\/creating-virtual-performances-recording-parts\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Virtual Performances: Recording Parts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As lots of you will know by now, we are planning a Virtual Christmas Concert! This means that every member of the society who wants to participate will need to submit a recording of them playing their part, which can then be edited together to produce a full performance. For a lot of people, this may be a completely new experience! With a lot of recording deadlines coming up in the next couple of weeks, here are a few tips for how to produce the best quality recording possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Before you start:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Don&#8217;t forget to tune!<\/strong> If you don\u2019t have a tuner, you can find loads of tuning websites online or get an app on your phone. It\u2019s not as good as tuning all together would be, but it still makes a big difference!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Find the quietest time and place you possibly can to do your recording.<\/strong> Make sure any windows are closed and ask the people around you to be quiet until you\u2019re done.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Make sure you\u2019ve practiced a few times<\/strong> (with the click track) before you record the final version to get a feel for the pieces and focus on any challenging bits. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Before you start recording, <strong>do a test where you play\/sing your highest and loudest notes<\/strong>. If it sounds odd, you can adjust your distance from the microphone or microphone sensitivity accordingly.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Click tracks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Don\u2019t forget to use the click track<\/strong> &#8211; you should be able to find it in the shared space for your ensemble.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There may also be <strong>a click track with instrumental backing<\/strong> available. <strong>Listen to it before you start<\/strong> so you\u2019re aware of any changes in tempo throughout the piece.  You may prefer to play along to this rather than the plain click track, especially if you&#8217;re concerned about changes in tempo or the possibility of missing bars.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Don\u2019t forget to <strong>listen to it through headphones<\/strong> so the recording doesn\u2019t pick it up!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you have multiple devices, it\u2019s a good idea to <strong>listen to the click track on one of them and record on the other<\/strong>. Use the device with the best microphone quality to do the recording.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you\u2019re struggling with the click track, or can\u2019t figure out the rhythm of your part, <strong>listen to any recordings that may have already been submitted for reference<\/strong> \u2013 and play along with them if you find it easier.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Struggling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Be prepared to have a few goes<\/strong> at recording before you get a good version \u2013 it\u2019s a challenge to get it right the first time around!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Find a full version of the piece on YouTube<\/strong> and <strong>follow it while reading your music<\/strong> so you know how your part fits into the whole and how the rhythms are supposed to sound.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>While you are recording, try to <strong>play all the way through the piece regardless of how many mistakes you make<\/strong> &#8211; that way you won&#8217;t get caught up in the first few lines.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If there is a particularly tricky bit, and you have the know-how, you could try <strong>recording it at half speed and then speeding it back up<\/strong> in Audacity.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You can also <strong>record different sections separately and mix them back together<\/strong> in Audacity if you think one small part is ruining your whole recording!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>If you can\u2019t get a bit right, a few mistakes don\u2019t matter that much. If you really can\u2019t get a bit right &#8211; skip it! <\/strong>If you do skip anything, make sure you allow for these bars, so that you start and finish at the same time as the click track.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Remember:  recording with a couple of missing or less-than-perfect bits is much better than no recording at all.<\/strong> If you still have any problems with or questions about anything, get in touch with your ensemble reps or conductors! They\u2019ll be happy to give you a hand. Happy recording!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As lots of you will know by now, we are planning a Virtual Christmas Concert! This means that every member of the society who wants to participate will need to submit a recording of them playing their part, which can then be edited together to produce a full performance. For a lot of people, this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-1870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-virtual-performances"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/virtual-performance-graphic.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1881,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions\/1881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulms.org.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}