@thisismynameOH Amazing how much we parents are learning along the way in recording technology… The professionals available for those who can afford them use microphone positioning / choice to battle the background noises such as air conditioning and then whatever they can’t eliminate at source they tweak on the equalizer by killing certain frequency ranges. All simple stuff really but needs experience and equipment which neither was in my bag so we too went with air conditioning noise…
@tripletmama that all in one looks good. They just came out with a newer version of same product with higher video at 4K resolution so I expect the older version will be dumped in price over the holiday period. Keep an eye on the usual e-retailers. I think I’ll get one and try it even though the immediate need is over. Its always good to have something like this to use for other auditions / competitions etc coming up. D can take it to conservatory with her and record her practice sessions or masterclasses etc. Always a useful swiss army knife.
I’m tired of trying to use the music stands as base for camera only to end up with either shaky video or part of music stand showing in video and making it useless. Tripod takes too much space and wouldn’t be something D carries around in the long run so I think this is a great alternative option.
I believe the thread on it is universal so can’t see why this wouldn’t work with other cameras as well. You can use any regular microphone stand with this little thing and place your camera in position / angle you need to get the shot you need. Mic stands are not that common in classical music schools but they should be abundant in all jazz schools / audition rooms etc so your mileage may wary as will mine…
Since we’re on the topic of recording equipment, I’m going to throw this out there. If you are using an external mic, and heck even if you aren’t for that matter, do a sound check just before you start recording after you get set up! Our pre-screen audio issues were due to an external mic that worked fine at home less than 24 hours previously and didn’t work at all for recording on the day of my kid’s first take pre-screens.
Thanks for all the tips on the backing track! Hoping everything goes smoothly. Good luck @DrummerDad18. My husband has audition duty for Berklee so maybe your paths will cross. I’ll be home trying to stay busy so I don’t get too nervous. For now, my daughter seems rather cool and collected considering she is prepping for one of her dream music schools! I have confidence this journey will put all of our kids on the BEST path for THEM. It may be filled with unpredictable twists and turns and work out way differently than we originally thought, but they will each find their way and make wise decisions they (and we) will feel great about. Hang in there, everyone!
@MusakParent what a great advice! I think this applies to any and all recording configurations. I didn’t do this and on 2nd day of recordings I failed to notice my positioning of the camera was bad and I was taping the edge of the music stand all along. Live and learn. From now on definitely a test take / watch / listen and then record!
@AmyIzzy & @DrummerDad18 best of luck with those Berklee auditions coming up. At least you’ve got some nice weather (by Boston standards) coming your way. All the best
Yes, totally! I didn’t really think until after the fact all the things that could go wrong with recording equipment at a critical moment. In fact, I set up a phone recording as a back up the second time we did prescreens and sound checked that on site as well. Never a bad idea to have a back up just in case! For sure test the recording before you start after fully setting up. So frustrating when you find out after the fact it didn’t work!
This is all such great advice (and I wish I’d had it before the prescreen recordings! Grr!). One other thing, which may seem super obvious to you more experienced parents – if you will be lining up separate audio and video files, start each take with several loud claps to provide a starting point for putting the files together. I never knew that’s why movie scenes start with the loud board clap…TAKE TWO! But I learned the hard way when we had a terrible time coordinating sound and music.
After years of editing my D’s music videos I finally spent the $199 and upgraded to Final Cut Pro X instead of using iMovie. Why? For this exact reason. Among the million or so features it has, all you have to do is select an audio file, a video file, and select “synchronize” from the menu. It matches them up perfectly every time. Huge timesaver and headache remover. In the “old days” when I did this manually, my D always accused me of getting it wrong. Because for a drummer even tiny variations in playing ahead or behind stand out like a sore thumb to her.
Hooray - kid was invited to audition in person at Michigan Ann Arbor! Hopefully we’re off to the races!?
Frost sent mail saying not to expect to hear anything before the end of December. Boo! Those notifications were definitely earlier on the prescreen calendar last year.
S just heard from Baldwin-Wallace (auditioned last month) and was admitted to Piano Performance and Music Ed. Long audition. Started at 8:30 and we were not finished until 5. Played most of all of her pieces plus substantial sight reading.
Pressure is a bit less. At least he will be going to college. On Friday we are off to Crane for audition 2. Then we have a break until February.
I’m not a regular contributor to this this thread, but I have a daughter who is applying to undergraduate voice programs. Like many of you, I have been learning a lot about video and audio recording over the last few months. I took the plunge and bought one of the XLR microphones that some of you mentioned. You can buy a quality XLR microphone for about $100, but you also need to buy an interface that lets you connect the microphone to a laptop. A good interface will also cost about $100. The sound quality is quite good, but there is more work involved than with other all-in-one products. Ultimately, this level of equipment is probably not necessary for recording prescreening audio. Nonetheless, If anyone is interested in this kind of setup, feel free to pm me.
MusakParent gave great advice about doing a sound check. The best equipment won’t help if it is not set up right.
Can anyone recommend a resource for practicing sight reading? S is a competent sight reader but feels he’s been folding a bit under the pressure in audition situations. How do others handle this?
@SpartanDrew Oh well my kid is an EA Frost applicant and the email he got was specific for EA. Maybe it will be sooner but I’m sure it just depends on faculty and I’m sure it’s easier for them to set up the expectation that you’ll be waiting a bit!
@akapiratequeen my kids have found sight reading instrument specific books very helpful. Like they are formatted such that it would be easy for you sight read a few lines per day. I’m on the go or I would link some examples!
@MusakParent of wow OK. I didn’t realize that a. I think you should hear literally any day now… I think last year the notifications went out the week after TGiving and the first week of December.
I am super lucky as my husband was a film major in college and has equipment. He used a good quality video recorder and a directional external microphone. We recorded in the auditorium at a local public school for acoustics. He had a tripod and it was always… set… 4.3.2.1… and then he would point… that way editing out the bad takes were easier. There was one prescreen that required everything to be in one continuous take… ugh… and some required piano and some not… very confusing and frustrating. We did find that if you emailed the teacher and asked if they would accept the piano with the larger concerto pieces, they usually said they liked it more… so go figure.
D-French Horn Performance… has now turned in all applications and we await the results. Does anyone know how long it takes to get back? We will have to travel very far for some of these and as of yet have no reservations. We contacted one school who said we could audition early and the teacher was so nice, even inviting her to watch them perform Mahler 9.
Based on all that we are seeing and discussing here, I will strongly recommend my D to get some recording technology courses at her future school if it is offered. Seems like, in this day & age, this will be a good knowledge and skill to have as a working musician. Even if she doesn’t have to do it often, to know more about how it works and what goes into the recording process will certainly help her in the long run.
Yes to this! In general, one of the things I’m hearing young musicians talk about is the need to be able to record, mix and edit their own material. It’s a key part of how networking, promotion and collaboration work today. If you can’t record yourself well, you can’t share that material with another musician as part of a collab. It makes it hard to book gigs, etc. I think in a world of YouTube and soundcloud and other platforms, this is just part of being a modern musician.