Tips for students making piano performance videos using a phone

Make sure your piano performance space is quiet and without noise distractions including pets, appliances, and other people.

The camera on the back of the phone (non-selfie) has better image quality, use that camera side for your videos.

Make sure you are videoing in landscape mode. Iphones need to make sure that the portrait mode lock is not "on" in settings.

Make sure the phone is at right angles to the piano keyboard. This is the standard view for pianists and was invented by Liszt, piano's first rock star.

Make sure the phone is slightly higher than the piano keyboard so we can see both hands and the top of your head. (You can use an ironing board as an adjustable stand.) If possible, showing your feet and the pedals is also desirable.

Make sure the phone is stable and the phone microphone at the end of the phone is unobstructed. Don't cushion your iphone with extra padding that blocks the microphone end of the phone. Try to make that end of your phone as free as possible for good sound capture.

Put your phone in airplane mode before videoing and make sure it is well-charged.

Make sure your lighting makes you look visible to the camera. You may need an extra lamp or to close curtains on windows behind you. After you adjust your lighting, put your phone into a constant exposure mode before each video take.  For constant exposure and autofocus with an iphone: First point the camera at your subject and choose the area you want to focus on. Put your camera in video mode, then instead of tapping, press and hold until the camera locks on to it. You will know this has happened because a yellow box with the words “AE/AF LOCK” in yellow will appear at the top.

Don't put your phone on the piano because the audio may pick up vibrations from the piano.

Don't use the digital zoom on your phone, it lessens the quality of the video. Just move the phone closer if necessary.

Place your phone near the treble end of the piano for best sound and if you have time, take a couple of test recordings from different locations and check the quality of sound before starting your actual performance recordings. If you are using a digital piano, try recording with different volumes to see what sounds best.

Remember no performance is perfect. Do whatever number of takes you can stand to do and settle on the best. “If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.” – Beyoncé

For people who want more tech to improve their recordings:

Use a standard camera tripod for your phone with a phone mount.

Use a start and stop bluetooth camera button for your phone.

Use a plug in microphone for your phone for best audio quality.

Use video editing software for your phone either as a iphone app or computer software.