By John-Rine Zabanal
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected how we interact with people. It has made us hyper-aware of our regular hygienic habits - increasing hand washing, carrying hand sanitizer, and frequently disinfecting surfaces - and brought about new habits including social distancing and wearing face coverings. Not only has the pandemic affected our daily routines, it has also affected how we make music with others and teach music to our students. We already know that the network latency between devices makes it impossible for us to make music together virtually. You can have the most advanced devices connected to a fast internet connection and there will still be delay. However, musicians still wanted to have group performances, and music teachers wanted to have some sort of concert experience. In response to stay-at-home restrictions, school closures, and online learning, tech-savvy music teachers across the United States quickly put together virtual performances of their school ensembles. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief history of the virtual ensemble and to provide general guidelines on how to prepare your students to record for a virtual performance.
ORIGIN OF THE VIRTUAL ENSEMBLE
The virtual ensemble was first introduced when YouTube started the YouTube Symphony Orchestra project in partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra (Rudolph & Frankel, 2009). YouTube commissioned Tan Dun to compose a new piece for the project, Internet Symphony No. 1 – Eroica, which was posted online for musicians to download, practice, perform and ultimately record. In addition to parts being freely accessible, two videos were posted to assist musicians with the preparation of their part. The first video consisted of Dun conducting the orchestra from the perspective of the selected part, and the second video featured a member of the London Symphony Orchestra providing suggestions and tips on how to successfully perform the part. Musicians who submitted a video were considered for invitation to perform with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Although approximately 3,000 videos were submitted, 90 musicians were selected to perform at the concert. In addition to inviting selected musicians to perform at a live concert, a mash-up performance was produced with videos from other submissions creating the first virtual orchestra, which was posted in 2009 (YouTube Symphony Orchestra, 2009). YouTube recreated the project in 2011 for a performance in Sydney; however, a similar mash-up was not created.
Shortly after YouTube’s virtual performance, Eric Whitacre was inspired by a video of a young singer who posted a video of herself performing his composition, Sleep (Whitacre, 2009). He encouraged his followers to record themselves singing Sleep and to post the performance on YouTube so he could assemble the videos to create the “very first virtual choir.” After completing this experiment, he created a video of himself conducting Lux Aurumque and encouraged his followers to record themselves singing with his video. Released in 2010, his virtual choir performance went viral, earning over one million views in the first two months (Whitacre, 2020b). Although YouTube first published the first online virtual performance in 2009 (YouTube Symphony Orchestra, 2009), Whitacre popularized the concept and produced five additional virtual choir performances (Whitacre, 2020a).
Although the concept of a virtual ensemble has been established for more than a decade, productions of virtual ensemble performances have increased amid the pandemic. Virtual performance productions include professional orchestras (e.g., Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 2020; Chicago Sinfonietta, 2020; Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, 2020), collegiate ensembles (e.g., Illinois State University School of Music, 2020; Kim, 2020; Marching Illini, 2020), and K– 12 schools (e.g., NBC News, 2020; Vega, 2020; Wheaton Academy, 2020). Combining the experience of colleagues with my own, I will provide some guidelines on how to prepare for a virtual ensemble performance.
SELECTING REPERTOIRE FOR A VIRTUAL ENSEMBLE
When preparing a virtual ensemble, it is important to select music that is attainable by your students. While the selection of repertoire is an important factor for large-ensemble music teaching (e.g., Apfelstadt, 2000; Forbes, 2001; Reynolds, 2000), it is perhaps more important when selecting an appropriate piece for a virtual performance. In a regular group-teaching situation, we are able to distribute music, listen to the students live, and help our students to correct any performance inaccuracies. We may even select a few pieces to sight-read with our students before officially deciding to prepare it for a concert. We are also able to select warm- ups that would better prepare our students in rehearsal. With a virtual performance, you must be confident that the repertoire you select will make it to the final product, and you have to trust that your students will practice the music on their own time.
Similar to YouTube’s process in preparation for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, you may record lessons that will help guide your students to practice various techniques on a piece (Rudolph & Frankel, 2009). This type of learning is similar to that of a flipped classroom where teachers create video lessons for students to access at home so that they may work on reviewing material and advanced concepts, and encourage collaborative learning in class (Tucker, 2012). However, with the pandemic, teachers may not have the ability to meet with students in their classroom. Instead, they may have to work with students through video teleconferencing or other creative means. Regardless of how the music is taught, the repertoire selected for a virtual performance must be selected so students have an increased chance for success.
The selected repertoire must also be relatively short in duration. For a virtual performance to be successful, students must record a piece from beginning to end without stopping the video. If a student makes an error, especially in the last few measures of a piece, they may grow frustrated if they have to record multiples times. If a piece is ten minutes long, they must record for another ten minutes and hope for an accurate performance. Pieces that are kept to three or five minutes will be less frustrating for your students, especially if they tend to be perfectionistic.
Tempo markings and changes must also be a factor when selecting a piece. Pieces with frequent and sudden tempo changes will be difficult to perform accurately. Students may adjust appropriately if they watch a video of you conducting or listen to a pre-recorded click track with the appropriate tempo changes; however, they may still not perform the tempo change as they would in a live performance setting. It may be better to select a piece with minimal to no tempo changes.
AURAL & VISUAL FEEDBACK
Listening to and making music is inherently an aural experience. We teach our students to listen to their playing and to adjust their tempo, intonation, and articulation to that of their peers so that we may have a more precise musical performance and a cohesive ensemble experience. Additionally, we train our students to watch for visual cues including the conductor’s beat pattern, their neighbor’s breathing, the movement of the violin bows in front of them, and any other movement that occurs on stage. Our students are constantly adjusting their performance based on the aural and visual feedback from their surroundings. When they are alone, there is no aural or visual feedback to adjust to except that of their own solo performance. When preparing students for a virtual performance, it is important that we create a model video which will provide aural and visual feedback.
A click track is extremely beneficial for maintaining a consistent tempo throughout the piece. Using a digital audio workstation (e.g., Abletonlive, BandLab, Cubase, ProTools) or other audio software, you may even be able to adjust the tempo of a click track. When students perform in an ensemble, they are consistently watching the conductor for the tempo and cues. As such, creating a conducting video will also be helpful for providing visual feedback. However, the conducting video alone might not produce an accurate performance as students might have a different idea about where the beat lands. A conducting video which includes a click track may elicit a more precise performance from students. Instead of a click track, you may even find a quality recording of your selected piece that you can include with your conducting video. This may be more beneficial than a click track because an audio recording will provide a tonal center to which students can adjust their playing. However, you must study the recording for tempo changes so you can precisely articulate the changes through your conducting gestures.
You may also use music learning software (MLS)—such as 8notes.com, Essential Elements Interactive, PracticeFirst, and SmartMusic—to help your students perform together. Although the primary purpose of MLS is to assist students with practicing at home and provide an assessment tool for teachers, these programs can really help put together a quality virtual ensemble performance. MLS will provide access to sheet music so you will not have to scan and distribute copies. However, you will only be able to select music that is available within the program database. They will also provide a click track to assist students with accurate rhythmic performance and will help them maintain tempo. An accompaniment track may also be included to help your students adjust to a given tonal center for accurate intonation. Although MLS can provide a click track or accompaniment with a consistent tempo, depending on the program’s features, it may be difficult to include transitional tempo changes such as rubato, ritardando, and accelerando. If you do not already incorporate MLS into your classroom, please be aware that most programs require a subscription. Although MLS may not provide much visual feedback, such as conducting gestures and movements of other musicians, it will provide adequate aural feedback—click track and accompaniment—for a successful virtual ensemble performance.
Selecting a piece with a piano accompaniment can also be helpful when creating a model video, especially for younger students who are accustomed to performing with a piano. You may record yourself performing the piano accompaniment or enlist the help of a pianist colleague.
While it is recommended that you record with a metronome to ensure a steady beat, if the selected piece contains tempo changes, then record without a metronome. It may also be beneficial to include a video of you conducting the piece so students will have visual feedback through conducting as well as aural feedback with the piano accompaniment.
VanderCook College of Music String Ensemble’s virtual performance (Row 1: Andrés Cervantes, Ashley Barajas, Caitlyn Smith. Row 2, Zoë Perillo, Madelyn Ring, Tamia Smith. Row 3, John-Rine Zabanal, Eric Goldberg, Charles Morgan. Row 4, Patricia Urbaniak, Ronaldo Mota, Shengyue Li.)
One final suggestion is to record each part and combine them together for a model video. You may record yourself performing each part, ask your section leaders to record their part, or to ask professional colleagues to record the parts for you. This must also include a video of you conducting so that each performer recording a part will adjust appropriately to your tempo and style changes. While this is the most time-consuming suggestion when preparing a model video, it is also the most customizable by allowing you to prepare your students to perform the piece using your interpretation. You may include your own tempo, tempo changes, articulation, dynamic changes, and several other characteristics that you would normally adjust in a regular rehearsal setting.
WHILE RECORDING
Once you have created a model video, it is time to distribute it to your students. You may post your video on a video-sharing platform such as YouTube or Vimeo, upload it to a cloud service such as Dropbox or Google Drive and share the link, or post it on a school-provided learning management system such as Schoology or Canvas. Once distributed, encourage your students to practice their part alone and then with the video before they begin their own recording process. It is also important to provide students with specific recording guidelines to ensure that they are recording video of similar formatting and quality. Suggested recording guidelines are listed below:
Require students to wear headphones to listen to the model video (e.g., click track, conducting video, SmartMusic) while they record.
Recommend to students that they use a quality microphone and that they avoid using microphones that are built into headphones such as a headset or Airpods. If a quality microphone is not available, ensure that they know a microphone built into a mobile device, tablet, or laptop will suffice.
Instruct students to be aware of their background, and if possible, to keep the background neutral.
Instruct students to make sure they are recording in a brightly lit room, preferably using daylight. Instruct them to face the camera lens away from a light source (e.g., lamp, window) instead of facing directly towards it.
Instruct students to face the camera towards their face and showing their instrument.
Provide example videos.
When setting up the camera, require students to record in either landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical). If all videos are recorded in the same layout, this will make post- production easier to manage.
Set guidelines on what attire students should wear while recording.
Make sure that you provide video submission instructions to your students so that they submit the raw recording file. It is recommended that they submit the video directly to you through email, a learning management system, or have them upload the video to a cloud service (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive) and share it with you so that you may download it directly for video editing.
Editing a virtual ensemble in Adobe Premiere Pro.
POST-PRODUCTION
It is recommended that you use a personal computer—desktop or laptop device—to edit the videos rather than a mobile device such as tablets or smartphones. Although mobile devices have become more powerful in recent years, they are not equipped to process multiple video and audio tracks as well as a personal computer. Additionally, you must make sure that your personal computer meets the minimum system requirements (MSR) of your preferred video editing software. Older computers might not meet the MSR necessary of newer video editing software, so it is important to cross-reference your computer specifications with the MSR of a selected program.
There are a variety of video editing software programs available that can help create a virtual ensemble performance. For example, if you own a MacBook, you have immediate access to iMovie which is a video editing software available to MacBook users. You may also purchase more powerful programs, such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. However, before you purchase a program, check to see if your school district already has a subscription to any of these services. Many school districts hold subscriptions to platforms such as Adobe Creative Cloud which include programs such as Audition, Illustrator, Photoshop, Light Room, and Premiere Pro. Contact your technology department to see if they will provide you with an account so that you may use these services. Additionally, you may use your school budget or ask your booster program to see if they will purchase a program. Although there are free video editing software programs available, they may have limited features or limit the length of the video you wish to edit.
Considering the large number of video editing software programs available, discussing technical aspects of video editing is beyond the scope of the present article. Most programs will have tutorials on their websites with detailed instructions or video examples. Additionally, a quick search on YouTube will yield results of amateur and professional video editors providing their own tutorials. Regardless of what program you use, it is important to remember that learning to edit video is much like learning how to play a new instrument—it takes time, practice, and patience to create a good product.
CONCLUSION
Putting together a virtual ensemble requires resources, time, and plenty of patience. Additionally, you must be comfortable working with a computer and be willing to learn by trial and error. A virtual ensemble performance is not something that can be easily put together last minute, especially if it is something you have not done before. I highly recommended that you put together a virtual performance of a smaller ensemble, such as a quartet, before creating one for your large ensemble. Additionally, you have to ask yourself, “what will my students learn if I put together a virtual ensemble performance?” Depending on how you present the virtual ensemble, it may function more like a publicity stunt rather than a meaningful learning experience for your students. If executed appropriately, your students will learn appropriate recording techniques, improve their technical skill on their own instruments, and you will have a musical product to share with your parents, administration, and music community.
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John-Rine Zabanal is Assistant Professor and Director of String Music Education at VanderCook College of Music. He was previously an adjunct professor at Florida State University where he taught courses in music education and music technology. He also served as the Director of Orchestras for six years at Riverbend High and NI River Middle Schools in Spotsylvania County (Virginia). Dr. Zabanal holds degrees from Florida State University (Ph.D. in Music Education and MME) and The Ohio State University (BME).