“Unboxing” of Easy Virtual Choir: our first video

Introducing the KLM Trio: Karen, Lou, and Marilyn. This is our very first experience producing a music video with Easy Virtual Choir (EVC). All of the recording and video creation was done online using the Chrome browser running on a desktop/laptop computer. Karen and Lou had never recorded online before, yet we had a finished video within a day. Everything used in this project was completely free except for the initial click track. That came from a website with an annual subscription of about $20.

Here’s how the process worked:

• We were doing this for fun, not as a performance. We chose a short, easy piece to learn with.
• I created a “click track” video and uploaded it to EVC to start the project.
• Each of us logged in to EVC and recorded our part, playing along with the click track. We could record as many takes as desired. Over several days if necessary. However, we did have to record the whole thing, start to finish, without stopping. In this case, everybody did it in 2 takes or less.
• I “rendered” the project on EVC to create the video below. Rendering aligns the individual players’ tracks and adjusts the relative volumes. And, of course, removes the click track audio.

Lessons learned:

Our main objective was to find out if we would enjoy this process. The answer was an overwhelming YES. We are still doing it more for fun and less for performance, but there are some things we might consider:

• Tune before recording.
• Have an initial meetup to agree on things like dynamics and places to breathe.
• Consider adding some improvisational touches to our playing.