A video with only the score playback (e.g. using MuseScore) and the PianoTeq keyboard could be an alternative.
In my experience, however, students (...like me...) are interested in how the player is placing the hands on the keyboard. In many cases, the single notes and the fingerings are given in the score, but it’s a bit unclear how you “travel” to the “target” positions and how the hands are oriented, curved, etc.. This is where the overhead camera is useful. For me, recording with an overhead camera is more complex, because you might need no video editing if you have an accurate setup, but it requires that you play each piece from start to end with (mostly) no mistakes. As for me, I typically activate the “automatic fail somewhere” option in my brain in parallel with hitting the record button, so I have to do it over and over again.
Focusing the overhead camera on the keyboard and the hands and improving the lighting requires some work either in the setup (= accurate camera angle, good lighting) or in video editing (e.g. for stretching the keyboard, adding some contrast). In the very basic example given here I stretched, clipped, and contrasted the video in the editing software. As an advantage, this angle can be fun if you want to show supplementary voices.
If you want to add a “piano roll” effect instead of the score or a digital keyboard, I can recommend the free MidiVisualizer wich can give results like this.
Last edited by MC_Pete (Yesterday 13:58)
