Online Piano Exam Video Submissions

April 1, 2020

Below you will find the guidelines for submitting a comprehensive piano exam. If you have any questions about this process, feel free to contact your site administrator or program director Jake Fitzpatrick.

  1. Organize materials.

    • Receive a student number.

    • Download materials (keyboard skills test and sight playing test) sent to you from the MMTA office or site administrator.

    • Double check that the student’s level matches the level of materials you receive.

    • Print the materials and/or upload them in a way that the student can see them while sitting at the piano.

    • Students are not allowed to practice these items in advance.

  2. Prepare for the video.

    • Students should be dressed as though they were performing the exam in-person for the judge.

    • The video should be from the “audience perspective,” that is, from behind or from the side.

    • The video should show the student’s arms, hands, back, and feet. 

    • Video length:

      • We prefer one long video that covers the entire exam (keyboard skills, repertoire, and sight playing). Have a brief pause (5-10 seconds) between each component of the exam. Expect the length of the video to range anywhere from 15 minutes for lower levels to 45 minutes for upper levels.

      • However, we will accept smaller videos of each component recorded individually and up to seven videos per exam: (1) all keyboard skills, (2-6) up to five repertoire pieces, (7) all sight playing.

  3. Record the program.

    • First, record the keyboard skills. 

      • Students should see the skills test for the first time for recording. 

      • They do not need to announce the skill they are playing. 

      • They should proceed straight through the keyboard skills with a brief pause between each one.

    • Then, record the program/repertoire.

      • Before each piece, students should either verbally state or show a sign indicating what piece they will play. The sign should not show the student’s name or the teacher’s name. 

      • Students should play that piece. In order for the student to receive points for memorization, music should not be sitting open on the piano while the student is playing.

    • Finally, record the sight playing.

      • Students should see the sight playing piece for the first time in the recording.

      • In lower levels, students should name notes and intervals aloud as they would in an in-person exam.

      • All students should play the repertoire pieces as they would in an in-person exam.

  4. Upload the program to YouTube or Vimeo.

    • If you do not already have a YouTube account, you will need to create one. 

    • Your videos must be unedited and contain no fade ins or fade outs.

    • If submitting one video, name the upload this: MMTA Piano Exam Level, date of original exam, student number. For example: “MMTA Piano Exam Level 2, April 4 2020, Student #15.”

    • If submitting more than one video, name each upload this: MMTA Piano Exam Level, date of original exam, student number, composer, name of piece (use “Keyboard skills” or “Sightplaying” for those components). For example: “MMTA Piano Exam Level 2, April 4 2020, Student #15., Duncombe, Sonatina in C Major.”

    • Tags: none

    • Set privacy settings to “unlisted.”

    • Disable all comments and responses.

  5. Have the student answer the oral questions on the MMTA website. Some additional guidelines:

    • Unlike the in-person exam, students may use their music to answer the questions.

    • Since students do not need to memorize responses, and as a trade-off, we are asking them to answer all the questions for all their pieces.

    • In level 6 and up, for “Explain the form of one of your compositions,” the response will be slightly longer, roughly a paragraph.

  6. Submit the link to the video(s) and answer all oral-question answers on the MMTA website. The deadline for video submission is one week after the original exam date was to take place. (For example, if the exam was to take place on April 4, video submission is due April 11.)

  7. Unlike in-person exams when results are sent to teachers quickly, please be aware we will need extra time to process this exam. When the exam is complete, we will send critiques and certificates to the teachers.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact your site administrator and/or the program director, Jake Fitzpatrick. Thank you for your patience as we explore this new process!

Jake Fitzpatrick
Program Director for MMTA Piano Exams

jacobfitzpatrick@gmail.com
952-237-5080