There are no restrictions as to where you film your performance – at home, at school, at your teacher’s studio, in a hall – wherever you have access to a quiet performing space and the appropriate instrument or performance props. And you can work with whoever you wish to in recording your video – family, friends, your teacher, or others. You may ask someone to help you with the recording, with playing your accompaniment or backing tracks, and with managing your exam space. You can even have a group of people behind the camera if you enjoy working in the presence of a live audience!
Please watch the short video from our lead senior examiners, who will take you through how to achieve the best video recording. You can download the Filming Guidance for detailed explanation for specific syllabuses and instruments.
Some quick tips when planning your recording:
Your books/ legally downloaded copies must be in shot when you film your performance. Please make sure they will be visible to the examiner so that they can confirm that you are playing from a legal copy – even if you choose to perform from memory. In the case that you have purchased a digital copy and are playing from a tablet or eReader, please show the copy on screen to the camera, ensuring that the watermark is clearly legible, so the examiner can confirm the purchase.
Please remember to turn off HD settings, or select the lowest available HD setting, on your device before you begin. Your exam does not need to be recorded in high definition, and will result in files that are too large for upload. You may record your video as an mp4 or mov file.
And remember - exams must be submitted as one continuous performance.
Candidates may use recorded accompaniments in place of a live accompanist or duet partner for all digital exams at Initial – Grade 8.
For digital music diplomas, we strongly advise candidates to perform with live accompaniment. However, we will now accept recorded accompaniments in digital diploma exams, and have removed the 31 December 2023 deadline, making this a permanent offer.
Drum Kit (all Group A pieces) and Acoustic Guitar pieces (where tracks are required) must always be accompanied by the Trinity backing tracks.
Please refer to this page for information on recorded accompaniments published by Trinity.
Drama exams require candidates to respond to a stimulus in the Key Skills Tasks. Being able to respond creatively to a given stimulus is a critical skill in drama performance and the Digital Grades and Diplomas include this as a requirement. In a face-to-face drama exam this stimulus is provided by the examiner and candidates have a limited timeframe in which to perform their response in the exam. For the Digital Grades and Diplomas, this stimulus will be provided on our website and refreshed every two weeks with the new stimuli posted on a Thursday. Therefore, the validity period of the stimuli is Thursday through to the Wednesday of the second week. You must use the stimulus, film your exam and upload the video during the two-week validity period of the stimulus.
For example:
If a candidate intends to make their video recording on Tuesday 13 April, they will need to access the valid stimulus task for that period which will be posted on Thursday 8 April, and will be valid until Wednesday 21 April.
We have created a sample set of tasks. These cannot be used for the exam but have been created so that you know what to expect when the real ones are published.
Download example stimulus material for Drama Digital Grades
It’s important for candidates to ensure they are responding to the correct stimulus, so it’s recommended that on the day of their recording they check the web page to ensure they are working with the correct materials.
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