Download Midrange - Conn

Recording an Ensemble
Dr. Lowell E. Graham
Conn-Selmer Institute, June 2015
Assumptions
Recording sessions are the most valuable real-world experiences for the growth and
development of ensembles. However, if you cannot play it, you cannot record it.
Ensembles are acoustic.
Reproductions/recordings should be representative of the best of live performance.
Know the industry standard and your biases?
Benchmark off of the best in the commercial industry.
Each group has a distinct voice that must be captured on disc.
All ensembles have a voice. All engineers have a voice (sound). Define it.
Identify and decide on the perspective and options before you begin.
There are a variety of ways to record; each will have advantages and disadvantages.
Three basic categories: minimal mike – two tracks; multi-mikes – two tracks; multimikes – multi-tracks.
One size does NOT fit all (one category of recording does not fit all mediums).
Make the proper choice to meet the needs of the medium.
Our goal is to capture not only the voice (timbre) of the ensemble, but also the emotional
content of the performance.
Recordings must provide enough sonic clues to draw in the listener to the message and
emotional content of the music, e.g. a cardboard cutouts vs. real.
Nothing should draw to the listener’s attention away from the music message (room
noises, page turns, mistakes, bad attacks, poor ensemble etc.).
Be prepared. Do not record it if you cannot play it.
Critical Listener
Evaluating source by ear is critical
Evaluating equipment by ear is critical.
Music is a three dimensional experience.
Knowing what sounds good or bad is easy, but why a recording is not musically
satisfying or not, and the ability to recognize and describe the subtle differences in sound
quality is a learned skill.
Sonic Values
Good sound is only a means to the end of musical satisfaction; it is not the end in itself.
A fundamental musical value holds that sins of commission (adding something to the
music) are far worse than sins of omission (removing something for the music). If parts
of the music are missing, the ear/brain system subconsciously fills in what isn’t there;
you can still enjoy the music. If a system adds an artificial character to the sound, you
are constantly reminded that you’re hearing a reproduction rather that the real thing.
Another musical value of a recording is that even small differences in the quality of the
musical presentation are important. Basic music matters!
Sonic Descriptions and their Meanings
The biggest problem in critical listening is finding the words to express our perceptions
and experiences.
Each listener hears a little differently. Some value timbre, others soundstage. Some
listeners are more attuned to phase information (infinite patterns of sounds with slight
delays) or timing.
Broad terms that describe the audio frequency band.
16 – 40
40 – 100
100 – 250
250 – 500
500 – 1000
1000 – 2000
2000 – 3500
3500 – 6000
6000 – 10,000
10,000 – 20,000
Deep Bass
Midbass
Upper Bass
Lower Midrange
Middle Midrange
Upper Midrange
Lower Treble
Middle Treble
Upper Treble
Top Octave
Tonal Balance
First listen for tonal balance. Are the bass, midrange and treble balanced? Too little
treble is dull or rolled-off. Too much bass is heavy or weighty. Too little bass is thin,
lightweight, untitled or lean.
Perspective
Forward or pushed back. Terms for a forward presentation -- immediate, incisive, vivid,
aggressive and present. Terms for a laid back presentation – lush, easygoing, and gentle.
Treble
Characteristics we want to avoid and their associated terms – bright, tizzy, forward,
aggressive, hard, brittle, edgy, dry, white, bleached, wiry, metallic, sterile, analytical,
screechy, and grainy. Examples are overemphasized cymbals, excessive sibilance in
vocals, violins that are thin. A recording with too much treble is bright. Primary region
is 3K to 6K.
Tizzy is too much upper treble, 6K to 10K. Causes a whitening of sound. Tizzy cymbals
have too much emphasis in upper harmonics – the sizzle and air that rides on a main
cymbal. Examples are a sssss and a ssshhhh sound.
Hard, brittle and metallic are a unique harmonic structure that reminds on of metal being
struck.
White and bleached are similar to bright. A thinness in the treble with lack of energy in
the upper midrange. No supporting harmonic structure beneath it.
Graininess is a coarseness overlaying of treble textures, i.e., massed violins, flute, and
female voice.
Good treble performance – smooth, soft, silky, gentle, liquid, and lush. If a treble is
overly smooth it is rolled-off or syrupy. Suggests a colored sound.
Midrange
If the midrange is not right, nothing else matters!!!!!
Most musical energy is in midrange and the ear is most sensitive to midrange, 800Hz to
3K.
Midrange colorations are common problems. A speaking voice coloration might
emphasize aaww, a bit lower in the register might emphasis ooohhh, while a higher pitch
might emphasize eeee or hooty.
Terms to describe poor performance in the midrange are peaky, colored, chesty, boxy,
nasal, congested, honky, and thick.
Too much midrange can make the presentation seem forward and “in your face. A
midrange with a dip in the response will give the impression of greater distance between
you and the presentation.
Grainy can also apply to the midrange and can be more objectionable that treble grain –
coarseness of instrumental and vocal textures.
Midrange textures can also sound hard and brittle. Hard textures are usually apparent on
massed voices. A chorus can sound glassy, shiny or synthetic. This problem gets worse
as the chorus’s volume increases. A piano can reveal hard midrange textures with the
upper notes as brittle. When the midrange lacks those artifacts, the texture is liquid,
smooth, sweet, velvety and lush.
Stridency is also a problem in the midrange. Think of stridency as a combination of
thinness (lack of warmth), hardness, and forwardness all in the midrange.
Many of the midrange and treble issues can be grouped together under the term
harshness.
Bass
Low frequencies constitute music’s tonal foundation and the rhythmic anchor.
Most often misunderstood.
It is the age old saying, it is not the quantity, but the quality. Not enough to hear a thud,
but we want to hear subtlety and nuance also.
Biggest problem is lack of pitch definition or articulation. These terms describe the
ability to hear bass as individual notes with attack, decay and specific pitch. When you
hear recordings without pitch definition and articulation, you do not hear precise notes,
but a blur of sound. The bass line also plays an important rhythmic role.
Be careful of the relationships between the bass guitar and the kick drum in mediums that
have those instruments. Make sure they do not overpower making the recording muddy,
thick, boomy, bloated, tubby, soft, fat, congested, loose, and slow.
Terms that describe fine bass production include taut, quick, clean, articulate, agile,
tight, and precise.
Too little bass is thin, lean, threadbare, or over damped. Overly lean presentation robs
music of vitality, drive, depth and majesty. It will have no warmth and body.
Midrange terms and colorations that also apply to upper bass are chesty, thick, and
congested.
Bass lines should have impact, punch, and slam. As aspect of the bass is speed relating
to the attack. Other negative bass qualities are overhang – the energy in a note that
continues past the normal decay of a note. This normally is with a kick drum sounding
bloated or slow.
Soundstage
Width, depth and imagining. This is created in the brain by the time and amplitude
differences.
Poor soundstage is narrow, constricted, flat and shallow.
Terms for soundstaging – focused, tight, delineated, and sharp. Poor soundstage is
homogenized, blurred, confused, congested, thick and lacking focus.
Bloom is the impression of or the halo of air around instruments.
Transparent or see-through has a life like quality. One can see the details. The opposite
is thick, murky and opaque. Veiling is often used to describe a lack of transparency.
Dynamics
Macro dynamics applies to the presentation’s overall sense of slam, impact and power.
Micro dynamics applies to the presentation’s smaller view. Those sounds need dynamic
structure that is not loud, i.e., a triangle.
These characteristics are associated with transient response – the ability to respond
quickly.
Detail
The ability to hear timbre, dynamics, transient signals and harmonic structure.
Pace, Rhythm, and Timing.
This applies to a recording/system’s ability to involve the listener in the music’s forward
flow and drive.
Coherence
A description that the music is integrated into a satisfying whole, not merely a collection
of bass, midrange and treble. A feeling or rightness and musical naturalness.
Musicality
Is not any one aspect of all the above. It is the gestalt – everything. It is involvement in
the music. Anything that detracts or draws to it your attention, removes that recording
from the MUSICAL.
It is like looking at a flower, you can identify all the parts, but if they do not fit together,
you cannot look at the flower for its inherent beauty.
RECORDING
Develop your philosophy
Select and engineer and producer that match your desired goals. What is your sound?
Multi-microphone to multi-track
Minimal-microphone to two track
Multi-microphone
The more microphones, the smaller the sound stage.
Soundstage is usually manufactured after the fact.
Time intensive – especially in the editing process
The musical responsibility for balance, dynamics etc. shifts more to the producer (the
mixer) than the conductor and the ensemble!
Minimal-microphone
Fewer microphones, the larger the soundstage
Establishing the perfect relationship of distance of microphones to ensemble to capture
BOTH the hall and the ensemble.
Once recorded, levels within the ensemble cannot be altered.
Placed the musical responsibility (balance, dynamics, etc.) on the conductor and the
ensemble!
Roles and Responsibilities of an Engineer
Capture the acoustical product – timbre, soundstage, macro and micro dynamics, monitor
levels and ensure that the equipment is functioning perfectly.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Producer
The producer is the gate-keeper of the session.
Ensures that all takes cover the musical material.
Works with the conductor to capture the desired musical product without the distractions
of musical and external issues.
Location
Green Room for engineer and producer with appropriate electoral support.
Hall Concerns
Record in a concert hall for a natural acoustic. Hall needs a minimum of 1.5 seconds of
reverb.
Check for these issues before renting the hall
Flutter (slap-back)
HVAC (Air Conditioning and Heating)
External noise
Lights – hum
Temperature and Humidity control
General Concerns and Matters
Start the session at a reasonable time.
Allow for the first hour of the session to be used for balances and levels
Scheduling: Two three hour sessions with a two hour lunch break – no more.
Breaks – every hour break for 15 min.
Water
Comfortable clothes
Soft sole shoes
Towels for mutes
Silence following release – at least seven seconds (recorded silence is used by the
engineer)
Begin each intercut a few bars before and to past the desired repair.
Editing
An imperative step in the creative process.
Edits should be invisible and seamless.
Work on apparent levels between songs or cuts.
Edited sections should all have the same room characteristics (room acoustic, timbre,
tempi, etc.).
Mastering
This is the last step in the process before production.
Last chance to repair timbre, balance, reverberation, and level issues.
Care in the Mastering process is imperative. Not all mastering engineers hear the same.
You have the final approval.
Make value judgments with best resources available. Not all equipment sounds the same,
which will affect the timbre and balance of the recording. (e.g. Szell and Cleveland)
RECORDING COSTS
TITLE:
RECORDING DATE:
SUBMISSION DATE:
HALL:
Rental
Security
Ancillary costs
(union hall, shell, risers, harp, piano,
piano tuning, stagehands, lighting engineer,
sound engineer, administration charges,
meal or catering charges)
______________
______________
______________
TOTAL HALL EXPENSES:
LOCATION RECORDING:
Engineer's daily recording and editing fee
Number of days recording and editing
Total
LP mastering
CD preparation
Engineer's travel expenses
Plane fare
Car rental
Miscellaneous expenses
Engineer's total travel expenses
Equipment shipping and insuring
Tape cost
Analog
Digital
Additional equipment
TOTAL LOCATION RECORDING:
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STUDIO RECORDING:
Studio rental per hour
Number of studio hours
Total studio rental
Additional studio expenses
(mixing console, recorders, processors,
effects, monitor systems, instruments,
microphones, 24 or 32 tracks, digital
or analog)
______________
______________
______________
Additional engineers
LP mastering
CD preparation
Tape cost
Analog
Digital
TOTAL STUDIO COST:
EXPENSES FOR MUSICIANS:
Number of personnel
Daily pay
Number of days
Total daily pay
Expenses (transportation,
meals, equipment)
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TOTAL EXPENSES FOR MUSICIANS
EXPENSES FOR RECORDING TEAM
Plane fare
Car rental
Hotel
Miscellaneous expenses
TOTAL COST:
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DESIGN:
Layout
Typesetting
Artwork
Shipping expenses
TOTAL DESIGN:
PRINTING AND FABRICATION:
Coloring
__2 color separation
__3 color separation
__4 color separation
__5 color separation
Camera readying
LP Jackets
LP sleeves
CD booklets (__ pages)
CD inlay cards
CD cases and assembly
Shrink wrapping
TOTAL PRINTING AND FABRICATION:
PRESSING:
LP
CD
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TOTAL PRESSING:
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DELIVERY:
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TOTAL:
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SUMMARY
HALL:
LOCATION RECORDING:
STUDIO RECORDING:
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EXPENSES FOR ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS:
TRAVEL COSTS TO EDIT MASTER TAPE:
DESIGN:
PRINTING AND FABRICATION:
PRESSING:
DELIVERY:
TOTAL:
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LENGTH (minutes):
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COST PER MINUTE:
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(Recording Costs divided by Length of Recording)
UNITS:
Number of LPs
_______
Number of CDs
_______
COST PER UNIT:
LPs
_______
CDs
_______
OVERALL COST PER UNIT:
_______
(Production and Recording Costs divided by Number of Units)
Make sure to have fun. You are making a recording, you are not curing cancer!
Make great art, and if you cannot do that, make a CD. 