Once you have determined what to record and why, next comes how.
Whether you plan to record a twenty-minute demo or a full-length album, you have three options:
1. Record in a professional studio.
2. Hire an engineer to record “on location.”
3. Rent or borrow the equipment and do it yourself.
These are all good options. What matters is which one best fi ts your budget, timeline, and project.
Recording in a Studio
If you choose to record in a studio, keep in mind that rates vary depending on the studio’s equipment, location, and its local competition. Most studios do not provide concert-quality grand pianos; if you need one, you will face fewer choices and higher fees. In the Boston area, the hourly rates, as of this writing, range from $50 to $200 per hour. When choosing a studio, get ref-erences from trusted colleagues. Ask to hear samples of demos or any com-mercial releases. You may also want to visit or tour a prospective studio to make sure you’ll be comfortable recording there. Studios typically offer var-ious package deals with a certain number of recording hours, an engineer, and editing. Compare studio offerings carefully.
Recording on Location
The second option to consider is recording on location, most often in a per-formance venue. This is generally how classical recordings are done, to take advantage of the acoustics of a particular hall or to use a specifi c piano. In Boston, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall is used extensively for solo and chamber music recordings (Yo-Yo Ma records there).
Do some research to fi nd where musicians in your area record. If you have a church job or a teaching gig, you may be able to use a great space for free or at a discounted price. Be careful about the reverberation in the location. Look for an ambient (or room) sound that’s not too “boomy,” but warm and cush-ioned. When scouting potential sites, bring along a personal recorder, and try the space out, recording several phrases to get a sense of the acoustics.
Keep in mind that an inexpensive venue with great acoustics may not be a bargain if there is outside traffi c or indoor noise (such as heating or venti-lation) that interferes with the recording. For these reasons, some churches with superb acoustics can host recording sessions only in the spring and summer months between the hours of midnight and 4:00 a.m.
Do It Yourself
The third recording option is the DIY route. You can do it all yourself or en-list a friend with recording experience and equipment to help. If you have access to a space with good acoustics, you might be able to record with rented or borrowed equipment at minimal cost. As a graduate student, I re-corded demos at SUNY Stony Brook in the school’s concert hall and hired a fellow student as engineer. If you have the right equipment and know how to use it, almost any good acoustic space will work. If you need a piano, your choices are limited; if not, you have far more options. And yes, good demo recordings have been made in stairways and even in bathrooms.
At the start of your session, be sure to check levels and balance to avoid distortion. During playback, if you sound distant and you hear too much room sound or reverb, then place the microphones closer. Conversely, if the sound is too immediate and dry, the microphone is too close.
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How to Avoid “Studio Shock”
Musicians new to recording sessions may be surprised or thrown off guard when they fi rst hear their sound played back. There is often a difference between what we hear while we perform and what the recording equipment picks up. To avoid this shock, record yourself regularly. My advice is to purchase a portable mini recorder and use it every day in the practice room.
Professional percussionist Mark Worgaftik says that it was when he started re-cording himself regularly, as a grad student at Juilliard, that he really started to make substantial improvements in his playing. Mark thinks music students should be required to record practice sessions and rehearsals. Recording yourself helps you educate your ear.
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Preparation for the Recording Session
Come to your recording session absolutely prepared. Don’t waste expensive recording time with rehearsing. Many people fi nd it helps to memorize the repertoire they plan to record. This allows them to concentrate better and listen more carefully. If you plan to read from music, rearrange any page How and Where to Record 99
turns so that they can be done as silently as possible. Or you may need to bring a friend to turn pages.
Before your session, record run-throughs of entire movements using your own recording equipment. Listen to the playbacks for technical or in-terpretive points and for extraneous noise. If you have a habit of tapping your foot or making other sounds as you perform, now is the time to quit.
Notwithstanding Glenn Gould, Keith Jarrett, and Pablo Casals, no one wants to hear musicians hum and groan. Be careful of your breathing and any noisy body movements before and after each take—clean beginnings and endings are important.
If you plan to record in a studio, your practice recording sessions are best done in a dry or “dead” space, such as a carpeted room with a low ceil-ing. Get accustomed to how you sound in a nonreverberant space.
If you go the do-it-yourself route, practice using the equipment in ad-vance of your session. Try recording selections off the radio or a CD to make sure you can properly set the recording volume level.
What to Bring to Your Recording Session
R Two extra copies of the sheet music (scores for ensemble works). These are for your producer and engineer to make notes in; the scores you bring should be marked with measure numbers to save expensive recording time when you need to refer to specifi c phrases.
R Tuning fork or tuner.
R Metronome—to check the tempi of any repeated takes.
R Extra strings, reeds, valve oil, and any basic instrument repair equip-ment: expect the unexpected.
R Folding wire stand(s)—these do not block sound the way the solid metal ones do.
R Music stand lights: depending on the space, extra lighting may be necessary.
R Quick snack food in case your energy sags (bananas and power bars are good for this).
R Water: keep yourself hydrated.
R Layers: light weight shirts or sweaters so that you can adjust your comfort to the recording location temperature
R Your patience and sense of humor: you will need both!
Tips for Making the Session Run Smoothly
Warm up before your session, but not too much. Discuss (again) with your engineer the type of sound you want in the recording. At the start of your
session, record a few passages to check for balance and level. Listen to these brief playbacks and then re-check periodically during the recording session.
Plan the order of what you want to record, with an estimated time allot-ment for each piece or moveallot-ment, and keep to your schedule. Some musicians fi nd it best to record the most diffi cult works fi rst, when they are fresh and have the most energy. Others fi nd that starting with an easier movement or work is best because it establishes a level of comfort and confi dence.
In general, if you have not “nailed” a passage, section, or movement after three takes, you most likely will not get it in that session. If you have recorded a passage twice without getting it, take a short break or record something else and come back to it later. Don’t force it.
How much recording time do you need? Setup time to check equip-ment, arrange the mic placements, and establishing levels can take—de-pending on the group—up to an hour. The ratio of recording time to fi nished product is generally 4 to 1. To make a fi fteen-minute demo can eas-ily take over two hours. Be realistic: schedule enough time.
During the session, slate all the takes, announcing into the mic at the beginning of each recorded selection the name of the specifi c work or move-ment and the take number. For example, “Schubert Eb Trio, fi rst movement, take two.” This makes for easier editing afterward. Your producer can help by writing comments, noting which takes and segments are the most prom-ising, but you can do the same, so keep a notepad nearby.
Once the recording session is completed, the next step is editing. Wait a day or two before listening to all the takes. Give yourself (and your inner critic) a rest so that you can listen more objectively. You will need to decide which takes to use whole and which need edits. Depending on the equip-ment and expertise of your engineer, some performance glitches can be fi xed with editing. It can be relatively simple to splice together portions of two takes, depending on a number of factors, so ask your engineer. Come prepared to your editing session with a list of which takes and sections you want to use so that you don’t waste expensive time during the session.
If you plan to use the recording for more than demo purposes, the fi nal editing step is mastering. This is necessary for a polished, professional-qual-ity sound, as for commercial releases and necessary for radio broadcast use.
Mastering is a separate step done by a specialist with particular equipment and expertise. Ask for recommendations.
Whether you make a quick demo for a competition or a full-length album to sell at performances, there is more to it than simply recording the repertoire. There’s a range of issues to consider if you want to make your re-cording available in physical form.
How and Where to Record 101
The reason physical CDs persist is that fans still want to purchase some-thing tangible, a souvenir of sorts, when they attend live concerts. The for-mat may change, but having something physical that includes graphics and written information about the music, the performers, and composers is still compelling for audiences worldwide.