Contents
Glossary of terms, acronyms, and abbreviations
Glossary of recording attributes
1 Acoustics and the recording venue
1.1 Brief introduction to room acoustics
1.2 What to be aware of when looking at a venue
1.3 What can you do to help with poor acoustics?
2 Studio techniques and working on location
2.2 Practicalities at the recording venue
2.3 Rigging microphones and running cables
2.5 Studio communications: talkback, telephones, and cue lights
2.6 Optimising recording workflow
3 Basic two-microphone stereo techniques
3.1 Co-incident microphone techniques
3.3 Spaced and angled cardioids
4.1 Classical guitar and flamenco guitar
5.1 The nature of the sound of a piano
5.2 The physical layout of a grand piano
5.5 Recording a solo piano: the spaced pair
5.7 Techniques for other scenarios
5.8 Practical issues when recording pianos
6.1 The singer in a recording session
6.2 The classical voice and microphone placement
6.3 Using two microphones on the voice
6.7 Studio recording and reverse concert positions
6.8 Classical voice and lute/theorbo/guitar
6.9 Mixing and fader riding for a singer
7.1 Violin and piano in concert
7.2 Violin and piano: studio layout
7.3 Cello and piano in concert
7.4 Cello and piano: studio layout
8.2 The three- and five-microphone trees
8.3 The four-microphone Decca Tree
8.4 Microphones for the Decca Tree
8.6 Notes on the evolution of the Decca Tree
9.1 What do we mean by ‘ancillary’?
9.2 Perception of orchestral depth and perspective
9.3 General notes on placement of ancillary microphones
9.4 Panning and levels of ancillary microphones
9.9 Other string sectional microphones
10.1 Purpose of surround sound in classical music recording
10.2 Panning a Decca Tree in 5.1 surround
10.3 Natural reverberation: additional microphones for 5.1 surround
10.4 Artificial reverberation in 5.1 surround
10.5 Offstage effects in surround: location of sources behind the listener
10.6 Object-based audio: Dolby Atmos
11 Solo instruments and orchestra
11.1 Piano concerto: studio layouts
11.2 Single piano concerto: concert layout
11.3 Piano concerto conducted from the keyboard
11.4 A note on the size of the grand piano
11.5 Violin concerto: studio layouts
11.6 Violin concerto: concert layout
11.7 Wind concertos: studio and concert layouts
11.8 Cello concerto: studio and concert layouts
11.9 Guitar concerto: studio layout
11.10 Brass concertos: studio and concert layouts
12.1 String quartet in studio layout
12.2 String quartet in concert
12.3 Piano quintet: studio and concert techniques
12.4 Piano quintet: reverse-seated studio position
12.5 Piano trio: studio and concert techniques
12.6 Small wind ensembles: studio or concert layout
13 Wind, brass, and percussion bands
13.1 A note about dynamic range and ear protection
14.1 Brief introduction to the pipe organ
14.2 Doing a venue reconnoitre
14.3 Microphone choices, stands, and cable runs
14.4 Basic technique: straightforward organ layout
14.5 Organs with pipe divisions in several locations
14.6 Interesting acoustic effects and other awkward corners
14.8 Communication: talk microphone
14.11 Organ with orchestra: overdubbing or simultaneous recording
15.1 General notes on microphone choice and placement
15.5 Choral society with soloists and organ in concert
16 Solo voice, orchestra, and choir
16.2 Orchestra and choir with stationary soloists
16.3 Recording live opera for cinema, DVD, TV, radio, or CD
16.4 Recording live opera at the Royal Opera House: microphone set-ups
16.5 Mixing opera to 5.1 surround for cinema
part iii
After the recording session
17.1 Choosing and blending microphone sources into a static balance
17.2 Riding levels on ancillary microphones
17.3 Use of EQ and high-pass filters
17.5 Reverb: natural and artificial
18 Editing and post-production
18.1 Aims and philosophy of editing
18.2 Requirements of a classical editing system
18.3 Source-destination editing
18.4 Classical post-production workflow
18.5 Refining edits: how to solve problems and maintain musical flow
18.6 Notes on working with different instruments
18.8 Emergency measures: sampling piano notes and note removal
18.9 Professional finish: joining into room tone
19.3 Tops and tails: room tone, breaths, noises, and fades
19.4 Levels between tracks, compression, and loudness meters
19.5 Placing track markers for CD mastering
Appendix 1 Opera recording: practices at Decca from the 1950s to the 1990s
Appendix 2 Cheaper alternatives to classic microphones
Appendix 3 Original session set-up sheets
Appendix 4 Orchestral layout notation