 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetmom
Date: 2005-11-01 00:47
One of the colleges my daughter is applying to has requested an audition cd. Can this be done on a home computer?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-11-01 00:56
I do live remote recordings of classical music on my laptop, but you do need appropriate software, an interface and good mics to get the job done.
If this is a one-off project, you are far better to find someone with experience in recording classical music, than trying to learn it yourself.
Quick rule of thumb for recognizing the wrong type of engineer: there's a microphone close enough for the player to bump the bell of their instrument on it.
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-11-01 00:57
Forgot to mention - there are several clips on my own page of recordings I've done (played/engineered or both!)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-11-01 01:03
Is there a college nearby with recording facilities? Maybe you can find an upper level student in a music recording program that might be pretty cheap and use the college equipment. You'll save some money, and they'll gain some experience.
(saw this going on at my college about two weeks ago . . . someone recording a drum solo with various mic's set up around the kit)
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: hans
Date: 2005-11-01 13:33
clarinetmom,
I recall that it was pointed out some time ago (by one of our moderators, I think) that using a PC is likely to record the noise from the PC's fans and other rotating parts, resulting in less than optimal recording.
If you can record to a cassette, I would be happy to transfer the cassette to CD for you on my stereo system's CD recorder.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2005-11-01 14:28
Depending on how loud the PC is, its parts may be the least of your worries, as recordings "at home" tend to pick up ticking clocks, refrigerators, airplanes, cars, neighbors, etc. However, with a proper equipment and settings, PC noise can be made negligible, especially for the purposes of an audition tape.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: metajack
Date: 2005-11-01 15:46
While PC and household noise is definately a problem, there are ways to work around this. For recording singing, the trick is always to get yourself and a microphone under a big thick blanket and sing there. The blanket provides the acoustic deadness that you want, and insulates against a lot of ambient noise. You could probably do the same thing with the clarinet. Just setup some blankets and experiment.
For the software to do the actual recording, I highly recommend the open source audio editor Audacity, which runs on PCs, Macs, and Linux. You can download Audacity here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Here in Albuquerque there are pretty cheap small studios that local rock bands use to make demos. I'm sure there is something similar in almost every city.
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-11-01 19:09
"While PC and household noise is definately a problem, there are ways to work around this. For recording singing, the trick is always to get yourself and a microphone under a big thick blanket and sing there. The blanket provides the acoustic deadness that you want, and insulates against a lot of ambient noise. You could probably do the same thing with the clarinet. Just setup some blankets and experiment."
I really hope that's meant to be a joke.
(The advice about getting Audacity is good though.)
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Author: metajack
Date: 2005-11-01 19:56
Merlin wrote:
> I really hope that's meant to be a joke.
Why? I do this all the time to quiet down my own electronics. For instance, I put the foam inserts they use to ship laptops back and forth behind my iMac and it prevents the sound reflections and thus makes the computer several dB quieter. I do the same thing in my closet where the loud stuff goes and it dampens the sound enough that I can't hear it through the thin wooden door.
A few strategically placed blankets could dampen the room acoustics enough that you could get a half decent recording in a room that is otherwise not acoustically suitable.
Sure, it's not $1500 a pop special materials like you'd find in a fancy studio, but the principle is the same, and it does work.
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2005-11-02 00:38
We used to do something along these lines to "muffle" the pit orchestra at venues where there was no pit. Some roll carpeting inside of a "wall" made of studs with no real "structure" that surrounds the musicians sitting there on the floor deadens things enough that you can play at reasonable volume levels and still not overwhelm the folks on stage.
Another quick and easy solution was to carpet the "floor" of the pit. Doing this would reduce volume by one level, and could use any old carpet that the venue might have laying around. You always kept the floor under the strings bare, though.
In a pit, if you have trouble with the brass cutting through too strongly, putting up a layer on the portion of the stage below the lip (the overhang on the back side of the pit, the part that faces the audience) can cut down the edge quite a bit. (The brass sound hits the wall behind the conductor, then bounces off of the lip over the brass players, and then reflects out into the audience.)
Some of the rock magazines have the occasional article on setting up a recording environment. Blankets and foam blocks are all part of the tricks that are used. Just because all they know is fff doesn't mean that they don't have the occasional very good idea.
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: msloss
Date: 2005-11-02 03:05
Oh dear god, is this a conspiracy to make sure this nice lady's daughter does not get into school?
I mean this with all sincerity -- go to a studio with experience recording acoustic and particularly classical music, spend the money, and do it right. You are going to spend untold sums on school. It is worth it to invest $300 - $500 to get a professionally done audition tape. It will cast your daughter in the best possible light, so that they are judging her playing without the shadow of a poor recording. Something as seemingly simple as the choice of microphone can make all the difference when recording clarinet, which I can tell you from extensive experience is brutally hard to mic well.
Feel free to email me offline if you'd like to discuss the details of what you should be looking for.
Mark Sloss
Splendid Isolation Studios
Northbranch Records, LLC
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-11-02 03:45
"Why? I do this all the time to quiet down my own electronics. For instance, I put the foam inserts they use to ship laptops back and forth behind my iMac and it prevents the sound reflections and thus makes the computer several dB quieter. I do the same thing in my closet where the loud stuff goes and it dampens the sound enough that I can't hear it through the thin wooden door."
Agreed, however, the posted I quoted advocated placing the performer under the blankets! Definitely NOT the way to get a good recording of a clarinet in a classical context.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2005-11-02 04:23
If you are seriously interested in the school that has requested the audition CD or if there is significant scholarship money involved, listen to Mark S. I can guarantee that some, if not most, of your competition will use a professional studio.
The local studio that just recorded our daughter -- we wanted some recordings to include as supplements to her college applications -- charged $80 per hour for off-peak time plus $5 for the "master" CD they burned for us. Audacity (and Cool Edit Pro, for that matter) pale in comparison to the software they had. They also had a variety of microphones, a small grand piano (in the studio we used) and a wizard for an engineer. We did not edit but rather chose the better of two takes from each of four songs. For about $125 plus tax and maybe $100 for an accompanist, we got stunning results.
And it was done in two afternoons -- one rehearsing with the accompanist for about an hour and the other an hour-and-a-half in the studio. Compare that time commitment to the time it will take you to download, install and learn to use hobbyist recording software, the cost and effort involved in finding and purchasing the right microphones, the time to set up your home "studio" (unless your daughter just crawls under a blanket), the time spent experimenting with software settings to find acceptable ones, and the time spent producing the final CD. And when you're done, you'll almost certainly have an inferior product.
Just make sure your daughter is well-rehearsed before you go into the studio.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2005-11-02 06:00
Mark Sloss' advice is very good. Just learning how to record yourself with a reasonable result will take a lot of time.
I have some experience being recorded on calrinet and bass clarinet, both in studios and at my home, and I can advise you to find a studio with experience recording clarinets. Maybe if you know a clarinetist friend you trust that can recommend a place. I had the misfortune of being recorded in a very high end studio with the best equipemnt, but the recording engineer didn't have a clue how to record the clarinets. The result was horrible.
One time the sound engineer in my university recorded me, and although he has pretty good equipment, it is not nearly as good as that studio, but the result was the best I had. It is because he has a lot of experience with all the classical instruments and he records a lot of concerts in the university.
So again, listen to Mark Sloss.
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2005-11-02 06:25
It is worth it to invest $300 - $500 to get a professionally done audition tape.
She might as well audition in person. I'm auditioning for schools now too, and that kind of figure to not go and see the place and have all the "perks" of only doing a live audition seems obnoxious.
Bradley
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Author: clarinetmom
Date: 2005-11-02 15:20
Bradley,
This has nothing to do with auditioning in person. I agree completely with you, my daughter has scheduled all live auditions at each school she is applying to.
Bard College's new Conservatory of Music will not even schedule you for a live audition without you sending them an audition cd first. I'm assuming since they will only have approximately 60 students in the school, they are being extraordinarily careful about who they have audition.
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-11-02 23:32
I agree that you should go to a studio and get it done. It sounds like a bigger deal than it is. It is quite commonly done nowadays, it's not just for professionals. You will be surprised to find that there are more facilities in your area than you thought. Check with your daughter's teacher, or the local music stores or high school music teachers, they will know where to go in your area.
Sue Tansey
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2005-11-16 09:20
And remember, folks, the sound comes out of the holes!
No, seriously... the noise out of the bottom end records very coarse. A microphone in front of the player picks up a much more representative sound.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-11-16 15:13
My teacher, the Principle for the Spokane orchestra makes it a practice (!) to keep up with auditions. He has to send an audition recording of material chosen by the orchestra.
He has a month, so he'll practice the audition material and then record it --like twice-- on a pocket-sized digital recorder; pick the better performance and send them off.
He'll do this in his studio, which is a hardwood floored, plaster-walled converted bedroom
He seems to think that the quality of the playing is more important than the production values.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-11-17 00:15
Don't know how long Chip Phillips has been in Spokane, I'll ask next Monday.
Bob Phillips
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