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Recording clarinet for performance exams

Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-08-30 12:35

Hi,

I've been doing some tests to see which of the various microphones that I have access to are best at recording my clarinet, so that I can use one of them for an ABRSM performance exam later in the year. Apparently we can send video now rather than appearing in person.

I figure that since so many of us are sending music through digital means these days, this might be of interest to other non-professionals like myself, who have limited access to audio recording kit.

I tried two cameras (Canon 5D MkII DSLR and Canon Powershot SX210 IS), a webcam (Logitech 1080p) and a USB conference microphone (Jabra speak 410).

The cameras recorded in MOV format and the films were uploaded directly to Youtube.

The microphones were recorded using Adobe CS3 Soundbooth on a windows PC and saved in WAV format. These two were then amalgamated into a single video in Windows Movie maker, saved out as mp4 and uploaded to youtube.

For an actual performance exam, no processing is allowed, so I would need to find a way to use the microphones to record video and sound together and save directly to a single file.

The ABRSM recommends using things like a smartphone or tablet, but I don't have either of those, so haven't tested them for comparison. I'd be interested to see other people's uploads from those devices for comparison if anyone would like to join in.

The webcam sounds best to me at low pitches but cracks up wildly on the high notes. The conference microphone was not so good overall, I thought, but did at least capture all of the notes.

I think maybe the powershot sounds a bit nicer than the DSLR but I'm not sure what I'm meant to be looking for tbh. Maybe the DSLR is more honest, while the powershot is smoothing things out and making them sound better than they are?

These are my videos:

Webcam and conference microphone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYDxamE-jRg

Canon Powershot SX210 IS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO7hmITbYUE

Canon 5D MkII DSLR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FYnD6ZZ8Z4

Apologies in advance for the uninspired clarinet playing. I did my Grade 5 theory exam online a couple of days ago and I am not very lively at all today. :-)

Any opinions on the different microphones from people with more finely tuned ears than mine would be gratefully received. :-)

Thanks!

Jen

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