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Re: How to get an accurate recording

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-10-29 14:31

And then we also may be chasing a phantom.

I recall the first time I paid to be recorded in a studio (it wasn't cheap). The result was much less satisfying than some of my earlier attempts with questionable consumer products at my school's band room or the local church.

TWO POINTS HERE

ONE: The recorded sound (or rather the playback sound of the recorded sound) has an innumerable amount of variables to it (the addition or subtraction of color, reverberation, distance from the listener, separation, spacial perception etc). One single 'take' can sound almost infinitely different just based on the whims of the recording engineer (that is, if there even is a competent decision maker involved in this process).

TWO: The clarinet is notoriously difficult to record satisfactorily in the first place. It's and omnidirectional instrument (the sound doesn't spew out of one point like the human voice or a trumpet). Much of the sound also comes from room interactions (even in large halls). Try playing outside in the middle of a grassy lawn (for as long as you can stand it). That's the opposite of playing in the bathroom (lots of bouncing off tile surfaces).

I don't necessarily think we are good at filtering out the extraneous and superficial aspects of the sounds we hear. What is really important is how we subtly phrase a passage of music, how we stop and start notes, how much resonance we achieve (can you always feel the clarinet vibrate under your fingers?).

For me, listening (and I mean REALLY, OBJECTIVELY listening) to yourself in the moment is the most important aspect of practice and performance. I recently saw a student put on headphones to listen to his favorite pop music and then he sat down and started practicing scales. I just about fell over.

.............Paul Aviles

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