ChoralTech: Recording In!

The idea of sharing audio with our friends, be it for practice or entertainment, isn’t a new one. Mixtapes, practice tapes and sing-along recordings have been around as long as we’ve been able to put sound to recording. Now, though, the ability to record is so ubiquitous that people are often lost on even how to start. No matter where you’re reading ChoralNet, you’re likely surrounded by multiple ways of recording audio to share a moment in rehearsal, an inspiring performance or just a fun snippet of improvisation to demonstrate an idea. This week, we’re going to look at easy ways to record audio and get the audio into your recording device. Next week, we’ll look at “Recording Out”– what to do with that audio once you have it.

 

We can basically divide your recording options into three categories.

 

I don’t want to do/buy/add anything.

 

Smartphones, your laptop or desktop computers and tablets all have microphones built into them. Use them! Depending on what device you’re using, there are many free recording apps and programs available to you. The microphones in these devices are not the highest in quality, and I probably wouldn’t use a cell phone video for a commercial of my choir, but when your group has a section just how you want it– record it using anybody’s smartphone to have a reference for all to practice with. A recording of the accompaniment will also be just fine coming from the mic built into any of these devices. If you’re using a computer, you’ll want to check one thing first– open up your Sound control panel (or System Preferences, if you’re a Mac user), and make sure that the Input/Microphone volume is turned up. 99.9% of the “this doesn’t record anything!” questions that I get are because this volume isn’t turned on.

 

Aside from audio, many smartphones and most tablets and laptops have video cameras or webcams built into them. Instant video so your choristers can see your conducting as they practice!

 

I have a computer, but I’d like a little bit better recording.

 

If you or any member of your choir has a laptop (“if?”), you can have a mobile recording setup that easily surpasses most of your recording needs. A USB mic or video recorder will record considerably higher quality video or audio, and these devices are less expensive than you may think. Devices such as the Zoom Q2HD (video and audio) or H2N (audio alone) allow you to capture remarkably high-quality recordings in one or two button pushes. Since the process is all digital, there are no tapes to worry about, and if you record with them connected to a laptop computer, the files will be saved right to your computer for easy access. These devices can also be taken anywhere to record away from a computer, so if you have an outdoor recording or a quick need for the sectional to run into the stairwell, it’s easy to record on the go.

 

For between $200-$300, there are a number of these devices available. No matter which you’re looking at, search on YouTube to see user reviews and tutorials. For some reason, people with easy video recording tend to really like to share video!

 

Gimme the big shiny toys!

 

If you want the professional setup to record your next CD, or you want a really finely tuned setup, the sky is the limit. A brief story before we get to the logistics, though:

 

In 2010, I participated in the opening of a new campus, and was told to outfit the room as I saw fit. I chose to buy a mixer board (16 channels) with a USB connection. My theory was that this would let me do lots of high-quality recording, as well as letting me take a good sound board on the road for concerts. I figured out a great way to do spot checks on singers before concerts– I would have one section line up on the floor in front of the risers while the others stayed in position. In front of each singer, I put a microphone. We would sing through an exceprt enough times so that everyone in the choir eventually sang with a mic in front of them.

 

After the rehearsal, I would replay the recordings and randomly hit the “solo” button– this button turns off all the other channels. In the end, I could listen to any member of the choir without any of them having to sing by themselves, and I got recordings that I could (if needed) play back for students to coach individual elements of tone or performance. Now taking my truth serum, the setup demanded was intense, and only the most inspired should undertake that with anything more than a small group, but I give you that as an example of how you can use these devices very flexibly and creatively to get more feedback and information than you might have ever imagined about your singers and their music.

 

If you’re going to buy a dedicated mixer-with-recording, or a portable music station, consider that you’ll need a device itself, a microphone, cables and a good set of headphones. That last point is perhaps the most important, and applies to any method of recording: a good set of headphones makes an enormous difference in your ability to listen critically to recordings of your groups.

 

How about you?

What is your recording setup? What do you have around you that you can use in your next rehearsal to record?

Next week… what do we do with this audio once we get it?