Recording Practice: Grand Piano Analysis
This analysis consists of the approaches of mic'ing up a baby grand piano. The process will draw up the significant differences between mic’ing an up right and grand piano. The analysis will consider the chosen microphone techniques and a conclusion will be drawn to determine firstly; the preference to either using grand or upright and secondly, the methods that may benefit the classical recording.
Method one: Spaced 414′s Cardioid
The 414 microphone carries with it varying polar patterns. The omnidirectional pattern is a common choice for recording classical music (Collins, 2014). This may be due to the means of recording in a concert hall. The increase in room ambience also provides a natural ambience that can be complimenting to acoustic nature of the instruments used in the classical genre.
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-spaced-cardioid?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
The above picture shows the 414′s placed towards the ends of the piano angled inwards over the hammers. The result is a rather warm, mellow tone which is quite complimentary towards the natural acoustic qualities of the instrument. The recording picks up the sound of the foot pedals which is undesirable as it may distract the listener from the performance. There are however, ways in which the unwanted noises can be reduced. These include; oiling the pedals and placing cloth within the mechanism to reduce thumping noises (Bartlett, 2013).
Spaced 414′s Omnidirectional: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-omni-inside
The omnidirectional pattern produces a more resonant sound which appears to remove some of the warmth and clarity. However, the increased ambience appears to better represent the natural tone of the instrument while, the cardioid pattern applies a noticeably unnatural, dry result. From a creative standpoint, the natural reflections obtained in the omni pattern produce a realistic and emphasised resonance. The emphasised resonance offers a somewhat displeasing tone and so, form a creative standpoint, the warmth and fullness of the cardioid pattern makes up for the dry recording as it appears more to be more complimentary to the sound source.
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/184-spaced?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
The photo previous photo also shows how the 184′s are placed closer together than the 414′s. From carrying out the experiment with the upright piano, it was clear that this microphone resulted in a much smaller tone with a reduction in mids and so, placing these microphones towards the middle of the grand piano has allowed for a much more balanced recording that focuses on the body of the piano. This recording does not carry the same warmth as the 414′s. However, this may prove beneficial when controlling the low end against the acoustic guitar and violin tracks by reducing the risk of clouding the mix with low frequencies.
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/184-nos?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
The NOS position was not previously considered when choosing microphone techniques for this project. However, this techniques is essentially an elaboration of the ORTF position in that it relies on placing the microphones at a specific distance and angle apart. The difference is that the gap between the NOS position is wider than the ORTF position. The microphones were placed just a few inches above the piano in order for them to pick up a strong, clear signal. To keep in line with the previous technique and maintain consistency, they were placed above the hammers in an attempt to capture the attack of the piano. The result consists of a small, direct tone with emphasis on the higher frequencies and controlled, minimal low end frequencies.
Method 4: Blumlein Vertical
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-blumlein-vertical?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
Similarly to the NOS position, this technique was not considered for the experiment. However, after collaborating with Alex Johnson, peer, (personal communication in studio, 2016), it seemed appropriate to test this method. There was some experimentation with regards to distance between the microphones and the piano before obtaining the desired sound. Consequently, this technique resulted in possibly the most balanced and accurate depiction of the piano. The low end is controlled and not overpowering while, there is no emphasis in mids or high end to detract from the quality of the performance.
Method 5: Blumlein Horizontal
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-blumlein-horizontal?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
Another approach to the Blumlein technique was to place the microphones horizontally. This resulted in a much more ambient recording. Similarly to the vertical position, the recording appears to be well balanced and full. The difference mainly resides in the fact that this position has picked up a much more resonant tone which provides the piano with a more natural ambience. This may be more beneficial with regards to retaining the aesthetic value of the classical genre. Upon discussion with Alex Johnson (personal communication, 2016), the preference still remained with the vertical position of this technique as the tonal quality maintained the richness of the piano.
Method 6: Spaced Lid open Omnidirectional
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-spaced-open-lid-omni?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
This technique shows just how much the position of a microphone is able to affect the quality of the recording. Initially, this recording is a rather unpleasant, muddy and resonant depiction of the piano. In comparison to the the 414 spaced pair inside the piano, it is clear that this technique picks up much more natural ambience but reduces the balance of the instruments frequency range.
One important aspect to consider is the polar pattern. In an attempt to improve the tonal quality, the pattern was switched from omnidirectional to cardioid. The following track shows the result of changing to the omnidirectional polar pattern:
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-spaced-open-lid-cardioid?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
The result unfortunately further decreases the quality of the microphones response to the sound source. However, The microphone has reduced the natural ambience due to the directional polar pattern. This has regained some of the control of the balance. The colouration of this approach is still not a complimentary audible representation of the range of the piano which may likely get lost next to the guitar and violin tracks.
Method 7: Spaced, lid closed Cardioid
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/414-spaced-closed-lid-cardioid?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
The final attempt of the spaced pair technique was to close the lid of the piano. Darren Jones (2016) explains how closing the lid of a piano effectively compromises the instrument’s tone right at the source. However, the idea behind closing it is that it may reduce the unpleasant resonance of the piano. The result consisted of a significant difference to the two other approaches in that, it created a much deeper, warmer tone. However, understandably the recording shows how closing the lid has added a colouration of muddiness to the track.
Method 8: 184 Performer’s perspective lid open
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/184-behind-ear-open-lid?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
The final technique was to place the 184′s behind the performer’s ears as a way of picking up what they are effectively hearing. The first attempt was with the piano lid open. Similarly to the 414 spaced pair, this technique resulted in a rather resonant and ambient tone. However, this recording carried much more fullness than the 414 attempt although, there appears to be an unpleasant slight emphasis on the mid range which detracts from the initial performance.
The lid of the piano was then closed to hear the differentiation in how this techniques captures the frequencies. The result was a slightly smaller, subtly drier recording although, the fulness of piano was somewhat retained.
Track: https://soundcloud.com/r-koszalinski/184-behind-ear-closed?in=r-koszalinski/sets/grand-piano-practice
Overall, the grand piano offered a much more pleasurable tone than the upright. However, the instrument was a lot more complex in nature and required a lot more consideration in terms of carrying out the experiment within the time frame. Similarly to the upright piano, this experiment also produced many interesting results. One pattern that formed was how the microphones reacted to the lid of the piano. For example, the lid down produced a slightly drier, coloured outcome than with the lid open. This is most notable with the 184 behind the ear recordings. Jones (2016, p365) explains how the sound of the piano “propagates best” when the lid is left open. A lot of results were produced from this experiment and so, it was much more challenging to choose the techniques that would be most appropriate for the classical piece.
A brief guideline/check list of requirements was created that will be used to support achieving the intended outcome. This check list initially spawned from the reference track. For example, having little to no unwanted noise such as foot pedals, breathing etc. was essential to avoid distraction from the performance. The piano would also need to have a good balance of frequencies across the spectrum without having too much emphasis or reduction in areas that would interfere with the overall quality of the mix. Finally, the tone would need to depict the acoustic nature of the piano to retain the timbrel qualities that relate to the naturalness of the classical genre. After a discussion with the pianist in this session Alex Johnson, peer (2016), the agreement was that the Blumlein vertical technique appeared to be most suitable and pleasing result of this experiment. This appeared to have the best fit for the criteria. The overall tone complimented the natural characteristics of the instrument that were heard in the live room prior to recording. The performer’s perspective has also been considered due to bright quality obtained by the 184′s.
