tips on recording a choir

[vencersu1]

mga sir? any tips? or maybe resources i can look at? 

[skin]

Stereo mics.  For portable ones, Zoom H1, H2n, etc.

[vencersu1]

Stereo mics.  For portable ones, Zoom H1, H2n, etc.

ok. Noted. Any suggestion on the method of recording? All at once? Per voice?

[Digidog78]

Provide more details para mas madaling sagutin  (i.e. no. of singers, equipment available, location of recording, etc)

Otherwise, just do a google search of "how to record choir" to have an idea.


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[Sound-Weavers.com]

When recording a choir, listen for a spot in the room./location where the choir's sound is balanced among the different voices (STAB). When you find a spot where the voices are balanced, listen for the room sound - depending on what you're going for (much room or less room). Easily and best recorded with stereo mics. Optional spot mics for solo singers.

Check these examples:

small room, solo and section mics

at Phlamlife Auditorium, 60% of sound from main stereo mic, several stereo pairs throughout the venue.

[skunkyfunk]

Issues in recording a choir:

1.  If the choir has very bad dynamics, good luck doing a live stereo recording session.
2.  Are they gonna follow a conductor?  A minusone? If they need playback, you need a crapload of headphones, which is not very common in most studios.  If you decide to use a wedge for playback, pumping out the right amount of volume to the wedge for the choir to hear will eventually give you bleed issues.  Can be good or bad.
3.  Multiple mics per section is good.  Individual mics are best if you wanna automate each voice to death. (Nag choir ka pa.)

[vencersu1]

Salamat po!  Im gonna use an 8 channel interface, and I'm planning to buy more mics. I already have just 4 condensers. Yes, they have a conductor and they will follow a minus one, and acapella i in some songs. They will record in a chapel that sounds nice when live. Hindi ko lang sure pag recorded. 

[inigo]

Dahil tayo ay budget studio:
1. Record a guide track. The choir can sing to a track played via your monitor speakers. Use your 4 condensers.
2. Using the guide track, record per-section at X singers at a time (depending on the number of headphones you have, times 2 if they can share).
3. Record soloists, if there are any. Soloists can also be recorded before the per-section thing, depends on their preference.

[Sound-Weavers.com]

My experience with choirs;
- best recorded altogether, singing as a group. A LOT of singers in a non-professional/semi-professional choir find it difficult to sing their parts independent of the other voices, they sort of "reference" their notes off off other voices (most of the time the melody). giving them headphones horrifies them (hearing their voices with such clarity) and further affects their performance negatively.
- a room that sounds great in a live performance will most likely sound great in recording. Just make sure to pick the right spot. One tip is to go HIGH - mount the mic at an elevated height - will reduce the direct sound of the choir vis a vis the room - instant reverb!
- stereo recording with a pair of mics even the handy pocket recorders works really well!

[vencersu1]

My experience with choirs;
- best recorded altogether, singing as a group. A LOT of singers in a non-professional/semi-professional choir find it difficult to sing their parts independent of the other voices, they sort of "reference" their notes off off other voices (most of the time the melody). giving them headphones horrifies them (hearing their voices with such clarity) and further affects their performance negatively.
- a room that sounds great in a live performance will most likely sound great in recording. Just make sure to pick the right spot. One tip is to go HIGH - mount the mic at an elevated height - will reduce the direct sound of the choir vis a vis the room - instant reverb!
- stereo recording with a pair of mics even the handy pocket recorders works really well!

noted. Thank u for this.

[mikep]

Record at the same time.  Put minus one on two tracks of recorder and play back for choir to sing along with.  Use monitor speakers, 2 units, put one unit out of phase.  Put volume at reasonable level.  Put X-Y or any stereo mic configuration about 1 foot from conductor's head.  Make sure the conductor balances choir and instruct them to have dynamics.  Good luck.

[Sound-Weavers.com]

Record at the same time.  Put minus one on two tracks of recorder and play back for choir to sing along with.  Use monitor speakers, 2 units, put one unit out of phase.

thanks Mike! awesome technical knowhow!

[chiqgarcia]

Record at the same time.  Put minus one on two tracks of recorder and play back for choir to sing along with.  Use monitor speakers, 2 units, put one unit out of phase.  Put volume at reasonable level.  Put X-Y or any stereo mic configuration about 1 foot from conductor's head.  Make sure the conductor balances choir and instruct them to have dynamics.  Good luck.

baka kailangan feed the minus one as MONO signal to monitors with one monitor out-of-phase (para ma-cancel) --- pero hindi ba 'to tricky kung more than one mic? dapat equidistant yung mic from both L/R monitors, diba?

[mikep]

Sorry, yes, the minus one should be in mono or mixed with one speaker out of phase to cancel.  Watch out volume so that it will not bleed too much as there will be some music info that the mic (even at out of phase speakers) will nevertheless record.  What is important is that the choir members hear each other well.  Put them in a U configuration around the conductor.  Put mics (X-Y, etc.) at least one foot or more from head of conductor, about 2 to 3 feet from his back.

[etomak]

Share lang po.Nakapag record ako ng small choir in 2009.consists of 3 soprano,3 alto.1 tenor and 1 bass. At gumamit sila ng minus 1. At dahil kulang ng headphones ang studio di ko sila ma irerecord ng sabay sabay at ayaw ko din naman maglagay ng floor monitor dahil mag leak lang ang minus 1 sa microphone at dahil maliit lang din ang room.kaya ang ginawa ko nirecord ko sila by group ibig ko sabihin inuna ko muna ang soprano dahil sila ang melody then i doubled the track para maging fuller and bigger ang sound.then followed by alto bass at tenor and i did the same thing din i doubled their tracks para dumami.and i noticed na alanganin lagi ang tenor sa tono nya.so kawawa naman yung iba kung magpapa ulit ulit sila dahil lang sa isang di makasunod.i mean depende pa rin sa capacity ng studio,singers,room.just give them a nice mix lang sa headphones nila para maramdaman nila na parang they doing it all together.At natutuwa din ako dahil nabasa ko yung mga comment ng mga kapatid natin dito sa forum at may natutunan na naman ako. Kaya mahal ko itong forum na ito e.salamat PM