Piano-miking Techniques For Worship Service

Transcript

Worship p Sound Pro 101 Guides >> Earthworks PianoMic System $ 299900 More info on pg. 16 This handy system is the go-to choice for many live sound professionals. Digital pianos are great for worship services, but your church may already have a nice aco coustic piano that you would like to put to use. In that case, it’s important to understand the basic sound-reinforcement techniques that will let you get the most out of your instrument. First, find a location for your piano that isn’t too close to any particular seating area. That way, no part of the congregation is overwhelmed by the piano’s natural volume. Once you’ve done that, you can start experimenting with microphone placement. Grand and Baby Grand Pianos There is no single correct way to mic up a piano. You can use a variety of techniques to capture your instrument’s wide range of tones. Probably the most popular microphone technique for grand piano involves positioning a pair of small-diaphragm omnidirectional mics directly over the strings, just past the hammers. This technique is illustrated by the red circles in the first diagram (the grey bar represents the hammers). Place the microphones 6” to 9” above the strings and about 18” to 27” apart. There are even specialty piano microphones that sound amazing and greatly simplify this technique. One of the best things about this technique is that, by blending the microphone over the treble strings with the microphone over the bass strings into a single mono mix, you get excellent control over your piano’s tone. Also, because the microphones are close to the hammers, they capture the “attack” of the sound, which naturally adds brightness to the overall sound. This quality allows the piano to take a defined role in the mix and is excellent for modern worship songs. A small-diaphragm omnidirectional microphone in the position indicated by the green circle (directly over the center of the harp) gives you a well-balanced tone, one with slightly less presence in the mix than a tone captured by mics in the red position. Though great for most styles of music, this Call us today at (800) 222–4700 014-015_PIANO_MIC.indd 14 1/28/11 9:57:14 AM tone is not as e eas asyy to t fine-tune as is tthe he tone e captured by the red-posiition mic ics. s. A var aria iati tion on of this tecchniq ique uses a boundary microp pho hone affixxed ed to the lid, d iin n th this is ssame e po p sition. This allows you to clo lose se tthe h pia iano n ’s lid d ffor better isol ola ation. A third d te tech chni niqu que e ca call llss fo forr a la larg rgee-d diaphragm cardioid micropho h ne tto o be pla lace ced ed ju j st inside of the lid (blue circle on the eg gra rand nd pia iano no d dia iagr g am gr am). This hi sp pot is the apex of the rounded d en end d of the he p pia iano’s body, so you u will capture the piano’ss richesst an and d smoothest sound, d, and d little of its attack. This dramatic to one sits back k in the mi mixx and is wonderful on its ow wn fo forr ac acco c mpanying vocals. Uprigh Up ghtt Pian nos Instea ead of absolute positions, the e ccol o orred cir ircl cles e in th t e upright pian ano o diagram representt to t nall ex extr trem emes em es.. A si s ng n le small-diaphrag gm cardioid condensser microph hon ne pointi t ng s raight down in st n the red dp pos ossit itio ion n (a (at li lid d he eig ight ht)) wi will ll cap aptu tu ure the th e brilliance of the tr treb eble sttrrin ings gs and the attacck of tthe he hamm mmers as th hey hitt th the st string gs, b but ut littl l t e ba b ss. Allte tern r at ativel ely, y in the eg green po osition, the mic wil illl ca capt ptur u e ba b ss but almos ostt no tre ebl ble. e Mov ove th the e micropho one n dow wn to the the pink and the blue bl u possit itio ons (pa past s the eh ham a merss), ) and tthe h ton ones are similar to ttho hose se cap aptu tured tu d at llid id height, minus the he a attack. Alth A hough you can mic an up pri righ igh ghtt piano with ho on nly a sing si ngle le mic icrophone, most engineer errs preferr pla acing two micr mi crop ophones at similar depths on opp pos o it ite e side des of the p an pi a o. A pair of microphones spread ou out in the eh higher posi s tiion o produces a balanced tone that’s similar to that of th he grrand piano’s green position. At the lowest po poin int, in t, pas at the th e hammers, the tone mellows, resembling th hat of th the e grand’s blue position. And in the middle, ju ust abo b ve where the hammers strike the strings, you get a bright and db brrilliant tone that resembles that of the grand’s red position. Most importantly, as you strive to capture the piano tone that bes th estt me meet etss yo et your needs, be sure to take your time. Experimentation is the he key to fine-tuning yo your sound, regardless of th he microp opho op one nes yo you u use or where re you y up pla lace la c them m initial a lyy. >> RØDE $ NT5 42900 More info on pg. 16 This pair of small-diaphragm condenser mics sounds great on piano. >> Sennheiser e901 $ 23995 Affix this mic under the lid of your piano for great sound you can control. >> Audix SCX25A-PS $ 158900 This purpose-built piano mic system is flexible, easy to use, and great sounding! 014-015_PIANO_MIC.indd 15 1/28/11 9:57:42 AM