Recording Choral Music

Prepared for: Martha DeFrancisco

Prepared by: Floydd Ricketts
Student ID: 260768330
McGill University
April 30, 2019
Recording Choral Music

There are few other instruments that are as or more organic than the human voice. A choral

ensemble, made up of many voices, is one of the most instantly recognizable forces in the

musical spectrum. When recording a choir, there are a number of considerations that need to be

made. What type of repertoire will the ensemble be recording? How much rehearsal time is

necessary before heading to the studio? Does the choir need music stands or should they hold

their scores? Are risers necessary to provide vertical separation?

A number of different sources refer to the 3-foot rule, which states that for every one

microphone picking up a choir, the optimal placement of said microphone is at least three feet in

front of, and at least three feet above the heads of the first row of singers. The microphones

should be placed in a central location in front ensemble and aimed at the last row. Using this

technique, a typical cardioid microphone should be able to capture the production of up to twenty

choral voices, assuming they’re standing in a block formation. The more voices that are being

recorded, the further back that the microphones should be placed. Some recording experts

suggest using one microphone for every 6 feet of ensemble width.

Unlike many other genres, choral music is not served well by being recorded in a studio

setting. While there are some studios that can accommodate a large choral ensemble, they tend to

be uncommon, and prohibitively expensive. The best place to record a vocal ensemble tends to

be churches, concert halls and other large performance venues. That being said, the acoustic

makeup of churches, specifically, is quite disparate. In some buildings you may find that there is

very little reverberation, especially if there are a lot of soft fabrics such as covered chairs, heavy

curtains, or carpeting. While some churches may have no soft fabrics and may be made entirely

with hard materials such as cement, limestone, marble or other stones. In this case, the reverb
may be too long for the type of repertoire that the ensemble would like to record. “The optimum

reverberation time is a compromise between clarity (requiring a short reverberation time), sound

intensity (requiring a high reverberant level) and liveness (requiring a long reverberation time)” 1

Attention should be paid in finding the right venue since it is difficult to change the

acoustic sound on recordings in post-production, especially if it necessary to remove extra

reverb. In addition to the acoustic space it is important to note that the location of the venue may

be of concern. If the recording space is located in a busy area of a major city there are likely to

be outside noises such as sirens, horns, school bells, planes, etc., to say nothing of the sounds

that may exist in the building such as boiler heaters, or creaky floorboards.

A number of studies have observed the acoustics of various halls worldwide and have

come up with a list of attributes that create optimal or suboptimal sound. Léo Beranek created a

comprehensive list in his 1962 book Music, Acoustics & Architecture2. Perhaps the most

important attributes within that list are:

1.Intimacy. A hall has acoustical intimacy when music sounds as if it were being played in a

small hall. The time delay between the direct and first reflected sound should be less than 20

milliseconds in order for a hall to be intimate.

2.Liveness. This is related primarily to the reverberation time for middle and high frequencies.

The optimum reverberation time depends on size and function. A hall with insufficient

reverberation is termed “dry”.

1
Kirsi Ihalainen. Methods of Choir Recording for an Audio Engineer. Thesis. (June 2008)
2
Léo L. Beranek. Music, Acoustics and Architecture. Huntington: Robert E. Krieger Publishing
Company, 1962.
3.Warmth. This is related to liveness and fullness of a bass tone. Reverberation time at 250 Hz

and below should be somewhat longer than at middle and higher frequencies.

4. Balance and blend. This depends on the stage design. If the stage is wider than about 15

meters, the ceiling should be low (10 meters or less) and irregular in shape.

5.Ensemble. There should be ample reflecting surfaces to the sides and above the orchestra so

that players can hear each other. 3

An important aspect of the sound that is recorded, concerns the placement of the singers

in the recording space. In traditional classical choral music, the sopranos, altos, tenors and basses

will typically be in separate sections, often in 1 or 2 rows spread left to right. However, there are

some instances that may be served better by having the choir all mixed (a series of small SATB

quartets), or using a semi-circle for the choir to hear one another better, or there may be

requirements for double choir. Depending on the preferences of the conductor, the sections will

be established in various ways to create a suitable blend.

Once the choir is ready to begin recording, the next task is to balance the ensemble. A

choir that has a lot of experience singing together, especially one with academic training, will

likely be able to balance themselves, making the recording process a great deal more simple.

However, it’s often the case that an individual singer or a section of singers is either too loud or

too soft, especially in amateur or young voice ensembles. In this case, a recording engineer may

find that a quick solution may be to consult with the conductor about the offending section or

individual.

In other instances, it may be that actually adjusting the microphone placement may solve

an issue. Still, in other cases the problem may be a result of having an unbalanced number of

3
Ibid.
singers in a particular section. This may be most easily solved by moving the sections, or

individuals within the section, around. While acting as assistant producer for A&P Choir’s

recording of the Duruflé and Fauré Requiems, balance was an ongoing issue due to the stridency

versus rounded tone of certain voice types. For example, the tenors typically had no trouble

sending their soaring voices into the room, whereas the basses required considerably more effort

in order to project at the same decibel. In this case, the solution was to move the tenors back a

few steps and bring the basses forward a couple steps. This minor adjustment greatly improved

the balance between the two voices.

With careful balancing and placement of microphones, it is possible to achieve a full and

pleasant-sounding choir recording. There are, however, instances when certain sections within

the ensemble need to be reinforced due to the size or vocal quality of the section, or it may be

that there are solos within a choral work that need to be brought to the foreground of the

recording. When recording soloists, finding a more prominent recorded sound may be achieved

by stepping out in front of the choir a few steps. This action of stepping out of the ensemble can

lead to the solo voice being heard as more prominent, and may prevent the need for a spot mic

specifically for the soloist. In some instances, the one or two steps forward that the soloist takes

may still not be enough, and in this case a spot mic is a suitable solution.

As mentioned in my anecdote about recording the Requiems, it sometimes happens that

the bass section, especially, may need more support. This largely depends on a section’s size and

musical strength. In non-professional environments ,the low voices tend to be slightly less

discernable, largely because many choirs struggle to find enough tenors with high ranges and

basses with exceptionally low ranges. “To help them out, try a mic placed among the basses. Use

a low-pass filter to remove the high frequency, leaving you with a nice bass fundamental. Just a
bit of this can help the bottom extension of your recording and improve the warmth and fullness

of the choir.”4

There are other issues to consider when recording a choral ensemble. Specially surrounding the

issue of diction. Singers are often instructed to sing in many different languages, some familiar

to the ensemble or listener, and some not. There are some languages that use more plosive or

fricative sounds than others, and these sounds may be picked up by the mics in a way that causes

a pop or distortion. In this case, the solution may be to adjust the microphones either higher up or

further back in order to avoid unwanted sounds.

In an effort to capture both the direct sound and the ambient sound that one hears in a live

performance, it may be necessary or preferable to use three different sets of microphones at

different distances from the sound source. Spot mics can be placed directly in front of a

particular section or soloist. Playback of this placement may sound as if a performance was

presented with you 2 feet away from the artist. Main microphones tend to be closer to where the

conductor is. These microphones capture the “bigger picture”. There will likely be less detailed

sound than when using the spot mics, but there are a number of recordings that use just the mains

in order to provide a broad image of the sound. This is also the microphone placement that is

typically used for archival recordings. Lastly, there are ambient microphones, which are placed

furthest back in a recording session. These microphones are used to pick up the ambient,

reverberant sound that a hall creates. When mixing, post recording, it is possible to combine

these 3 different microphone placements into one unified recording wherein the blend of the

4
"Recording Magazine Resources: Choir Recording And A Primer On Mid/Side." Recording
Magazine. (2019)
microphones in the room is used to achieve the right balance between wetness and dryness in the

mix.

Choir recording sessions, like any other, can be an exhausting experience. It is important,

as a conductor, as a producer, and also as a recording engineer to give singers lots of breaks in

order to help them preserve their voice. Singers tend to tire quickly when recording the same

material repeatedly, it is therefore important to ensure that a plan of action is in place to avoid

over-singing at the beginning of a recording session, especially if the material recorded at the

beginning is the most vocally taxing. It may be that you need to record another take in order to

ensure that a piece has been captured in the way that best represents the ensemble. However, if

the singers are getting tired, it becomes very difficult to land a take that is useful, since their

energy will have plummeted.

As a choral artist, especially as a conductor, I have gained a great deal of insight with

regards to the process of recording and the language that is useful in conveying an idea or desires

to your recording team. Once someone is familiar with how to make a good choral recording, it

becomes easier to apply this knowledge to other recording scenarios. The biggest lesson that I

have learned through this process is how important acoustic space is and how important

microphone placement within that space is. I am certain that having a clearer understanding of

how to capture sound effectively, and how to communicate with those professionals who

dedicate their lives to this vocation, will be an invaluable asset to me and to my colleagues for

the rest of our respective careers.