Recording Basics
for classical singers
A comprehensive guide to recording audio for audition tapes and demos.
AVAILABLE NOW!
What is it?
Demo recordings have become a permanent fixture of the classical singing landscape. Some places won’t even grant you an audition without seeing / hearing a recording of you performing first. Getting demos recorded professionally is an expensive proposition, and not everyone can afford to do it every single time a company asks for them (especially if they insist on specific composers or pieces). So out come the portable recorders and smartphone cameras and we do our best to capture a faithful representation of what we can do… But recording isn’t what musicians are trained for, by and large, and we learn through trial and error that getting a demo to sound good isn’t all that easy.
This series of videos is designed to teach you how to get the best results from a basic set of audio recording tools.
It feels like a valuable college-level course. When people realise how in depth it is, they’d gladly pay the price!
Alex Vearey-Roberts (tenor)
Clear, interesting, and in-depth. It really opened my eyes about how much there is to learn when it comes to recording!
Sarah Labiner (soprano)
What’s included?
3 core videos taking you from basic concepts, through the practicalities of choosing a venue and where to put microphones, to how best to shape the sound in post-production
Musical examples recorded with actual singers in real-life situations, illustrating all the most important aspects we touch on (including microphone comparisons, mic placement comparisons, different types of venue acoustics, and editing software and tools)
Case study videos - watch me edit different voice types in different acoustics using various affordable pieces of software
Do I need it?
Well, if you can afford to get professional demos done a few times a year, or you’re confident in what you’re doing with a Zoom recorder, or you’ve never been asked to send in a recording, then no, you don’t.
But if you’re a bit stressed and/or guessing every time you set up said recorder, or you’re disappointed every time you get home and listen back to the results, then yes, you do.
For the price of one singing lesson, you get hours of content that you can go back to and reference whenever you need. You can rewatch the ‘Recording Session’ video before every… you know… recording session, and have all the relevant information and considerations fresh in your mind. Then when you get home, go through the ‘Post-production’ video to see what you can do to polish your demo.
And if you still have questions, or need clarifications, I’ll only ever be an email away (and there’s a mailing list and website with further resources as well).
What if I’m not a singer?
The principles of recording classical music, in this case chamber music, remain the same. You can still learn a lot from the course, it’s just that all the examples in my videos are singer+piano. If you have any questions afterwards that pertain to your instrument, or would like me to explore a particular ensemble in more detail, do get in touch. I’m definitely open to creating more content in this vein if there is a need for it out there.