Recording for the Composer

Basic Question: Are there economical solutions to the problem of composers having to utilize their own equipment to make recordings of rehearsals, etc? (hints, tips, techniques, technology that composers should be aware of?)

If you are a composer and would like to utilize recordings for rehearsals or compositional purposes, then there are a few basic pieces of equipment I would recommend. First, lets start with some assumptions. I assume that you have a computer, and know how to use it to a basic degree (saving files, importing/exporting files, burning CDs, emailing attachments, etc.) Beyond that, there are two pieces of gear I would start out with.

A.) some sort of hand-held audio recording device, such as the Zoom H4, or M-Audio Mircotrack. These small devices can go anywhere with you, allowing for recording of rehearsals or lectures, compositional ideas, or sounds (think musique concrete or foley).

B.) a nice pair of headphones. I’m not talking about the junk that comes with your phone, iPod or any other headset that you get as a freebie. Spend some money on it. Music technology is probably that last remaining area where a consumer can purchase a product and know what kind of quality it is simply by the price. By that I mean the $40 pair of headphones sounds like a $40 pair of headphones, and the $100 pair of headphones sounds like a $100 pair of headphones. Do yourself (and me) a favor; spend $100 on a pair of headphones. You’ll thank me later.

So far, we’ve spent about $400 for our little recording setup. That will take us a long way toward being able to record rehearsals etc. The next step is to edit all the recordings in a computer. This requires two things: a computer, and some audio editing software. Have a Mac with GarageBand? Your set. Have a Windows machine that isn’t archaic or obsolete? There are plenty of free basic audio editing programs out there, try Audacity, it’ll get the job done.

A basic set of audio editing skills will go a long way as well. Here are the things you probably need to know: snipping, splicing, volume adjustment, exporting, and burning the finished project onto a disk. That is a little beyond this first blog, so perhaps we will dive into that deeper.

Hints? Here are a few. Carry extra stuff. Extra batteries, flash memory (both the kind your recorder uses and USB), a second memory card reader, and multiple 1/8”F to ¼”M adaptors (you will loose them). Second, when you start recording a rehearsal, have the performers play for a few seconds, then stop the recording and listen to what you recorded. There is nothing worse than going through an entire rehearsal only to later realize that the microphone was to hot and the entire recording distorted and is unusable. Also, if buying a recorder, ask if it has a tri-pod attachment or a mic stand attachment, these are useful.

Hope this is helpful to anyone who wants to start recording.

Edit: added tags