AKARSH SHEKHAR
PRO TIPS FOR RECORDING A GRAND PIANO
Comprised of over 12,000 moving parts , a nine-foot-long grand piano is one of the most complex and largest instruments that any musician will ever play . No matter the genre - classical , rock , jazz , metal , country or pop , a grand piano always has a place . Recording such a grand instrument is also a grand task and it should be performed meticulously . The grand piano can be recorded in multiple ways . Usually , most people have access to just a single grand piano and it ’ s generally the style of music that dictates the type of microphones and mic placement . Sometimes a given type of music will require you to move the piano into a different physical space to take advantage of its distinct acoustic properties . The best way to learn which of the mic placements works best for you is to experiment , but here are a few of the many approaches that people regularly use . There is no best approach — a well-rounded engineer will adjust to meet the specific circumstances of every session .
Cutting Through a Mix
For your piano to cut through the mix , whether on a rock track or a contemporary jazz track — you should try out a spaced pair of small-diaphragm microphones with a cardioid pattern about six inches above the hammers . This placement emphasizes the percussive aspects of a piano and it does a great job of capturing the sound of the hammers hitting the strings . It can also deemphasize the low end of the instrument a bit and brighten up the sound overall . Start with the mics about 15 inches apart and listen to the balance between the low and high strings . You ’ ll want to be sure that the two mics are spaced far enough apart that both the highest and lowest notes are pretty similar in level , but close enough together to prevent the notes from the middle of the piano from disappearing . There may be hot spots if the microphones are too close to the hammers , and the notes right under the mics will sound louder than those farther away .
Sitting in the Track
When the piano ’ s primary role on a session is support rather than being the featured instrument , especially when recording more old-school styles of music , a spaced pair of large-diaphragm mics inside the piano can be great . For this sort of application , you generally don ’ t need to emphasize either the transients or the high frequencies , but simply
want to capture a warm , full-range piano sound .
Put a pair of large-diaphragm microphones with a cardioid pattern facing toward the strings , about 18 inches apart , four to six inches above the strings , and six to eight inches behind the hammers . The resulting sound is mellower and much better than when the mics are placed above the hammers . If you need to darken the recorded sound of the piano even more , move the mics farther from the hammers , closer to the end of the piano . Besides picking up a bit less of the transient high frequencies , this placement also brings the mics closer to where the instrument ’ s bass strings cross under the midrange strings , which will enhance the bottom end of the piano . Angle the mics slightly away from each other instead of pointing them straight down . to get a bit more left to right separation .
Capturing a More Classical Sound
The mic setups discussed so far involve placing microphones inside the piano , but — when you ’ re working in the world of classical music — things change . Most of the concertgoers who listen to classical music are more familiar with the sound of an un-miked grand piano in an acoustic space like a recital hall .
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