Recording Carnatic Music
There are many articles and Youtube videos showing how
to record great rock and roll music, String sessions, great
sounding vocals etc. I would like to now explain my own
techniques for producing top notch clarity in capturing
carnatic music live sessions. This is my all-time favourite
since I am myself a professional Mridhangam player.
First of all, we must have a comfortable space for the
artiste to do a live recording session. The golden rule of
Recording carnatic music is to record them live at the
same time. Let me explain to you in detail. There would
VOCALS:
For carnatic vocals, use any dynamic mic like the SM 58
or a condenser microphone to get a good tonal character
from the artiste. If two artistes are sitting in the same
room, then use a dynamic mic for minimal microphone
leakage. But here the leakage between the mics is the
big beauty of tracking live session. In fact, I prefer
the Violin and the Vocal in the same room so that the
Singer gets the full support from the Violin artiste.
VIOLIN:
Recording a violin can be a challenge as it has lots of harmonic
content from low to high frequency. But here any microphone
like the Dynamic or a condenser will do. I point the
microphone about 5 to 6 inches away from the body hole above
the bridge place so that you get the correct tone of the acoustic
violin presence. Do not worry about the bleed from your vocal
microphone. That blending of both Vocal and Violin is the
beauty of recording the carnatic music. If you want to use a
condenser mic, place it little far and not too close to the body
as you will get the bow squeaking noise in your recordings.
MRIDANGAM:
For many years, I was using the SM57 Dynamic microphone
on the Right side were the black patch is located and then
be four members in a session. For example let us consider
the following. A vocalist, Violin player, Mridhangam
(Percussion) player and then a Gatam artiste (Clay pot).
Generally, it’s a good idea to make them sit with eye
contact so that you can have that full coordination in
your entire album. Some artistes prefer a click track
and some don’t prefer it. Now provide them with good
headphone mix and do a good balance so that they
get comfortable and have a feel of a live concert.
a SM 58 on the Bass side of the Mridhangam. You can also
use condenser microphone on the right side (Black Patch
side) but to position about one foot away as the artistes
have different hand strokes while playing it. If is too close,
then they might knock the mic! The best position is to keep
slightly off axis so that it captures the tone very nicely.
On the Bass side, try using a kick drum mic like the AKG
D112 or the Sennheiser MD 421 Dynamic mic for great
low end punch to your recordings. I use the MD 421. If you
want to use the condenser also its fine. But try to place it
little far as the hand stroke if different for each player.
GATAM /KANJEERA/ MOORSING
For recording the Gatam, I prefer a SM 57 to give that sharp
Attack of the instrument and then later tweak it on my
mixing. The SM57 works so perfect for this instrument for
its tonal value. For the Kanjeera, try to place the mic behind
the instrument as you will get more details low frequency
sound than on the front. Some prefer to place the mic on the
front. But remember, the hollow resonance is at the back! The
Moorsing is usually played in the mouth like a mouth organ.
Use any Dynamic microphone like the SM 58 or SM 57, this
should give you an good great sounding tone in your tracking.
Happy Tracking!
Author: L. Baba Prasad. He is the owner and chief Sound/Mix and Mastering Engineer at Digi Sound Studio. He also
teaches Sound Engineering and Music Production courses. For more details, visit www.digisoundacademy.com
Picture credit: Mrudula,
Digi Sound Studio
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