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Ensemble Recording
Synopsis
The project involved recording a church choir and accompanying musicians at Divine Exchange Christian Centre using a mix of room microphones and the microphones already set up in the church. Two room microphones were used to capture the overall sound of the choir and musicians in the space, while the individual vocal and drum microphones supported the performance through the PA system. This approach helped the recording reflect the full sound of the ensemble as it would be heard in the room, while still keeping a natural and balanced result.
The recording approach focused on capturing the full sound of the ensemble in their usual setup. A spaced pair (A/B) using AKG C414(Appendix. 4) microphones was used to capture both the direct sound from the performers and the sound of the room. This was combined with the existing vocal and drum microphones in the church, allowing the recording to represent how the group naturally performs in that space. The project also involved working with the performers, managing time in a live setting, and adjusting decisions based on the environment.
Research
A key part of the research focused on stereo microphone techniques, mainly the use of spaced pair (A/B) setups for recording ensembles. A spaced pair uses two microphones placed a distance apart, which creates small differences in timing and level between them. These differences help create a sense of width and space in the recording (Shure, 2017). This makes the stereo image feel more open, which works well for larger groups or performances spread across a wide area. However, this technique can also cause slight issues with the stereo image, especially for sounds coming from the centre, due to how the two signals combine (Shure, 2017).
Further research shows that spaced microphones are good for capturing both the direct sound and the natural sound of the room, helping the recording feel more real and spacious (Sound On Sound, 2003). This was important for the project, as the aim was to capture the ensemble within the space, rather than mainly relying on close microphones. Using a spaced pair supported this by reflecting how the performers and the room work together.
Research into stereo recording also highlights how important microphone spacing and placement are in shaping the stereo image. The balance between timing differences and level differences between the microphones plays a big role in how sound is heard across the stereo field (DPA Microphones, n.d.). This understanding helped guide how the microphones were placed, making sure the recording matched how the ensemble was set up in the room.
Project Management
Communication played a key role in the management of the project. This involved speaking with the pastor, music director, and choir members to get permission(Appendix. 1-3), arrange availability, and make sure everyone understood the recording process. The recording was scheduled to take place after the Sunday service, which helped with time management as the choir and musicians were already present in the space. This also meant that most of the line checks and equipment checks had already been completed earlier in the morning before the church service started.
Because of this, there was less need to spend time checking every microphone and connection again after the service. This allowed for a quicker setup, mainly focusing on placing the room microphones and preparing the recording session. The workflow of the session was still structured into key stages, including setting up the room microphones, checking recording levels, running through the performance, and recording the final takes. This helped keep the session organised and made sure the recording could be completed within the available time.
Since the church microphones and PA system were already set up and working for the service, the main focus was on positioning the AKG C414 room microphones and making sure they were connected correctly for recording. This was important because the session had a limited time after the service, so the setup needed to be quick and organised without causing too much disruption for the performers.
My role as the engineer involved managing the technical side of the recording while allowing the performers to focus on the music. This required clear communication with the music director and performers, especially when setting up the room microphones and making small adjustments during the session. Pre-production planning included decisions around microphone selection, placement, and recording strategy, as well as thinking ahead about possible issues such as PA spill, ensemble balance, and the sound of the room.
Pre-Production and Recording Preparation
The initial recording plan included the use of additional microphones on the drum kit, such as overheads, to give the drums more definition. However, I decided not to use the extra drum microphones, as the main aim of the recording was not to isolate each instrument in detail. The purpose was to capture the overall sound of the choir and musicians in the room, while still using the existing church microphones to support the recording.
This meant the recording was not a minimal microphone setup, as the close microphones from the church were still an important part of the sound. The vocal and drum microphones already used in the church helped support the performance through the PA system, while the room microphones captured the wider sound of the ensemble and the acoustic space. This approach allowed the recording to reflect both the direct sound from the performers and the way the performance naturally sounded in the room.
Two AKG C414(Appendix. 5) microphones were used in a spaced pair (A/B) configuration and positioned parallel to the main PA speakers within the room. This placement was intentional because it allowed the microphones to capture the sound from the perspective of the congregation, rather than directly recording the PA speakers. By placing the microphones in this way, the recording focused more on the interaction between the ensemble, the PA system, and the room, instead of only capturing the amplified output.
The microphones were set to the omnidirectional polar pattern to capture sound from all directions. This helped create a fuller representation of the performance, including the direct sound, room reflections, and the natural balance of the space. Consideration was also given to the layout of the ensemble, especially the drum kit and accompanying instruments being positioned to the left of the stage. The risk of PA spill into the microphones was also considered, which helped guide where the microphones were placed and helped create a balanced stereo image without placing too much emphasis on the amplified sources.
During the setup process, the choir rehearsed the song. Communication with the music director and choir leader was important for keeping the session organised. This included confirming that the performance would stay under five minutes and making sure the choir knew what was needed for the recording. The rehearsal also helped make sure the vocalists were comfortable in their parts, including soprano, alto, and tenor. This helped create a more confident and controlled performance when it was time to record.
Once the choir moved from rehearsal into their performance positions on stage, I was able to start setting the recording levels. The levels on the mixing console were already set for the live in-house sound, but small adjustments were needed to make sure the signal going into Logic was suitable for recording. A new scene was created on the Behringer X32 mixer so the recording settings could be managed separately from the live mix.
A test recording was then carried out to check the input levels before recording the final takes. This helped make sure there was enough headroom and that the signal was not clipping. It also allowed any small levelling issues to be fixed before moving into the main recording.
Post-Production (Mixing Approach)
The mixing process was approached with the aim of making the overall recording sound as clear and balanced as possible. Because the recording included both the room microphones and the existing church microphones, some individual elements still needed to be processed during the mixing stage. The room microphones helped capture the full sound of the ensemble in the space, while the close microphones gave more control over the vocals and instruments in the mix.
The first stage of the mix focused on getting a strong balance using fader levels and panning before applying heavier processing. Panning decisions were based on an audience perspective, matching how the performance would be heard in the room. This helped the mix feel more natural and connected to the stereo image captured by the room microphones.
For the vocals, the background vocal tracks were routed to a bus(Appendix. 6) and mixed as a group. This helped create a more cohesive vocal sound, while still allowing control over the overall balance. However, EQ was still used where needed on individual vocal tracks to remove problem frequencies and improve clarity before they reached the bus. Volume automation(Appendix. 8) was also used on the individual tracks to keep the levels consistent throughout the performance, instead of relying too much on compression on each channel.
Compression was mainly used on the vocal bus to help glue the background vocals together. Around 2–3 dB of gain reduction was used for subtle control, helping the vocals feel more even without sounding over-processed. Additional EQ was also applied on the bus, including a high-pass filter and a low-mid cut to reduce buildup. A multiband compressor was used to control slight harshness in the high frequencies while still keeping the vocals clear.
During the mix, it became clear that the drums and bass guitar were captured more strongly in the room microphones than the vocals on stage. This made the drums feel wider in the mix, while the vocals sounded more isolated from the rest of the performance. To help with this, reverb was used on the vocals to give them more of a sense of space and make them feel more connected to the room sound.
A stereo width plug-in was also used on the background vocals to help them sit better in their panned positions. This helped the vocals feel wider and more balanced within the stereo image, without making them sound too separate from the main performance.
A similar approach was taken with the drums, which were routed to a bus channel to help control the overall balance of the kit. This allowed for subtle dynamic control while keeping the drums sitting naturally within the mix rather than standing out too much.
Processing on the room microphones was kept minimal to preserve the natural sound and spatial characteristics of the recording. A high-pass filter was applied to reduce low-frequency buildup from sources such as the kick drum and bass guitar, helping to keep the overall mix clear.
Evaluation
The location recording was successful in capturing the energy and natural sound of the church choir and musicians at Divine Exchange Christian Centre. The session took place after Sunday service, which worked well because the choir, musicians, mixer, microphones and instruments were already in place. This made the setup quicker and helped the session run smoothly within the limited time available.
The planning stage was important because the session needed clear communication with the pastor, music director and choir leader. This helped with getting permission, confirming the recording time and making sure the performers understood what was needed. This was one of the strengths of the project, as it helped reduce confusion and allowed the session to move from rehearsal into recording without major delays.
The recording setup worked well for the aim of the project. The AKG C414 microphones were used as a spaced pair to capture the overall sound of the ensemble and the room. The existing church microphones also gave more control in the mix, especially for the vocals and drums. This approach helped the recording reflect how the performance sounded in the space, while still giving enough detail to shape the final mix.
A useful decision was not using extra drum microphones. The church microphones were already part of the setup, and adding more microphones may have made the session longer and more complicated. This decision suited the aim of capturing the full performance in the room, rather than focusing too much on individual instruments.
However, the recording also showed some limits in the setup. Because the instruments were placed on the left side of the room, the left room microphone picked up more drums and bass than the vocals. This created an uneven stereo image and made the drums and bass feel wider than the vocals. In future, I would spend more time testing the room microphone position before recording, so the balance between the vocals and instruments is more even.
There was also some noticeable feedback in the recording. This was mainly caused by movement on stage and background vocalists holding their microphones low when they were not singing. This showed that performer direction could have been stronger. In the future, I would give clearer instructions before recording, especially around microphone handling and staying aware of the monitors.
The full recording went over the planned five-minute length, but I was still able to choose a strong 3 minutes and 45 seconds section for the final submission. This worked well, but it showed that the song structure and timing should have been confirmed more clearly before recording. This would have helped the final take fit the brief more closely.
Audio Documentary
Synopsis
The documentary aims to present an honest and immersive representation of student life, focusing on both the creative and personal aspects of studying music.
The documentary follows an observational (fly-on-the-wall) approach, where the narrative is shaped through recorded voices and environmental sound, with minimal direct involvement from the filmmaker. Although participants were given a set of questions beforehand to guide their responses, these prompts are not included in the final piece. The questions were removed during editing to allow the dialogue to flow more naturally, creating a sense that the listener is hearing unfiltered and uninterrupted reflections.
A key focus of the documentary is the contrast between expectations and the reality of studying music. Students often begin with certain ideas about what their experience will be like, particularly around creativity and collaboration. However, these expectations can change when faced with challenges such as workload, performance pressure, creative blocks, and self-doubt. The documentary captures these shifts in perspective, while also highlighting moments of growth and development.
Sound plays an important role in shaping the documentary. Location-based recordings, including practice room activity, instrument warm-ups, hallway ambience, and general student interaction, are used to create a strong sense of place. These sounds help to place the listener within the environment, making the experience feel more realistic and engaging rather than simply informative.
The documentary is structured as a short-form audio piece. It follows a loose narrative progression, moving from introduction and early expectations, into the realities and challenges of studying music, and then towards reflection, growth, and personal meaning. The structure remains flexible, allowing the outcome to be shaped by the most effective and natural moments captured during recording.
Research
This project follows a documentary approach, mainly the observational or fly-on-the-wall style, which focuses on capturing real experiences with little involvement from the filmmaker. In this style, people and environments are presented in a natural way, allowing the audience to observe and form their own understanding rather than being guided by narration or direct questioning.
The fly-on-the-wall approach is more commonly used in video documentaries, where the camera follows people in real time. This allows the audience to see behaviour, interactions, and environments as they happen, creating a strong sense of realism. However, when applying this approach to an audio documentary, there are no visuals to support meaning. Because of this, sound becomes the main way of communicating information, helping to build atmosphere and provide context.
In this project, environmental recordings are used to support this approach. Sounds such as practice room activity, instrument warm-ups, and hallway ambience help to place the listener within the conservatoire environment. These sounds do more than sit in the background; they help the listener understand the space and what is happening within it, making the experience feel more immersive.
Although the final documentary follows an observational style, participants were given a set of questions beforehand to guide their responses. This is a common method in documentary production, where interviews are structured during recording but later edited to remove the interviewer’s presence. By removing the questions, the dialogue flows more naturally and feels less directed, which helps maintain the fly-on-the-wall style while still keeping the content clear and focused.
Observational documentary work also depends on access to real people and environments. As highlighted in industry practice, gaining access is important for capturing genuine moments and real experiences (Fenton, 2012). In this project, the conservatoire provides a natural setting where both creative and personal experiences can be recorded through sound.
The use of sound as a storytelling tool is also an important part of this project. Sound can shape how a listener understands a scene, even without visuals, by creating mood and context (Isham, 2023). This supports the use of environmental recordings alongside dialogue, allowing the listener to build a clearer picture of the experience being presented.
Project Management
This project had to be managed with some flexibility, as not all of the recordings were done in the same way. My original plan was to record each student myself, but this was not possible because of timing and availability. I was only able to record two students in person for the documentary. For the other participants, I sent them the questions and asked them to record their answers themselves.
This meant that the audio quality was not fully consistent across every recording. I had less control over things such as room sound, microphone placement, and background noise. However, this still allowed me to collect enough responses and include more student voices in the documentary. It also suited the idea of capturing real student experiences, as the responses were recorded in a more natural and less controlled way.
The two students I recorded myself were recorded on campus. These recordings were not done in a fully isolated space, as I wanted to keep some of the natural feeling of the conservatoire environment. One recording was done in a practice room and happened quite naturally while the student was playing piano. This worked well for the documentary because it captured the student in a real music setting rather than a controlled interview space.
A key part of the project was recording the ambience and sounds around campus. My aim was to capture the different sounds of the conservatoire building and show the uniqueness of each floor. At the start of the documentary, the background sounds follow the journey of moving through the building, going from the ground floor up to the fifth floor(Appendix. 10). As the documentary progresses, the ambience changes as well, which helps create a sense of movement and place.
These environmental sounds were not just used as background noise. They helped support the story and place the listener inside the conservatoire. Sounds such as practice room spill, footsteps, hallway ambience, and instruments being played helped show the everyday atmosphere of the building. This was important because the documentary is audio-only, so sound had to help create the picture for the listener.
All of the editing was done in Logic Pro. I used Logic to organise the recordings, cut down long answers, balance levels, and place the ambience around the spoken parts. The self-recorded answers needed more attention because they were recorded in different spaces and had different levels. I had to make sure the voices sounded clear and that the documentary flowed properly from one section to the next.
During editing, I grouped the answers by theme instead of keeping them in the exact order of the questions. This helped the documentary feel less like a normal interview and more like a flowing piece. The main themes included expectations, challenges, personal growth, and the meaning of music. I chose the strongest parts of each answer and placed them where they worked best in the structure.
Although the documentary follows an observational style, I used my own voice to lead into some parts of the questioning. I did this to slightly guide the narrative and help the listener understand what was being discussed. I did not want my voice to take over the documentary, but I felt it was useful for keeping the listener engaged and giving the piece a clearer direction.
Evaluation
Overall, the audio documentary was successful in presenting a realistic view of student experience at Leeds Conservatoire. The project allowed me to combine student voices, campus ambience, and light narration to create a piece that reflects both the creative and personal side of studying music. Although the final outcome changed from my original plan, the process helped me make better decisions around recording, editing, and structure.
One of the main strengths of the documentary was the use of different student voices. Having multiple participants allowed the piece to show a wider range of experiences instead of focusing on only one perspective. The responses covered areas such as expectations, challenges, personal growth, and the meaning of music. This helped give the documentary a clear direction and made the topic feel relatable.
However, the recording process did come with some limitations. I was only able to record two students myself, while the other participants recorded their own answers. This helped me collect enough material, but it also meant that the audio quality was not fully consistent. Some recordings had different room sounds, levels, and microphone quality. This created extra work during editing, as I had to balance the voices and make them feel like they belonged in the same documentary.
The two recordings I captured myself worked well because they were done on campus and had a natural feel. One recording was done in a practice room while the student was playing piano, which helped connect the voice to the music environment. This supported the observational style because it felt less staged and more connected to real student activity. However, because the recordings were not done in a fully controlled space, there were also challenges with background noise and clarity.
The use of environmental sound was one of the most important parts of the documentary. I wanted the listener to feel like they were moving through the conservatoire building, so I recorded ambience from different floors. As the documentary progresses, the background sound also moves from the ground floor up to the fifth floor. I think this worked well because it gave the piece a stronger sense of place and helped show the uniqueness of the building. It also made the documentary feel more immersive rather than just being a collection of spoken answers.
The observational style worked to a certain extent, but I also had to adapt it for an audio-only piece. In a video documentary, the audience can observe people through visuals, but in audio, the listener depends fully on sound and voice. Because of this, I used my own voice in small parts to guide the listener into different sections. This helped the documentary stay clear and easier to follow. At the same time, I tried not to overuse narration, so the students’ voices stayed as the main focus.
Editing in Logic Pro was a key part of shaping the final documentary. I used Logic to organise the recordings, cut down longer answers, balance levels, and place ambient sounds between sections. Instead of keeping the answers in the order of the questions, I grouped them by theme. This helped the documentary flow better and made it feel more like a story. The editing process was important because it turned separate recordings into one connected piece.
One challenge during editing was making the self-recorded responses sit well with the recordings I captured myself. Because they were recorded in different spaces, they did not all have the same tone or quality. I had to use clip(Appendix. 9) gain for balancing and careful placement to make the transitions feel smoother. This was not perfect, but it improved the overall flow and helped maintain clarity.
Composition Track
Synopsis
For this project, I started by capturing sounds from around my neighbourhood in Farnley, as well as objects inside my house. One of the main locations I recorded in was Farnley Hall Park(Appendix. 11-12), where birds were the main sound within the ambience. The park is also close to a farm where cows graze(Appendix. 13), which adds another natural layer to the sound environment. These recordings gave me a range of outdoor textures that could be used as part of the composition.
Instead of mainly relying on virtual instruments, I planned to use the recorded sounds as the foundation of the track. The sounds I captured were to be edited and loaded into the Quick Sampler plugin in Logic(Appendix. 14), allowing me to create my own playable sounds from the recordings. This approach allowed the field recordings to become part of the musical structure, rather than only being used as background ambience.
The composition was mainly built from the sounds I recorded, but I also planned to use some traditional instruments in certain parts of the track. For example, a piano was used to help establish the key signature and give the track a clearer musical direction. This helped balance the experimental use of found sounds with more familiar musical elements, allowing the final composition to still feel structured and intentional.
Research
Pierre Schaeffer’s work with musique concrète helped shape the idea behind this composition. Musique concrète is based on using recorded sounds as the main material for making music, instead of starting with normal instruments or written parts. The Vinyl Factory explains that Schaeffer worked with recorded fragments of sound and used studio techniques such as editing, looping, reversing, filtering, and changing speed to turn them into new musical material (Patrick, 2016).
This connects to my own track because I recorded sounds from around Farnley, Farnley Hall Park, and inside my house, then used them as the main building blocks of the composition. Instead of treating these sounds as background noise, I used them to create rhythm, texture, and atmosphere. Some sounds were edited into short hits, while others were used as longer layers to create a sense of space.
Schaeffer’s approach also shows how ordinary sounds can be listened to for their tone, rhythm, texture, and movement, rather than only being understood by where they came from. This was useful for my composition because I wanted to take everyday sounds and use them in a more musical way. For example, natural ambience, birds, and household objects could be shaped inside Logic and used as part of the track.
Project Management
For this composition, I recorded a range of sounds from outside and inside my house. Some of the sounds were planned, while others were captured because I heard them while I was out recording. When I was in Farnley Hall Park, there was a lot going on around me, so I kept most of the recordings short. This helped me capture clear sounds in small sections, which made them easier to edit, cut, and use later in the track.
The sounds I recorded and used included a car horn, cows, a dog barking, car hazard lights(Appendix. 15), a guira shaker, my bed frame, a rubber band box guitar, and the low and high E strings from my guitar. Each sound was chosen based on how it could work musically in the composition, either as rhythm, texture, atmosphere, or a sound effect.
Some of the sounds were processed in Paul Stretch before being brought into Logic. I used this to stretch and warp the recordings, changing their texture and making them sound less like the original source. For example, I recorded the low and high E strings from my guitar and edited them in Paul Stretch(Appendix. 16). Instead of using the guitar in a normal way, the stretched version created more of a pad or organ-like sound, which helped add harmony and atmosphere to the track.
For the kick drum, I used my bed frame(Appendix. 17). I found that one side of the bed frame produced a low-frequency thud when hit, which worked well as a kick drum sample. The car hazard sound was used more like a clap or snare, helping to build the rhythm of the track. Other sounds, such as the cow’s moo and a dog’s bark, were used rhythmically as sound effects to add character and movement.
Evaluation
The found sound composition was successful in using recorded sounds as the main source material for the track. Most of the sounds were captured around Farnley, Farnley Hall Park, and inside my house, which helped give the composition a personal connection to my own environment. Instead of relying mainly on virtual instruments, I was able to use everyday sounds and shape them into musical parts inside Logic.
One part that worked well was the use of household objects as drum and bass-style sounds. The bed frame worked well as a kick drum because it had a low-frequency thud that gave the track a solid rhythmic foundation. The car hazard sound also worked well as a clap or snare because of its sharp and repeated character. These sounds helped create the main rhythm of the track while still keeping the composition connected to the found sound idea.
The use of Paul Stretch was also effective in changing the character of some of the recordings. The low and high E strings from my guitar were stretched and processed until they became more like a pad or organ sound. This helped add atmosphere and harmony to the track without using the guitar in a normal way. This was important because it allowed the sound to move away from its original source and become part of the overall texture of the composition.
Another strength of the project was the way outdoor sounds were used to add character. Sounds such as the cows, dog barking, birds, and car horns helped create a sense of place. These sounds made the track feel connected to the environment it came from, rather than sounding like a normal production made only with studio instruments. The cow’s moo and dog’s bark were also used rhythmically, which helped turn natural sounds into musical elements.
One challenge was that some of the outdoor recordings had extra background noise because the park and the surrounding area were not fully controlled environments. This made some sounds harder to isolate and clean up. Keeping the recordings short helped with this, as it made it easier to cut out the best parts and use only the sections that were most useful for the track.
Another challenge was making the track feel structured while using sounds that were not originally musical. Some recordings worked better as textures, while others worked better as rhythmic sounds. Because of this, I had to spend time testing different sounds and deciding where they fitted best in the arrangement. Using piano in some parts helped establish the key and gave the track a clearer musical direction, which made the experimental sounds feel more organised.
Appendices and Bibliography
