Audio Support for the Choir in a Combined

We offer a simple educa0onal presenta0on from Glenn Cockrell and Spectrum Pro Music LLC This material is presented as a help and guide to music educators and directors. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. All products men0oned and represented are the sole property of the original manufacturer and are not for sale by the author or Spectrum Pro Music nor is there any commercial compensa0on for their men0on herein. This presenta0on is owned and copyrighted by Glenn Cockrell and Spectrum Pro Music LLC 2012. All Rights reserved. WHY MIKE MY CHOIR?!?
CHOIRS and MICROPHONES: In this day and age of pop music and modern technology it would seem this would not represent such an unusually quesAoned combinaAon or topic of discussion. However for the musical purest in many of us and the reality of a “budget” always looming here we are. In most auditorium seGngs large, medium, or small, a skilled choir can more than produce a full and robust choral sound with nothing more than solid rehearsal, a carefully selected repertoire, some risers, and likely a nice arrangement of acousAcal sound shells. Even with a masterful piano accompanist the choir is well heard. But what happens when we join the band and orchestra together with the choir? For many the challenge of striking a musical balance is overwhelming. But we should not avoid such a great musical and educaAonal opportunity. If your choir to instrumentalist raAo looks like this you are less likely to need sound reinforcement. South Dakota State University But for many of us the combined advanced ensemble raAo may look more like this…and that’s OK! Chan0lly High School So please don’t throw your hands up in discouragement, nor should you be so pious as a musician that you discount the value of working with technology . The value of a combined performance experience is as real world as it gets, and you will be able to thrill both your audience and your performers with a saAsfying experience. In any case I do not make this presentaAon as an audio engineer but as a music educator and choral music director. Don’t throw away your acousAc shells or abandon the beauty of the un-­‐plugged concert experience. I do however invite you to consider in this case “the bigger picture.” MICROPHONES (for Choir): I will cut to the chase…the most standard type of area mic used in this applicaAon is a cardioid condenser mic. There are many out there, and you always have a choice. In my experience (as an educator of 26 years and always dealing with a budget) I have used the Audio Technica 853 series microphone. The current version is the AT U853 A microphone (2012). I’ve used them on the high school stage and church choir loa. This microphone is reasonably durable, and has good area coverage. It comes with a babery pack/adaptor and can be used with the phantom power from your mixer instead of a babery. It can be hung from the ceiling or has a special clip for mic stands. A standard XLR mic cable is used for patching to your sound system. Retail, they run around $200.00 each (2012). And for the money it is the best mic for this applicaAon. Lower priced mics lose a lot of quality and other mics of an equal or beber coverage start around $400.00 each. I am preby sure you can get a beber price from local vendors especially if you are purchasing more than one. Of course in the public school, much like the professional world, for consistent quality, absolute durability, and pracAcal cost The Shure SM58 is the stand alone work horse for standard close hand held solo microphone applicaAons and speaking. BEST PRACTICE PLACEMENT OF CHOIR MICROPHONES: Here are two sets of diagrams for the best placement of your choir microphones. The first set works from the concept of angle degrees and percentages based on the cardioid recepAon pabern of the microphones. The second set defines microphone placements by pracAcal recepAon distance. Typically I would not separate the distance between microphones more than 6 to 8 feet. Any closer however and the microphones will cancel each other out and you get dead recepAon spaces. I also try to have at least one microphone per vocal secAon SATB. This allows for a beber mix and the ability to boost a secAon if needed in a big producAon (like the typically smaller guys secAon.) If you have a savvy sound engineer they may also group the choir mics on the mixer in order to control the choir as a whole group as well as in individual secAons. Of course the best number of microphones will be determined by the size and spacing of your choir. And it’s always good to gently remind singers that microphones don’t improve the quality of the singing, they only reproduce and amplify what is being sung. So sing strong and sing well. The instrumentalists must also be made aware that playing with a choir is different than performing a symphonic work. Images courtesy of Audio Technica Images courtesy of Shure Sound System and Choir Miking: Of course the more robust your sound system the beber the chance to balance your choir against large instrumental ensembles, jazz bands, and rock combos. And we will leave that to another discussion. So how can we best support the choir vocals through the sound system? In an analog sound system first set your EQ to 12 O’Clock or nominal posiAon. Then set your channel fader to “0” or nominal posiAon (this represents your volume ceiling). Then while the choir sings bring up the gain/trim nob to your maximum possible posiAon with out feedback. Now you are set for general volume control. Pull your fader down a bit and this gives you some room to work. (A digital mixers controls may be accessed in a different way but seGngs will generally work in the same manner.) As far as seGng the EQ…For a choir the mid range and low range should typically be set between 12 O’Clock and 1 O’Clock (Of course adjust to taste). The High EQ is the tricky one. The high EQ has a lot to do with the quality and amount of sibilant sound you get, which has everything to do with consonants and syllables/dicAon. So for the choir you may need a bit more here than you would use on a handheld solo microphone. But be careful not to get carried away because too much can create extra noise, hum, or feedback. Remember these are BASICS. A skilled engineer behind the console can do much more. ALSO: Remember if you’re using stage monitors – which I highly recommend – Keep the monitors downstage from the microphones and avoid those nasty feedback loops. I used one monitor feed of just the choir going to the rhythm secAon and directors, while the choir got mostly piano, solos, and maybe a lible hi-­‐hat and kick drum. Finally my standing choir was elevated on risers behind and above the level of the band. The sound system speakers were forward of the band. You never completely eliminate audio bleed from other sources on the stage but this worked best for me. We hope this information is helpful.
Should you have further questions
or require more assistance
we are available for clinics and training sessions.
Glenn Cockrell
glenn@spectrumpromusic.com
This presenta0on is owned and copyrighted by Glenn Cockrell and Spectrum Pro Music LLC 2012. All Rights reserved.