RECORDING TECHNIQUES I
LESSON 1B – LISTENING THROUGH HISTORY
1.1 – Au Clair de la Lune (1860)
Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville
Phonautogram – April 9, 1860
1.2 — Edison’s St. Louis Tinfoil Recording
Thomas Edison – June 22, 1878
Recorded during a demonstration of Edison’s phonograph in St. Louis, this surviving tinfoil recording contains speech and musical performance. It is one of the earliest playable recordings of an American voice and an extraordinary surviving example of the first years of recorded sound.
Audio and historical information courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Recording Registry.
More information:
Library of Congress — Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
1.3 – La Media Noche
Sousa’s U.S. Marine Band – ca. 1890
Library of Congress – La Media Noche
Source: Library of Congress
1.4 – Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Fisk University Jubilee Singers — 1909
Library of Congress – Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Source: Library of Congress, National Jukebox
1.5 – Adeste Fideles
Associated Glee Clubs of America — Recorded March 31, 1925
Library of Congress – Adeste Fideles
Source: Library of Congress, National Recording Registry
1.6 — How High the Moon
Les Paul and Mary Ford – 1951
Library of Congress – How High the Moon
Source: Library of Congress, National Recording Registry
(For this recording, scroll down to 1951)
Learn more about Les Paul and the development of modern recording
LESSON 4A – Listening Example 4.1
Three Microphones, One Performance
MICROPHONE A
MICROPHONE B
MICROPHONE C
Lesson 4B – Listening Example 4.2
Hearing Polar Patterns
Cardioid
Figure-8
Omnidirectional
Lesson 4B – Listening Example 4.3
Hearing Proximity Effect
Lesson 4C – Listening Example 4.4
Hearing Microphone Placement
421 Close to Grille (about 1-inch)
421 Close to the Grille (about 6 inches)
421 About 12 Inches from the Grille
421 About 24 inches from the Grille
57 On Axis (1-2 inches from the grille)
57 Off Axis (1-2 inches from the grille)
Lesson 4D – Listening Example 4.5
Listening to Stereo Width
Blumblein Pair (Royer R-121s)
X/Y (Shure SM81s)
ORTF (Schoeps CMC6s, Cadidoid)
Small Spaced Pair (AKG 414 TLIIs /40 cms [16 inches] apart)
Large Spaced Pair (Earthworks QT50s)
M/S (Sides: AKG ULS Figure-8; Mid: Shure SM81)
M/S (Only Sides: AKG ULS Figure-8)
M/S (Only Mid: Shure SM81)