Creating The Recorded Image of Turkish Art
Music: The Decision Making Process in a
Recording Session
Doç. Dr. CAN KARADOĞAN
İTÜ TMDK
• Discussion of the studio representation of Turkish Art Music
• Stating the frequently faced problems of Turkish Art Music
recording sessions
• Creating the ‘high fidelity’ stereo image of the music that an
ensemble is playing
• Recommending ways to ease the decision making process in
the session based on observations gained from practice
PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
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• A form of chamber music by tradition
• Although the original practice was performed
acoustically, the contemporary performance practice
requires sound reinforcement
TURKISH ART MUSIC
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• Recorded mostly live using no overdubs
• The dominance of small studios force the productions to
transform into a overdub way
• Bigger ensembles which won’t fit into a studio should be
recorded in concert halls or similar places
ACOUSTIC ENSEMBLE
MUSIC
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• They make use of the ITD (Interaural Time Delay) or IID
(Interaural Intensity Difference) (e.g. the A-B technique
or the XY technique)
• They can reflect the placement of an ensemble in a room
by giving localization cues.
STEREO MICROPHONE
TECHNIQUES
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• The placement of musical elements in the horizontal (leftright) and the depth dimension in mixed music
• It is mostly possible to pan instruments to left of right.
• By changing their volumes and their reverb amounts
mostly it is possible to place these instruments to the
foreground or the background.
PANORAMA
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• A fixed sitting placement
• In order to capture the depth and the space, even a single
A-B stereo pair can be sufficient to create the image
• Near mics are used to support the sections that are not
loud enough in the whole mix
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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• Microphones are placed mostly at a distance about 2-30
cm. from the source
• Aims to capture more of the first sound waves from the
source
• Minimizes the reflected sounds that arrive at the
microphone capsule
CLOSE MIKING
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• Fixed placement
• Familiar with acoustic performance
• Overdubbing is never the choice of production
STRING QUARTETT
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• Difficulties in acoustic performance without any
monitoring
• No clear placement
• Fuzziness in the stereo image
FREQUENTLY FACED
PROBLEMS OF TURKISH ART
MUSIC SESSIONS
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• Due to the 3:1 rule, a tight sitting placement would limit
the miking distance
• The stereo mix design would be compromised
• Controlling the musical image
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
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• High awareness and expections for the stereo image
• Only close miking techniques are used so that the
panoramic placement is done in the mix
• Recorded using headphones!!!
JAZZ RECORDINGS
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• High awareness and expections for the stereo image
• The stereo microphone pair defines the panorama
• The close mics contribute less to the overall sound
• No headphones are used during recording!!!
CLASSICAL RECORDINGS
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• The ensemble creates the intonation together in the room
• What happens if one instrument makes a mistake
• Acoustic performance problems
• Headphones: With or without
• When a singer is involved, the session must be done using
headphones
TURKISH ART MUSIC LIVE
RECORDING CASE
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Stereo placement of the instruments
Is the kanun in the center?
Bowed instruments vs. Plucked instruments
Performing in a wide hemi circle
Percussion instruments on the left of the circle
Restricted usage of the stereo panorama that is present in
the stereo pair
MIXING
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AN EXAMPLE
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INSTRUMENTS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tanbur
Ud
Ney
Kanun
Kemençe
Cello
Bendir (Percussion)
Daire (Percussion)
Refik Hakan Talu
Ensemble
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• Having the sound expectation unclear, placing a close mic
for each instrument can be helpful.
• Depending on previous experience, matching all
instruments with the best as possible sounding mic.
• Recording the sound that is created together in the room
with an A-B stereo pair.
MIKING DECISIONS
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TANBUR
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UD
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BENDİR
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• Making use of the polar patterns of microphones as much
as possible.
• Isolating neighboring instruments with gobos
• Making use of the Low-cut filters of some microphones
MINIMIZING THE LEAKAGE
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GOBOS
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• Placed in the center of the hemi circle
• Pointing towards the kanun as a center instrument
• Ca. 2.20 m height
A-B STEREO PAIR
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A-B STEREO PAIR
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A-B STEREO
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MIXING STAGE
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MIX PANORAMA
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• Close mic channels contributed to the sound more than the stereo pair
• Unlike classical music mixes, the level of the main pair was kept lower than the
close mic channels.
• Delay compensation between the close mics to the pair was made
• Close mics were panned according to their position in the stereo image of the A-B
pair
• Reverb added
• Eqs were used to minimize the leakage and to give definition to some instruments
MIXING STEPS
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Buselik Saz Semaisi – Refik Hakan Talu
• Room mics. only (A-B, DPA 4006)
• Only close mics.
• Final mix
LISTENING EXAMPLE
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• Is there a traditional placement of the instruments of
Turkish Art Music?
• Is the kanun always in the middle?
• Must the percussion instruments be place at a hard left of
right position?
• Would the bowed and plucked instruments be placed
together as a section?
• Would an average listener expect to find this stereo image
in a recording?
• How much freedom does a sound engineer have in order
to produce Turkish Art Music?
REMAINING QUESTIONS
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THANK YOU
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