Peibyn wrote:
A good singer will perform differently, depending on whether the room is
reverberant or 'dry'. The singer needs to hear the reverb in order to
give a good performance.
Adrian, I used to work in record production with a famous British label,
and you may be interested to learn that we went to a great deal of trouble
back then (and I am certain it still happens) to select the best
reverberative chamber for the particular performer or group of performers
we were recording. For example, certain London halls or churches were
rejected because of the kind of reverberation they provided, while others
were ideal. Singers particularly were fussy about the venue and usually
wished to rehearse in the space prior to the recording so as to
accommodate the reverberation of the space. For example, a soprano might
find that she needed only to produce a high note in a particular way in
order to produce the most pleasing effect - all because of the acoustics
in the space.
A neighbour of mine recently paid to make a 'vanity' recording in a
studio. His voice was pretty good, but I could tell that he hadn't been
able to hear the reverb, which had been added later. He wasn't aware of
any changes in his style, but I knew that he would have been a good
enough singer to unconsciously adapt to the acoustics and it was
apparent from the recording that he hadn't made that adaptation.
Also, the degree of reverberation effects the singer's psychology as he or
she sings. For example, a completely "dead" space (in which we would
never record) would give nothing back to the singer or musicians, making
them feel as if they were performing in a vacuum - a very disheartening
effect, likely to produce a recording that indicates what actually
happened, a battle against an ungiving space.
I prefer to ask the performer or composer what sort of venue they would
like to hear their music performed in, then we search around and see if
we can find something we can hire that meets their expectations. It may
require a bit of acoustic treatment before it is suitable for recording,
but it ensures that the performer feels comfortable and 'at home' in
their surroundings.
On the other hand, I appreciate that a space which is barely reverberative
can provide the performer with "honest" feedback. This is useful in
rehearsal.
A music venue in Bristol has a slightly concave back wall to the
auditorium, which focusses the sound back onto the performers. They
love it because of the 'feedback' it gives them, but it caused me no end
of problems when I first tried recording there. I eventually used a
steerable mic pair connected to an X-Y scope, which showed me that the
strongest signal was coming into the back of the mic - then the penny
dropped.
In that venue, I now record a solo instrument with the mic facing across
the stage from one side or hang blankets across the back wall before
recording an ensemble from the centre.
--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
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www.poppyrecords.co.uk