Choro sound on salsa records

[Boris Lau]

Hi there,

on many recordings of Salsa bands there is a background choir singing
the Choro. Often there is a special sound to them, different from the
lead singer and regular background vocals that might be there as well.

It actually seems to be something like a tradition to me, I've heard
that it comes from horn players singing through their instrument mics on
stage. Do you know anything about this? How is it done in the studios
these days?

Boris

--
http://www.borislau.de - computer science, music, photos

[Abemeister]

On Jan 29, 8:22 am, Boris Lau > wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> on many recordings of Salsa bands there is a background choir singing
> the Choro. Often there is a special sound to them, different from the
> lead singer and regular background vocals that might be there as well.
>
> It actually seems to be something like a tradition to me, I've heard
> that it comes from horn players singing through their instrument mics on
> stage. Do you know anything about this? How is it done in the studios
> these days?


Sampling my friend.....Sampling!


>
> Boris
>
> --http://www.borislau.de- computer science, music, photos

[Boris Lau]

Abemeister wrote:
>> on many recordings of Salsa bands there is a background choir singing
>> the Choro. Often there is a special sound to them, different from the
>> lead singer and regular background vocals that might be there as well.

> Sampling my friend.....Sampling!

Well, although many of those songs sound all the same, the lyrics are
always a bit different...

--
http://www.borislau.de - computer science, music, photos

[Scott Dorsey]

Boris Lau > wrote:
>
>on many recordings of Salsa bands there is a background choir singing
>the Choro. Often there is a special sound to them, different from the
>lead singer and regular background vocals that might be there as well.

The traditional way that big bands have done this is that the musicians
all sang while in place, and they got picked up by the main ambient mikes
on the band. Listen to the Stan Kenton band on "Rikka Jikka Jack" for
instance.

>It actually seems to be something like a tradition to me, I've heard
>that it comes from horn players singing through their instrument mics on
>stage. Do you know anything about this?

If the horns are spotted (and in a modern salsa band they will be), the
band vocals will be in there too. But the big deal is that they are
distantly recorded.

> How is it done in the studios
>these days?

With salsa bands these days? They probably fly in samples from old Tito
Puente records. Lo, how the mighty have fallen...
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."