Re: OT: SACD Surround Question

Norman M. Schwartz wrote: 
"Richard Steinfeld"  wrote:

It can depend on many factors, including the sonics of the recording

hall. My experience in the recording studio made me believe that a keyboard string instrument should not be miked too close; if the microphone is set for a spot pattern, it should be pretty far above the instrument. What I'm getting at is that you don't want the sonic perspective to be inside the piano. On the other hand, I'll bet that a lot of Glenn Gould's sound was taken from beneath the instrument in a futile attempt to eliminate his singing.


With, or without your helpful clarification on microphone characteristics, GG's sound wouldn't have been captured from beneath the piano due to the sound emanating from his one and only chair.


What I was trying to cover is that it's possible to mike the soundboard of his grand piano from underneath using a microphone set on a cardioid pattern -- the ratio of the music from the soundboard would be very much louder relative to the sound of the chair (which would be literally "off mike"). I'll guess that the effect would have been an effective attenuation of the chair of at least 12 db: that's a very significant amount. If miked from above, it would have been much more difficult to block the singing.

I'll add that although I was at that studio often, I was never present during Gould's sessions, so I did not observe the microphone technique that was actually used for his recordings. It's reasonable to assume that they did everything possible to attenuate his singing, but I'll refrain from getting into the technology and conjecture of why they couldn't totally kill it. I believe that the engineer was also a pianist married to a singer -- if I met the right fellow -- so he'd have been very sensitive to getting the sound as right as possible. I'll assume that multiple microphones were used, not so much to get very fancy with the sound, but rather, to give a choice of sonic perspectives to be used in the later mixdown.


. Trust me: I saw them myself. Two pianos resided permanently in that studio for Gould, pushed out of the way when others worked there (the studio was in use round the clock). I don't recall seeing any special chairs.


I trust you, BUT from the little that I know and can gather, his chair would not have been left behind and out of his possession, for anyone to get their paws on... Either he himself took the chair or he had some assistant do the honor. It follows that you would not been able to see his "special" chair in the studio unless he was using it.


What you've written seems correct to me.

Maybe, but I have almost all of his recordings and I haven't ever been distracted by his creaking chair!


I don't have the recording, but from the comments I've read his recording of 2 and 3 part inventions allow you to detect the chair if you are so inclined. (I'm not.)


I do have it, and I'll listen for the chair (hopefully, I'll remember). One thing that I suspect is that musicians have the ability to tune out interfering sounds and also add sounds that are missing -- these are mental processes. And I may be doing this. So, I'll try to deliberately pick up the chair.



If you don't want to listen to Gould's chair and his singing, you may enjoy someone else's playing.


There are a lot of other vocalists on record, for one R. Serkin stands out in my mind, but their singing doesn't disturb me at all. For these players singing along was part of their creative processes.


And the jazz pianist Erroll Garner, who recorded in the same studio. Garner didn't sing: he grunted and groaned. His cuts done with the Mitch Miller Show harpsichord contain a couple of pretty wild, fanciful Bachian fugues that come and go in passing.


and

I've learned to tolerate the moaning. If I had the power to do so, I'd bring him back to life; I really would.


In my mind GG was a profoundly gifted and unique individual and anything had to play is worthy of my consideration and is of interest to me. I don't have anything near all his recordings, but I treasure those that I own. It appears you either love him or hate him, and I love him.


I must agree. Although my love is tempered -- you haven't lived until you've heard Gould butcher chamber music -- the guy played like a steamroller.

I've come to accept that any musician who I like won't do everything well, and some musicians who I dislike may be expert at one thing that they do superbly. That's life, I guess.

Richard
.

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