Classical/Grand Piano Recording Workshops

Cape Audio College recently held a number of workshops recording grand piano featuring cello accompaniment and an afro jazz band, giving students wondefull experience recording a concert pianist on a full grand piano.

Recording the piano is a challenge because it is an instrument that has a very wide frequency range and to capture this range one must select microphones that can do the job, sometimes a combination of mics are required. Acoustical considerations and mic placements also play a role as well as genre.

The students had the opportunity of working with concert pianist Sandra Kettle who played some pieces from Bach, Chopan and Sancan.

Another workshop was held where Rebbecca Smith played some of her own compositions accompanied by a cello playing the melodies. This added the challenge of recording these instruments together and dealing with issues like bleed and monitoring. Afro Jazz band Black Rose made the most of the grand piano and came and did a set for the second year students who as a group worked on the recordings and gained valuable experience recording the grand piano.

All students involved have expressed that it was a great experience and that they learned a lot that would equip them when tackling projects that involved piano recordings in the future. A big thanks to all the musicians involved who help make these workshops a rewarding experience for the students at Cape Audio College. Here are some pics from one of the sessions.