• Make stereo recordings of two School of Music events. This project is meant to get you comfortable with making stereo recordings, as well as provide a service for the School of Music.
• The recording equipment can be found in the locker in the music lab. To avoid last-minute rushes on checking out the equipment. Students will belong to one of three recording groups. Each group will be expected to make its recordings during a given month during the term: Group A during the first month, Group B during the second month, Group C during the third month.
• You can sign up to record an event in the lab.
• The School of Music's checkout-equipment consists of an Edirol mini-recorder, a mixer, and four microphones -- a stereo pair of omnis, and a stereo pair of directionals.
• Configure the microphones to capture a stereo recording with a good balance of direct and reflected sounds.
• Use both sets of microphones -- the directional and the omnis. Use the configurations discussed in class and in the textbook: spaced omnis (a meter or two apart) and coincident directionals or semi-coincident directionals.
• Give complete descriptions of how you set up the microphones. You may wish to make an illustration.
• Be conscious of levels during recording. Avoid clipping. Avoid low levels. Take care to get good recording levels. Keep your eyes on the meters. Adjust the mic input gains until you see a good solid signal in the meters of your recording instrument.
• Don't just listen. Also look at your recording in Sound Studio or some audio editor.
• While amplitude levels can always be adjusted later in a program like Sound Studio, any editing like this by definition adds errors to your recording. It is always better to have to lower volume than to have to increase it.
• Edit your recordings so that each piece appears as a separate track on your CD.
• Edit your recordings to ensure smooth fade-ins and fade-outs before and after the music starts.

Start on this right away. I have absolutely no interest in the laments of atudents who wait until the last minute and then complain that they had no opportunities to make recordings.

You may work in groups of two, so that two people are responsible for recording each event.

You may with to refer to Shure's guide for microphone placement.
More articles from Shure can be found here. Study in particular their demonstration of direct to ambient audio.

Submit:

• Two audio CDs (not CD-ROMs), one for each event you record that contains your recordings.
• A CD-ROM containing a written description of the conditions for each recording. What sort of event was it? What decisions did you make are far as microphone directionality, spacing, and placement? How suitable was the room for the type of music you were recording?
• Submit your discs in a folder, portfolio, or ziploc bag. Do not gift wrap them -- there should be no tape or staples in your submission package. These are a waste of the instructor's time and will result in a lower score.