Recording Tips for Music Educators: A Practical Guide for Recording School Groups

by Ronald E. Kearns

Overview

Recording Tips for Music Educators: A Practical Guide for Recording School Groups provides a go-to guide for music educators to plan and execute a successful recording project for school groups. For those teachers who are not comfortable with the recording process, this book functions as a catalyst to becoming comfortable with the planning, execution, and use of a school recording project. One of the most valuable tools for teaching is for students to be able to evaluate themselves. A good recording of the group helps students listen critically and make accurate evaluations of how well they have performed literature they have been taught over time. Covering planning, equipment needs, and equipment use, Recording Tips for Music Educators ensures that educators not trained in music production will be able to create praise-worthy recordings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190465230
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/24/2017
Series:	Essential Music Technology: The Prestissimo Series
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Ronald E. Kearns is a performer, clinician, educator, producer and author. Ron received a BS in Music Education from Knoxville College, and his MM from Catholic University. As a performer Ron has performed throughout the United States with his quintet and big band. Ron received training as a big band leader from Rick Henderson who was mentored by Duke Ellington. He was also mentored by Stanley Turrentine and Buck Hill. He has recorded six CDs as a leader. His most recent CD Quiet Nights is a tribute to the seminal recording Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd.

As a producer Ron has produced over 40 recordings by artists such as Terell Stafford, Ronnie Wells, Buck Hill, Ruby Hayes, Paul Carr, Eric Byrd, Howard Burns, Herman Burney, Buster Williams and several others. For 15 years Ron was the official record producer for the East Coast Jazz Festival producing videos and recordings for Houston Person, Keter Betts and all of the headline acts of the festival. Ron polished his production skills at Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University.

As an educator, Ron's bands and orchestras were nationally recognized and during his last ten years teaching, he received three Grammy Signature School Awards awarded to the 50 top music programs in the United States and three years in succession his groups were selected as one of the top ten music programs in the Washington, DC area. Ron's bands, orchestras and jazz ensembles never received less than a Superior rating in sight reading in 28 years of festival participation. Ron was also selected as one of School Band and Orchestra Magazine's 50 Directors Who Make a Difference in 2004 and received an Excellence in Teaching Jazz Award from DownBeat magazine in 2005.

Ron Kearns has written articles on jazz, music production and music education and is the author of the book Quick Reference for Band Directors which is being used as a text book for band directors at colleges and universities across the US. Ron endorses Selmer Paris 72, Reference 54 saxophones exclusively. He is a Vandoren of Paris Performing Artist and writes several articles for their website.

www.ronkearns.com

Table of Contents

Foreword by Richard McCready
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Getting Started Recording Your Group
What are My First Steps?
Microphone Placement
Should You Use Microphones for Every Section?
Summary

2. Recording During a Rehearsal in the Rehearsal Room
Recording in Small Rehearsal Spaces
Microphone placement and Proximity
Overhead Microphone Placement
Directional Microphone Placement
Playback and Evaluation; Using the Recording as a Teaching Tool
Summary

3. Recording in an Auditorium or Large Space
Recording in a Large Space
Microphone Placement and Proximity
Use of Multiple Microphones
Hand-held Devices
Summary


4. Recording Jazz Ensembles, Show Choirs and Groups with Amplifiers
Recording Smaller Groups
Recording Groups that Move on Stage
Summary

5. Recording Away from School
Recording in an unfamiliar space
Use of a stereo pair only
Making adjustments for the unexpected
Summary

6. Recording in Areas That are not Acoustically Treated
Recording Outside Performances
Hand-held Devices
Recording in Poorly Treated Areas
Summary

7. Mixing a Performance Recording
What is a Mixer/Soundboard?
Analog and Digital Mixers
Starting the Mixing Process
Getting the Right Balances to Keep the Live Performance Feel
Using a Mixing Board in Post-Production
Summary

8. Mastering a Performance
What is Mastering?
How to Get a Good Master?
What are the Final Steps?
Mastering Yourself
Finalizing Your Master
Summary

9. Developing a Budget
How Much Should be Spent on Equipment?
Where Can I Get the Funding for Equipment?
How Much Can I Expect to Spend on Equipment?
Hand-held Devices
Soundboards
Sample Budget
Summary

10. Selecting the Best Equipment
What Should be Considered when Deciding on Microphones?
What Kinds of Cables Will be Best?
What Kind of Mixing Board is Needed?
Preamps
Summary
Appendix A
Appendix B
Glossary
Index