1. Creating The Recorded Image of Turkish Art Music: The Decision Making Process in a Recording Session Doç. Dr. CAN KARADOĞAN İTÜ TMDK

2. PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY Discussion of the studio representation of Turkish Art Music Stating the frequently faced problems of Turkish Art Music recording sessions Creating the ‘high fidelity’ stereo image of the music that an ensemble is playing Recommending ways to ease the decision making process in the session based on observations gained from practice 2

3. TURKISH ART MUSIC A form of chamber music by tradition Although the original practice was performed acoustically, the contemporary performance practice requires sound reinforcement 3

4. ACOUSTIC ENSEMBLE MUSIC Recorded mostly live using no overdubs The dominance of small studios force the productions to transform into a overdub way Bigger ensembles which won’t fit into a studio should be recorded in concert halls or similar places 4

5. STEREO MICROPHONE TECHNIQUES They make use of the ITD (Interaural Time Delay) or IID (Interaural Intensity Difference) (e.g. the A-B technique or the XY technique) They can reflect the placement of an ensemble in a room by giving localization cues. 5

6. PANORAMA The placement of musical elements in the horizontal (left- right) and the depth dimension in mixed music It is mostly possible to pan instruments to left of right. By changing their volumes and their reverb amounts mostly it is possible to place these instruments to the foreground or the background. 6

7. SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A fixed sitting placement In order to capture the depth and the space, even a single A-B stereo pair can be sufficient to create the image Near mics are used to support the sections that are not loud enough in the whole mix 7

8. CLOSE MIKING Microphones are placed mostly at a distance about 2-30 cm. from the source Aims to capture more of the first sound waves from the source Minimizes the reflected sounds that arrive at the microphone capsule 8

9. STRING QUARTETT Fixed placement Familiar with acoustic performance Overdubbing is never the choice of production 9

10. FREQUENTLY FACED PROBLEMS OF TURKISH ART MUSIC SESSIONS Difficulties in acoustic performance without any monitoring No clear placement Fuzziness in the stereo image 10

11. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Due to the 3:1 rule, a tight sitting placement would limit the miking distance The stereo mix design would be compromised Controlling the musical image 11

12. JAZZ RECORDINGS High awareness and expections for the stereo image Only close miking techniques are used so that the panoramic placement is done in the mix Recorded using headphones!!! 12

13. CLASSICAL RECORDINGS High awareness and expections for the stereo image The stereo microphone pair defines the panorama The close mics contribute less to the overall sound No headphones are used during recording!!! 13

14. TURKISH ART MUSIC LIVE RECORDING CASE The ensemble creates the intonation together in the room What happens if one instrument makes a mistake Acoustic performance problems Headphones: With or without When a singer is involved, the session must be done using headphones 14

15. MIXING Stereo placement of the instruments Is the kanun in the center? Bowed instruments vs. Plucked instruments Performing in a wide hemi circle Percussion instruments on the left of the circle Restricted usage of the stereo panorama that is present in the stereo pair 15

16. AN EXAMPLE 16

17. Refik Hakan Talu Ensemble INSTRUMENTS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Tanbur Ud Ney Kanun Kemençe Cello Bendir (Percussion) Daire (Percussion) 17

18. MIKING DECISIONS Having the sound expectation unclear, placing a close mic for each instrument can be helpful. Depending on previous experience, matching all instruments with the best as possible sounding mic. Recording the sound that is created together in the room with an A-B stereo pair. 18

19. TANBUR 19

20. UD 20

21. BENDİR 21

22. MINIMIZING THE LEAKAGE Making use of the polar patterns of microphones as much as possible. Isolating neighboring instruments with gobos Making use of the Low-cut filters of some microphones 22

23. GOBOS 23

24. A-B STEREO PAIR Placed in the center of the hemi circle Pointing towards the kanun as a center instrument Ca. 2.20 m height 24

25. A-B STEREO PAIR 25

26. A-B STEREO 26

27. MIXING STAGE 27

28. MIX PANORAMA 28

29. MIXING STEPS Close mic channels contributed to the sound more than the stereo pair Unlike classical music mixes, the level of the main pair was kept lower than the close mic channels. Delay compensation between the close mics to the pair was made Close mics were panned according to their position in the stereo image of the A-B pair Reverb added Eqs were used to minimize the leakage and to give definition to some instruments 29

30. LISTENING EXAMPLE Buselik Saz Semaisi – Refik Hakan Talu Room mics. only (A-B, DPA 4006) Only close mics. Final mix 30

31. REMAINING QUESTIONS Is there a traditional placement of the instruments of Turkish Art Music? Is the kanun always in the middle? Must the percussion instruments be place at a hard left of right position? Would the bowed and plucked instruments be placed together as a section? Would an average listener expect to find this stereo image in a recording? How much freedom does a sound engineer have in order to produce Turkish Art Music? 31

32. THANK YOU 32