So I was designing a musical and I got the most hilarious email from the music director, telling me that there would be hotspot amp/speakers [shudder] in the pit and also dictating microphone placement. Here is that exchange:
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Honestly? One of the better musicians around here. |
We: You specify two microphones for the woodwinds doubling. Where... do you suggest those microphones go exactly? Perhaps we have wildly different ideas about how to mic woodwinds.
They: There are many changes of instruments for the player so the constant repositioning of the mic is not the best idea. Flute mics high close to the players mouth while a clarinet mics close to the players hands. This would be the correct way to mic these instruments, which is why we need 2 separate mics.
We: There is no "correct" way to mic any instrument. Close to the mouth might be fine for flute if this were, for instance, a Jethro Tull concert in 1972. But we might want a somewhat more delicate sound for a small-ensemble musical theater experience. This will help enable the subtle dynamics and phrasing of the material to be realized with more musicality than otherwise achievable with rock-and-roll mic technique. I suggest we do not close-mic the woodwinds.
They: Actually, that’s incorrect. The micing is dictated by where on the instrument the sound is coming from. If we were in an isolation box then you can mic the space, but that is not the case here. Flutes and clarinets produce sound from different parts of the instrument. We will need 2 mics.
This is maybe the funniest thing I've ever heard about how sound is amplified. So yes, from here on out "The micing is dictated by where on the instrument the sound is coming from" is one of those things which should be a cartoon sign on every mixing board.
Anyway, can you tell I got fired from that show? Thank the gods too, I've heard nothing but bad things about how these shows sound and, well, now I know why. "The micing is dictated by where on the instrument the sound is coming from." Huh. I wonder how that works on violin? ;-)
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