“Sure, it would be
ideal to have an audio
engineer…but that
just isn’t practical or
cost effective.” —Rachel Lee Hall

Have you ever forgotten about an audition deadline and needed a last minute recording done? Have you ever needed recordings to update your website or provide sample audio clips to prospective clients for wedding gigs? Have you ever wished you had experience, equipment, and knowledge in audio recording? There are many reasons why learning some basic audio recording skills can be a crucial part of your growth as a musician, and they all have to do with practicality, perspective, and practice. In this article, we will explore the ins and outs of audio recording at home: Why is it important? Where do we start? What equipment should we use? How should we edit our recordings? And though we will mainly be exploring the audio component of home recording, much of what is discussed will apply to video recording as well.

Why home recording?

“Working with close mics at home allows me to develop a sound that replicates more faithfully what I hear when I’m playing.” —Amy Turk

Learning how to make your own home recordings is a practical and fundamental skill for a musician in 2020. In today’s tech-centric culture, it’s so important that we are active and visible online, and a big part of that is promoting how we sound. I’m an active Instagrammer, and it is essential that I give an authentic portrayal of the way I sound to my audience every day. Sure, it would be ideal to have an audio engineer record every post I make, but that just isn’t practical or cost effective. The skills I have learned while recording myself have taken me one big step further in my harp journey—and they can for you, too.

Learning how to record myself has also given me a unique perspective to share with my online audience. While I do also post professionally made recordings, my primary focus on my Instagram account is practice posts. Self-recording in an everyday practice setting places my 50,000 Instagram followers in my practice room, provides a more personal connection, helps me to post more regularly, and makes it more likely for my goal—encouraging my Instagram followers toward better practicing—to become a reality. Recording at home allows me to be vulnerable, accessible, and authentic, creating a personal space and community that I wouldn’t otherwise have.

I am not the only one who feels this way about the power of home recording. Amy Turk, a harpist, composer, and arranger from the UK, is probably best known for the video of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, which went viral on YouTube several years ago, weighing in at more than seven million views. Now with over 130,000 YouTube subscribers, Turk regularly posts an eclectic mix of classical pieces and pop covers to her channel. An expert self-recorder, Turk explains why pursuing home recordings was first attractive to her. “I felt very limited by the conventions of classical harp recordings I had heard growing up, because they are all recorded in places like churches with a lot of natural reverb,” Turk says. “This replicates the sound as heard by an audience in a live setting, at a distance from the performer.”

While replication is a classic and important approach, Turk found self-recording to be a more useful and authentic way for her to connect to her audience. She feels that there’s a lot of musical detail her audience might otherwise miss when listening from far away. “Working with close mics at home allows me to develop a sound that replicates more faithfully what I hear when I’m playing,” Turk says. “That’s really important for me to convey—it’s giving my audience the chance to hear the harp the way I do, rather than being separated from me like a live audience would be. That’s the experience I really want to give people when they hear my playing.”

As I post my own recordings to Instagram every day, I have come to appreciate that intimate level of authenticity and connection with my Instagram community. But self-recording has also proven to be helpful in a personal way I never expected: it is a highly effective way to push myself to the next level in the practice room. Learning how to hear myself as an audience member, rather than a performer, has enabled me to expect bigger and better things from my playing and performing. Amy Turk agrees.“Recording yourself is an important part of assessing your own playing,” she says. “It gives you invaluable insight into what it sounds like when you play, separated from the many things you are considering when you are performing.”

Taking the time to listen to recordings of yourself can provide a new perspective on your own tendencies, pitfalls, weaknesses, and strengths. It can allow you to turn off all distractions while you play and truly listen with fresh ears.

“Ask yourself, did you rush that section too much? Get too loud or too tense here?” Turk suggests. “There is a lot you can learn about yourself just from making sure you record yourself, however casually, on a regular basis.”

Getting started

“Don’t get caught up
in technical things or
measurements, just ask yourself, How does it sound?” —Alan Bise

You might be a believer in all the good that can come from self-recording, but you stop in your tracks when faced with the next question: “Where do I start?” It can be overwhelming to delve into an area in which we might not have much experience. That’s why I reached out to an expert: Alan Bise, a Grammy Award-winning recording engineer and chief producer of Azica Records. Bise was responsible for recording Yolanda Kondonassis’ most recent album, American Rapture, which won Jennifer Higdon a Grammy for her Harp Concerto in January.

Bise walks us through all the important details for getting started in home recordings, starting with the right setup—a must for a successful home recording. First, choose a space that will sound the best with your instrument. “For harp, you don’t need a very reverberant space because the instrument has so much resonance, especially in the lower octaves,” Bise says. “However, you want to work in the largest room possible.  Low ceilings and walls that are close create what we call ‘early reflections’ and negatively influence the recorded sound. The farther away these surfaces are, the better your recording will be.”

Bise also notes that one crucial, but commonly overlooked detail is noise. “Background noise can be really distracting to a listener.  In self-recording situations, this includes refrigerators, HVAC systems, computer fans, traffic.  Turn as much of this off as possible before you begin.”

Next, you need to find that sweet spot with your microphone placement. Bise suggests experimenting with different distances to find the right presence of sound. “You want a full, clear sound, but not something noisy and ugly.  That mic placement is usually closer to the instrument than you think!”

Your home recording space doesn’t need to be decked out with the top-of-the-line equipment you’d find in a professional studio. But there are a few essentials you’ll need to invest in, namely a microphone, headphones, and recording software. Scroll down for some of our experts’ recommendations.

Bise describes the perfect mic placement as a “magical distance that captures a full, clear sound, but doesn’t include all of the production noise produced while playing the harp.” This “magical spot” changes depending on what space you’re in, whether it’s in your living room, your entryway, or a concert hall. It will take trial and error with placement until you find what works for you, but this is crucial for a great sounding recording.

“If you are able, have a trusted colleague play your harp and just walk around and listen to it,” Bise says. Listen carefully to where you hear the clearest, most even sound, and position your microphones there. Keep in mind that the microphones will pick up sound differently than your ears do, so you will need to adjust the microphones accordingly, but this isn’t a bad place to start.

“I think most of the time, the microphones will be from about 20–45 degrees off the front pillar of the harp, and maybe five to six feet away. But the distance greatly depends on the space,” Bise says. “Height would also be in the five-foot range, with adjustments up or down as needed.  Need more clarity in the low strings? Lower the mics a few inches, and vice versa.”

The last step of your setup is to test the audio. Check to see if the gain and level are balanced so that your audio doesn’t clip. Clipping is when your microphone is “too hot” and creates a cracking/popping sound in your recording. Some recording devices will automatically adjust the gain, but if you are using an external microphone you will have to adjust manually. There is no way to fix this after the fact, so do a few test audio recordings first before you start a take.

“…use the camera that you’re most comfortable with. It’s not about the equipment you use, it’s about the story that you tell.” —Jared Hall

Choose your equipment

Once you have your setup figured out, the other big question harpists wonder is, “What kind of equipment should I invest in?” I put this question to my brother Jared Hall, a professional photographer and filmmaker—and the mastermind behind all of my music videos.

“Even if you spent a million dollars on recording equipment, you still wouldn’t have all of the best stuff,” he says. “How you use your equipment is much more important than the equipment that you use.” Put another way, he points out that even though there’s a real difference between using a Stradivarius violin and using a student violin, it’s the performer that makes the magic happen.

That being said, there are a few essential items you will need when recording audio at home: a decent external microphone, a pair of headphones, and recording software.

The first item you should consider is a microphone. The type of microphone you invest in will depend on what you want to accomplish with it. If you are primarily hoping to use home recordings for personal growth or to expand your professional social media page, it is always recommended to start small. For personal practice and Instagram recordings, I use a Rode VideoMicro. It connects straight to my iPhone to make for easy Instagram video posts with decent sound quality.

Rode VideoMicro: Hall’s personal choice for recording straight to her iPhone for easy Instagram posting.

If you use the Rode with your phone, you may need an adapter cable to make it work (A 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Microphone Cable Adapter). My brother and I also recommend the Zoom H4N Pro as a good starting point. It’s an all-in-one recording device that also accepts more expensive external microphones if you decide to upgrade later. The Zoom records to an SD card which you can then transfer to your computer to download the recording files. If you are looking for a more professional sound for your website or audition recordings, Bise encourages upgrading to a higher quality, external microphone. “You should always use an external microphone,” he says. “And you should always work in stereo, so either a stereo microphone, or two mono microphones.” If you are using an external microphone, you’ll need an XLR cable as well as an audio input device to connect to your computer, unless you choose to plug it into the Zoom recorder.

Apple Earbuds: Something as basic as Apple Earbuds will do the job.

Though Bise’s typical equipment is more suited to a professional recording engineer’s needs than a gigging harpist’s, he recommends mics in the Audio Technica series, such as the AT-8024, for high quality, yet affordable, external microphone options.

The next item in your toolbox should be a good pair of headphones. “The free Apple earbuds that came with your iPhone are a decent place to start,” Hall says, “but if you want a better sound for precise audio monitoring, you can get the Sennheiser HD280PRO.”

You’ll also  need some recording software that you can download to your computer. “If you own a Mac, using GarageBand is a great way to start,” Hall suggests. “It is completely free, and if it’s not already on your Mac, you can download it from the App Store. “It’s easy to use and set up and can even do multitrack recording if that’s something that you’d like to try.”

Audacity: For Windows and Linux users, this free software is a solid choice for sound editing.
GarageBand: A popular choice among Mac users, this program is free to download from the App Store.

If you own a Windows or Linux, my brother recommends Audacity, another free program that you can download online. There are more expensive options that you can look into, but the most important thing is to use something you’re comfortable with.

“It’s important to keep in mind that it’s not the software that makes a good sound,” Hall says. “The software just gives you different kinds of tools. Whether you record with a free program or the most expensive program, your initial recording is going to sound the same. The software that you’re most comfortable with using is the best software.”

Sony ADR FX33: If you want a step up from your phone for video recording, this one makes nice video for the price.

What about recording video? “If you have a little budget, the Sony ADR-FX33 makes a very nice video for the price,” Bise says, adding that using the camera on your phone would also work just fine. “I think in today’s world, even phones make pretty good videos.” My brother agrees. “Whether you’re a vlogger, Instagrammer, or professional filmmaker, use the camera that you’re most comfortable with. It’s not about the equipment you use, it’s about the story that you tell.”

Prepare as well as you would for a performance—except better

Recording something more serious than your daily practice session requires some preparation. How do you best prepare for a recording session? Practice, practice, practice. In many ways, a recording session is a lot like a performance, requiring just as much concentration, stamina, and control. It also requires the same amount of preparation, if not more. Because you want your recording to be even more perfect than a live concert, you will want to be extra prepared for recording day.

Sennheiser HD280PRO: These will give you better sound for precise audio monitoring without
breaking the bank.

“You can’t fake it in a recording, or it will be heard,” Bise cautions. “I tell my first-time recording clients to look at the most difficult passages of music. By session time, you should reliably be able to nail them at tempo (and I mean nailed, not faked pretty well!) three out of five times. If you can hit three out of five, you can probably get one out of five in the session.”

While you practice, be careful to notice any extraneous noises you might be able to get away with in a performance. Bise points out that recordings are an entirely different medium for a listener, consumed in a different way than a live performance might be. “The only stimuli an audio recording provides is sound,” he says. “There is no visual, no scent, nothing. So extraneous noises become very intrusive.”

Bise encourages harpists to listen carefully for unwanted noise during practice sessions leading up to recording day. “I’m talking primarily about buzzes on lower forte notes, and finger replacement noise. Also, make sure your harp is well regulated and the pedals don’t clunk or squeak. Be careful of your shirt! A shirt with buttons can rattle against the harp while playing.”

Zoom HRN Pro: This all-in-one recording device is also compatible with more expensive external microphones if you decide to upgrade later.

Be careful of your breathing in a recording, too. “I have learned over the years to control how loud my breathing is when I am tracking,” Turk says. “It can really bring you out of the performance as a listener if you find you can hear sniffing or heavy breathing.”

It is also important to note that a recording session will feel different than a performance. There may not be the pressure of an audience, but there is a different type of pressure. “From a performance standpoint, recording is the only type of playing you will do where the tension can rise over time, as opposed to release,” Bise notes. “If you get frustrated because you are having difficulty with a passage, the tension will increase and you will be even less successful.”

On recording day

AudioTechnica AT-8024: A high-quality, yet affordable external microphone for home recording.

On the day of a recording, prepare just like you would any other performance. Warm up well, but don’t wear yourself out. Eat a good breakfast, hydrate, and, most importantly, be sure that you allow plenty of time so that you don’t feel rushed. One of the most important things to remember is that recording takes time: be patient with yourself and allow more time than you think you’ll need.

“When an artist comes rushing in at 10:45 for an 11:00 downbeat, it never goes well the first half hour,” Bise says. “Of course, harpists are used to being early, so it may be less of a point, but if you think you need 30 minutes to tune, plan 45! Feeling rushed is never conducive to good performance.”

There are always considerations we tend to forget about—tuning, strings breaking, warming up, technical issues, set up and tear down. All these can eat up your time. Plan for this so that when unforeseen things happen, they won’t add to the tension. “Don’t ever assume a session will be quick,” Turk says. “Make sure you allow time to take breaks and to retune throughout the day, too. Just like with practice, if you go too hard for too long, you won’t get the best results.”

Secondly, consider convincing a friend to help you on recording day. “Playing is really enough to focus on at times, just making sure your pieces are just as you want them to be ready to record,” Turk says. “Some people enjoy engineering their own sessions, but it is a tall order to record yourself completely on your own as a harpist.” Turk and I both have the advantage of having brothers with lots of audio recording experience who can be there for support on a recording day. Although having someone there with experience is a great advantage, even an inexperienced friend can be helpful. Sometimes just having someone there to press the record button and give a second opinion on the sound is enough of a morale boost to get you through a rigorous recording day.

Finally, get used to the flashing red dot during a recording session. It may surprise you at first how much your heart rate rises once you press the record button. Practice and experience helps the most with this, so if you record yourself regularly you should become more accustomed to it. It’s also important to keep in mind that you don’t need to get it right on the first take. Give yourself the wiggle room to perform several takes. One of the beauties of home recording is that you are recording on your own time, so you can give yourself the time you need to achieve the take you want.

Post recording

After you have finished recording, celebrate! The most difficult part is over. Number all the takes you would like to consider. Then, take a break and step away from the music for a while. If possible, wait a whole day or at least several hours before you listen to your takes. It is important to clear your mind from the recording process and be able to listen with fresh ears.

When you are ready, listen to all of your takes in one sitting. What do you like best about each one? You are listening for a couple of things. First, the takes that sound the cleanest, with the fewest mistakes, wrong notes, buzzing, etc. But that isn’t all you are listening for. Which take sounds the most daring, the most expressive, the most true to your own style and mission? Which one sounds the most like you? Sometimes the best take isn’t necessarily the most perfect one. “One thing that always makes me smile is remembering that ultimately, a great, authentic performance is just a little more important than having the greatest, clearest, cleanest sound ever,” Turk says, recalling a memorable recording session.“In the audio of my Toccata and Fugue in D Minor video, there is a moment where you can just faintly hear a helicopter flying over the church at a distance. During the same session recording another piece, a string started to twist and snap during the final section, going ever so slightly out of tune—we could have re-recorded that but we felt like the energy of that performance was the best, so we left it as it is. What we all think of as ‘perfect’ is so subjective with music and will differ for everyone, but if you have given a well-prepared, authentic performance, that is often what people will respond to best, regardless of any small imperfections.” Move beyond the notes and choose the take that seems to represent you the best.

When you have chosen your take and are taking the recording into the editing process, Hall has some sage advice. “After you get your recording, all of the hundreds of buttons and sliders in your recording program can be daunting. Don’t worry, most of these you’ll never use. In fact, it’s better not to heavily edit your recording at all (just like using too many filters ruin a photo).” Hall specifically cautions against adding too much reverb. “It can be tempting to rack up the reverb to make it sound like you’re in a big concert hall, but I would advise against it.”

Bise agrees. “I wouldn’t add any reverb,” he says. “The harp already has a lot of natural resonance, and clarity is a challenge in the lower octaves, even in a dry space.” Plus, Bise notes that most affordable reverb software ends up sounding false to our ears. “The ear/brain mechanism is still a bit of a mystery to medical science, but it can quickly detect when something isn’t right. The listener might not understand why, but this can result in irritability and other negative emotions.” Bise encourages musicians to leave reverb to the professionals. “If you are working with a professional recording engineer who has planned the space and microphone setup for the careful addition of high-quality reverb, then it can be successful.” But it’s preferable to choose the right space and mic placement to get the organic reverberations that come so naturally to our instrument.

The single most important tool in the entire recording process is something you already have—your ears. “Don’t get caught up in technical things or measurements, just ask yourself, How does it sound?” Bise says, recalling a time when listening proved to be more important than fancy equipment. “Once, when working with a regular artist who has become a good friend, I set up four pairs of microphones. The idea was to choose the best pair of mics for his upcoming recording. He has some of the best ears in the business and is always pushing me to be better. We all chose the most inexpensive and least prestigious brand of microphones because they sounded the best in this context. Honestly, I set them up as a throwaway pair because I had a couple of extra channels. It proves that the ear is the most important judge.”

That’s a wrap

Although learning how to record yourself is a vital skill in this day and age, it is important to know when to spend the time and money on a professional. “I think anytime someone might listen to your recording as a consumer, whether it be by streaming, radio, or other type of purchase, you should strongly consider a professional recording session,” says Bise. “Also, for a very important [professional] audition, consider hiring a professional engineer. While it isn’t supposed to matter, I know from conversations with audition juries that the quality of recording is influential in their decision making, even if subconsciously.”

That being said, the benefits of learning some basic home recording skills can give you some great opportunities. Remember that your ears are more important than fancy equipment, and don’t be afraid to just get messy and try new things.  “My philosophy is to jump in head first and flail about for a while,” Hall quips. “You get your best education simply by doing. There is no shortage of resources online to help you, but trying new things and failing a lot is the best way to figure out what works best for you personally. Find your groove and your own personal style or sound, and everything will fall into place.” As you find your place in home recording, you will find the freedom to work at your own pace, share your music with bigger communities, take your gigging career to the next level, and push yourself further in the practice room. And in the end, you’ll have a record of your journey as a harpist.