Children's choir
- Sources
- 54 independent: not from a mic maker
What it is
Treble voices aged about 8 to 16 (ACDA, via Wikipedia, Treble) singing in one to three parts, SA or SSA for a mixed children's choir; boys' choirs sing SSA or SSAA, sometimes with a cambiata part for changing voices.9,10
Where the sound comes from
- voices: Many incoherent voices whose intensities add; a few loud voices dominate fortissimo.6
The sound
Smaller dynamic range than adult choirs: about 12 dB pp-ff for a boy choir, 16 dB for a youth choir, 20 dB for an adult choir (Ternström 1993, quoted by Titze). No SPL figure found.6
Layout
- Rows on risers or steps, in a rectangle or wedge of three or more rows; the aim is that every singer is about the same distance from the mics, so a semicircle in a studio.
- Singers with shoulders lightly touching, the better singers in the centre.
- If singers stand by height, many low voices end up at the back and their low end is lost on distant mics.11,12,13
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
| Dynamic range | |
|---|---|
| 12 dB | boy choir, pp to ff secondary6 |
| 16 dB | youth choir, pp to ff secondary6 |
| Player's exposure (dosimeter) | |
| 73.8–78.2 dB(A) | sound level meters at ear height behind the choristers; St Paul's Cathedral boy choristers (24) in a 40-min Evensong with 12 men7 |
| 70.9–75.5 dB(A) | two sound level meters on the rear pew; St Paul's Cathedral choristers only, quire rehearsal (32 min) and Evensong (44 min); LCpeak 121.1 (rehearsal) and 104.9 dB(C) (Evensong)7 |
| 95.2 dB(A) | dosimeter on the shoulder, worst-case chorister; St Paul's Cathedral, rehearsal plus Evensong with organ, 99 min; LCpeak 121.5 dB(C)7 |
Recording it
A single forum thread about a girls' choir recorded in a church (words from a recording hobbyist's reply): put a matched pair of cardioid or wide-cardioid mics on a stand a few feet behind the conductor, 10-13 ft (3-4 m) high; choose the height so every row is equidistant; if too dry, raise the mics, don't move them back; spot-mic the soloists and harp separately; one reply argued that small-diaphragm condensers would control church echo better than large-diaphragm ones, which colour off-axis sound. Nothing independent confirms it, so thin. Search summaries claim ribbons reduce sibilance on children's choirs, but I could not open a page that says it.3
Mics
- 13 setups from 5 sources, 4 of them independent of any mic maker.
- On top: the mics more than one source names for this instrument, in any role, the most named first. That is a count of sources, not our verdict.
- In the full list, each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those come from a mic maker.
No mic is named by more than one source yet: each names its own.
All the mics sources name, by setting and role (6)
On stage
The 6 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Overhead 2 × cardioid condenseroverhead, 4-6 equally spaced mics about 7 ft off the ground, hung or on booms
jkowtko: cardioid condenser, "not dynamic"; "I would suggest to get all mics up 7 feet off the ground"
1 - Overhead Behringer C-2overhead, about 7 ft high, for a middle school choir
jkowtko: Behringer C2s (about $50/pair) for a middle school choir (paraphrase)
1 - Overhead Samson C02overhead, about 7 ft high
jkowtko: Samson C02s (about $100/pair) are "cleaner sounding"
1 - Handheld wireless handheldhandheld, one or two kept for soloists
Fountain Of Euph: "Having a dedicated solo mic is super important"
1 - Distant floor microphoneclose, temporary floor mic about 10 ft from the children where they sing, removed when they leave
"Try placing a floor mic about 10 feet from the kids when they walk in"
2 - Overhead hanging choir microphoneoverhead, one hanging mic for a narrow choir (children grouped in a few rows), turned up only while the choir sings; two for a wide choir
"Try to group the children in a few rows so that the choir is narrow"; two mics for a wide choir give 3 dB less gain-before-feedback
2
Studio
Main pair or array
- AKG C414 XLII1 source
- AKG C414 XLS1 source
- Royer SF-121 source from its own maker
- Royer SF-241 source from its own maker
Stereo pairBlumlein
Contact
Decca tree
The 7 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Main pair or array 2 × AKG C414 XLIImain pair, 10-13 ft high behind conductor
A pair of C414s in cardioid or wide cardioid "are probably the better mic" for a girls' choir recording (forum reply).
3 - Main pair or array 2 × AKG C414 XLSmain pair or soloist
Same thread: the C414 XLS and XLII named as candidates for choir and soloists (forum).
3 - Close close mic (model not stated)close, mono close mic (Stage A)
"Close Mic - Mono"
4 - Main pair or array 2 × mid stereo pairs (model not stated)pair, two mid-distance stereo pairs
"Mid Mic 1 - Stereo (L/R)" and "Mid Mic 2 - Stereo (L/R)"
4 - Contact 3 × Decca tree (model not stated)main, Decca tree as main/room pickup
"Main/Room Mic - Decca Tree Stereo (L/R)" and "Decca Tree Mono (Center)"
4 - Main pair or array 2 × surround and height pairs (model not stated)room, main surround pair plus high 3D stereo and high surround pairs
"Main Surround - Stereo (L/R)", "High Stereo (3D)", "High Surround (3D)"
4 - Main pair or array Choir advice Royer SF-24 or Royer SF-12stereo pair for vocal groups
"The SF12 and SF-24 are especially useful for recording vocal groups in stereo."
5
Advised against
- Close dynamic vocal micsclose, dynamic vocal mics across the front with gain pushed up
At about 75% gain the dynamics "start picking up footsteps from backstage"; condensers recommended instead (paraphrase); close straight-on miking of young kids sounds harsh (paraphrase)
1 - Close stage-edge microphonesclose, mics along the stage edge
The floor mic about 10 ft from the kids "would provide more volume than mics near the stage edge"
2
On stage
- Small-diaphragm cardioid or supercardioid condensers on stands or hanging, about 45 cm in front of the first row and 45 cm above the back row's heads; or '2x2': 2 ft in front, 2 ft above the tallest singer, for up to 20 singers.
- About one mic per 6 m of singers; 30-45 voices need two or three.
- Keep neighbouring mics at least three times as far apart as each is from its singers (3:1); with few mics it can't always be met.
- Aim a supercardioid at the back row: the front row is then about 60 degrees off axis and the back row 1.4 times further away.
- Gain before feedback drops fast as mics cover more singers: in DPA's example for 12 singers, six mics lose 17 dB and three mics 25.5 dB against one mic per singer.14,11,15,16
Problems to watch
Sources
- ControlBooth forum: Micing a Show Choir (Oct 2015, school choir)
- ProSoundWeb: Church Sound: Amplifying Child Vocals In Productions (Bruce Bartlett, May 2012)
- DV Info Net forum: Audio Micing Church Choir
- Vienna Symphonic Library: Synchron Vienna Boys Choir (sample library recording)
- Royer Labs FAQ: Which Royer mic would you recommend for recording vocals?
- Titze and Maxfield: choir dynamic range model (JASA 142(4), 2464-2468)
- Noise & Health: Dance and Zepidou, Sound Exposure of Choristers (21(98), 41-46)
- Katz and d'Alessandro: voice directivity measurements (ICA 2007)
- Wikipedia, Treble (voice)
- Wikipedia: Choir
- SoundPro: How To Mic a Choir, Best Mics & Placement Tips
- Recording Magazine: Choir Recording And A Primer On Mid/Side
- ProSoundWeb: Choir Mic Techniques, Rising To The Challenge
- ProSoundWeb: Church Sound, Effective Microphone Strategies For Choirs
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a choir
- Audio-Technica: ES933 datasheet (hanging choir mic)