The Inside Track: Mixing Piano - Building an
Instrument Soundstage
Abstract (summary)
Because
of the piano's wide note range, panning is a good first step toward crafting a track,
and the other instruments should always be used as the reference. Because of
its range and polyphonic nature, piano can take up a lot of room in a mix,
which may or may not be a good thing, depending on its role. Appropriate EQ
supports the timbre and overall feel of the mix. One way to tone down a piano's
high end is to choose a high-shelf EQ at 17 to 20 kHz and lower the gain to
match the track's mood. When the piano is uneven in volume, compression can be
used to tame the peaks and dips. When making reverb decisions, the musical
style and arrangement will shape choices. Sidebars offer tips about dynamic panning,
minimizing leakage in the tracking room, and using automated EQ.
Full Text
Mixing piano, no matter the genre, calls for your
creativity as a mixer and the input of the production team as a guide. Creative
discussions can center on the size of the instrument image in relation to the
other parts. Is this a piano-centric production, or is the instrument a
backdrop for other players? How do you want to treat the instrument when it
comes to reverb, mood and panning? Is there an established style - retro or
otherwise - that you want to emulate, or are you establishing a new stylistic
beachhead? After you form ideas, it's time to dig in. In this feature, I'll
talk about EQ scenarios along with tips
on panning, automation, reverb, compression and dealing with instrument
mechanics.
PANNING
FOR PLATINUM
Because
of the piano's wide note range, panning is a good first step toward crafting
the track, and your reference should always be the other instruments. The
wideness of the image can be determined by a few guidelines. The number one
question to ask is, "What else is going on in the track?" Is the
piano the star or does it offer a supportive role? The ideal solution might be
panning it more to the center for a more dominant image or dynamically panning
it throughout the song to keep your listeners' focus from straying when the
player chooses to play outside of center. (For an in-depth discussion on
automated panning, see "Power Tip"
on page 26.)
On the
other hand, if the piano is supporting other instruments (for example, comping
chords behind the melody), wider panning can offer a tonal
"doughnut," leaving a space in the center of your image for a vocal
or another melodic instrument to shine. Keep in mind that panning hard-left and
-right is extreme and can distract the listener, so take the time to get an
accurate picture of how your panning impacts the ear by switching between near-
and midfield speakers for focus, even referencing on headphones. Imaging that
seems subtle over speakers can jump out when you put on a set of cans.
TONE IS
KING
Because
of its range and polyphonic nature, piano can take up a lot of room in a mix, which may or may not be a
good thing, depending on its role. For instance, a bright piano layered with a
vocalist can steal the thunder from the featured player. In this section, I'm
going to address "appropriate" EQ, and by that I mean one that
supports the timbre and overall feel of the mix. For example, some piano music needs to be
"dark": You may not necessarily want to hear a lot of sparkle on a
moodier track. If darkness is the goal, then you'd bring down the
"air," meaning the overtones in the 20kHz range. One way to tone down
the high end is to choose a high-shelf EQ at 17 to 20 kHz and lower the gain to
match the track's mood. Conversely, if the piano has "room" in a sparse
mix or needs to speak more
in the upper range because the track is already too dark, then use the same
shelf EQ to add more overtones. Adding these particular frequencies can make
the instrument shine in the mix
without sounding harsh, especially if you add harmonics that are not in the
"meat" of the piano's range, between 275 and 4,186 Hz.
A good
guide for your ear when you're trying to add sparkle is to boost the 17 to
20kHz band with a shelf EQ until you can hear the "fuf-fuf-fuf" sound
made when the felt dampers rise and lower off the strings as the player uses
the sustain pedal. Keep in mind, though, that not all pianos are created equal:
Some have dampers that are already quite loud, and bringing them out with EQ
can detract from the performance. Once you've added some top, reference the
piano in the overall mix
and adjust accordingly.
In
addition to the dampers' mechanical sounds, pianos from various manufacturers
differ in brightness because of the material used in the hammers and the types
of strings used. There are even after-market tweaks that can change the tone
and that will alter your EQ game plan. For instance, a brighter-sounding piano,
perhaps one that has had the hammers lacquered to bring out the top end, would
work great for a pop track, but not as well on a jazz recording. If you have an
instrument that is very bright sounding, then shelf down some of the high
frequencies as mentioned above, or bring out some of the bottom end by adding
100 to 250 Hz on a Q of 7 to 10 to balance the bottom end with the extended top
of the instrument. When boosting low frequencies, one caveat is that the
dampers mentioned above have a low-end component to them and adding too much
bottom will add a pronounced "thump" to your track every time the
player uses the sustain pedal.
COMPRESSION,
ANYONE?
When the
piano is uneven in volume, compression can be used to tame the peaks and dips.
When choosing a compressor, keep in mind that the type you pick will determine
the sonic outcome. An opto-compressor will have a lazier attack and release -
the perfect thing for a sparsely played part without a lot of peaks, such as
comped chords. If the track is busy and played with a more percussive touch,
then use a FET-based compressor that has the ability to respond more quickly to
transients. This will have the effect of biting down harder on the transient, keeping
it from jumping out of the track because the compressor is grabbing the peak
quickly and then releasing it quickly enough to grab the next peak.
Start by
setting an easy compression ratio of 2:1 and set your attack and release based
on the song tempo and density of the mix.
An attack of 17 to 20 ms and a release of 75 to 150 ms will clamp down harder
on the attack than an attack of 30 to 60 ms with a release of 200 to 350 ms or
higher. For the best results, use your ear and set the attack and release so
that the compressor won't pump, but will instead act as a dynamic traffic cop,
keeping your part from popping out and covering other mix ingredients. You can also use compression boldly
as an effect. For instance, the piano in "Lady Madonna" is heavily
compressed but it is a featured instrument, so the song can afford to carry a
heavy-handed approach.
AMBIENT
CHOICES
When
making reverb decisions, the musical style and arrangement shape your choices.
If there are a lot of other sustained instruments such as strings, sustained
guitars and background vocals, then there will be less room for a piano with a
lot of reverb. If the mix
is sparse, then there will be an abundance of open sonic space to fill with
trailing reverb tails.
As for
your approach, a brighter reverb might not be the best choice in a moody jazz
track, but would be perfect for a densely layered pop track where you need your
part to cut through the masses. Your choice is sometimes right in your face: If
the piano is supporting the melody and comping chords, add just a touch of the
same reverb you're using on your vocal or lead instrument track. Using a
lighter effect keeps the piano's added ambience below the other players, making
it less dominating.
On the
other hand, if you're selecting a reverb for a solo piano track or the piano is
playing a central role, then use the "best" ambient partner in your
arsenal - that is, one with a low noise floor, and a lush and detailed reverb
tail with lots of control over parameters, such as early reflections, pre-delay
and high-frequency cut. A good starting point is a preset with a description
that matches your sonic goal, such as Dark Plate or Bright Room.
Next
adjust your room size and pre-delay to match your song's tempo. A tempo of 100
bpm or more cannot support a longer tail with a lot of pre-delay, while a
ballad with a legato melody can support a 'verb with a long hang-time of 1.5
seconds or more with a pre-delay of, say, 120 ms. RT60 parameters can show up
as decay time in seconds or in the actual size of your virtual space in feet or
meters. Start with a 1-second or 25-meter-room setting and listen to the effect
in your track. Remember that pre-delay makes your reverb more dominant in the
track by leaving a "dry" space before the reflections kick in. This
parameter works especially well with piano because of the percussive nature of
the instrument, giving it a unique and dramatic soundstage. Keep your tempo in
mind when setting it up: The faster the tempo, the shorter the pre-delay. For a
ballad or slower tempo, start at 120 ms and work back from there, shortening
the delay if the song is faster.
The
darkness or brightness of your reverb is represented by high-decay cut
parameters. The most natural effect is when you roll off your reverb starting
at 5 kHz, where it happens due to the laws of physics in a natural ambient
space. Make your reverb brighter by extending this parameter up to 8 kHz or
beyond. Another way of brightening your reverb is to put an EQ across the send.
Use a shelf EQ starting at 5 to 7 kHz to achieve the same effect as boosting
your high-decay parameter.
Fine-tuning
your piano track with the techniques described here will help you craft an
ideal mix, no matter what
style of music you're working on. Make reverb, panning and EQ choices in the
context of the rest of your mix
to perfect that piano sound.
Kevin
Becka is Mix's technical
editor.
POWER TIP
ADD FOCUS
WITH DYNAMIC PANNING
Because
of the sheer size and range of the piano, the image can shift dramatically from
one side or the other as the player moves around the keyboard. This can cause a
distracting shift of the listener's attention from left to right, especially if
the piano is panned wide. This see-saw panning effect is dependent on how the
instrument was recorded. For instance, on a track that has been recorded with a
spaced pair of microphones positioned right over the hammers, the image can be
less centered than a track that was recorded with an X/Y pair pulled back four
feet from the instrument. So recording engineer, beware: Even though you're
getting an intimate picture of the instrument with mics placed up close and
personal, you're also getting an exaggerated stereo picture. Nobody listens to
a piano with their ear five inches off the hammer, yet that's the way a lot of
instruments are recorded.
With that
in mind, when the player is shifting ranges radically and you feel your lack of
center becoming a sonic distraction, momentarily rein in the drifting part by
automating the panner in your DAW. For example, let's say that the solo is
played mostly in the middle section of the instrument but the player reaches
out to the left for the occasional low accent note. This is where automated
panning can lessen the sensation that the instrument is unnaturally large in
the mix.
For
starters, find the position where the stereo image sounds good overall and
write that throughout the track as a foundation. Then with the left and right
panner in auto-touch - meaning if you let go, it will revert to the previously
written foundation pass - go through the tune and pull in the image when it
gets too far afield. Your panning alteration could be just one side if it
sticks out, or both if the player goes wide with both hands. Remember that if
you're too emphatic in your moves, it will sound distracting. By writing the
panning in this way, you will give yourself the best possible balance for your
instrument in the mix: The
image will be wider when the part is more centered, and centered when the part
is leaning more to the left or right.
- Kevin
Becka
BEFORE
YOU MIX
MINIMIZING
LEAKAGE IN THE TRACKING ROOM
When
recording piano, bass and drums in a minimal space or when the band insists on
being in the same room for the best lines of sight and optimal live/studio performance, leakage
is a major concern. For the engineer who is recording piano, it's a fight
between tone and isolation, especially with drums. Luckily, there are numerous
techniques to help you win this battle.
One
solution to keep drums out of the piano mics, and vice versa, is to
"bag" the piano - shutting the lid and covering it with blankets or
the piano's own cover. However, now you'll have to set up your mics in the tiny
space inside the piano, which doesn't give the instrument a very
"open" sound because your mics are stuck inside a small wooden box
with a lot of sonically competitive reflected energy. Sometimes recording this
way is unavoidable for aesthetic reasons; for instance, if you're recording
during a video shoot. If you need to record with the piano closed, then try
products made for this purpose, such as DPA's 3521 compact cardioid stereo kit,
Earthworks PianoMic or the Schoeps CCM 4 compact microphone with the MK4
cardioid capsule.
One trick
that will get you some degree of isolation but a more open sound is to face the
open lid of the piano away from the other instruments. Placing the lid between
instruments lets you use it as an acoustic barrier between your players. And a
group of gobos placed between the drums and piano can help reduce crosstalk.
Although
it sounds counterintuitive, put as little space between the players as possible
to minimize leakage delay: Leakage from afar creates a slapback effect, as
opposed to the shorter, more usable decay that resembles room ambience and
occurs when instruments are closer together.
- Kevin
Becka
TROUBLESHOOTER
HEY! NO
PEAKING
During
our "Inside Track" series, we've talked a lot about the concept of
automated EQ. When mixing
piano, this versatile tool gives you ultimate control over the extreme tonal range
of this complex instrument. The problem you're trying to solve is this: As an
arrangement develops in power throughout a track, the EQ settings, or lack
thereof, that worked at the front of the tune may rip your face off at the end
as the player hits the instrument harder. This is where automation is a
powerful tool to help keep these peaks in check.
For
instance, sometimes a player will groove in the track and then come down and
hit a hard low note for an accent. In this case, if you've added 300 Hz to
bring up the warmth of the overall track, it will stick out, sending a peak of
sonic energy across your mix.
To counter this buildup, automate the gain setting at 300 Hz and dip it to
match the player's move. This may be something done in stereo across the left
and right side of the piano, or as a multi-mono plug-in where you just dip the
left side (players mix
perspective).
Reverb
can also get out of control in the low end or need a boost at the extreme high
end of the spectrum as the track develops. In this case, automate your send,
setting a foundation where the reverb works across most of the track and then
make a pass and pull it back when low energy builds up and hits the reverb too
hard or give it a boost when it thins out at the top. By dynamically
controlling your reverb send, you'll maintain an overall smoothness to the
ambient treatment of your piano track.
- Kevin
Becka
Word
count: 2658
Indexing (details)
Narrow
subject
Broad
subject
Title
The
Inside Track: Mixing Piano
- Building an Instrument Soundstage
Author
Publication
title
Volume
Issue
Source
details
Audio Ed
2007
Pages
24, 26,
28-29
Publication
year
2007
Publication
date
Nov 2007
Year
2007
Publisher
Penton
Media, Inc
Place of
publication
Berkeley,
Calif.
Country
of publication
United
States
Journal
subject
ISSN
0164-9957
Source
type
Magazines
Language
of publication
English
Document
type
Feature
Document
feature
Illustrations
ProQuest
document ID
1294732
Document
URL
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1294732?accountid=144516
Last
updated
2012-08-23
Database
International
Index to Music Periodicals Full Text
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