Miking a Joyful Noise
Essential Techniques for Choir MikingThe number and type of sound system applications for houses of worship have come to rival those of the most diverse performance spaces and concert halls, incorporating everything from reinforcing the spoken word to multi-channel live music performance.
If you're responsible for the sound system in your place of worship - especially if you're new to the world of audio technology - you know it can sometimes be a bewildering experience. And that's the reason for Shure Notes; to help you make sense of all the options available and give you the information you need to make your service sound great.
One of the most challenging tasks for a house of worship audio technician is miking the choir. The right solution requires achieving a good balance of all the voices, high gain before feedback, and, of course, a natural sound.
There are two basic decisions to be made that will help you get the best sound for your choir: 1) microphone selection, and 2) microphone placement. In this issue of Shure Notes you'll learn everything you need to choose the right microphones, as well as some ideas for how to place them and use them to get the best possible sound for your choir.
Choosing the Right Microphone
Microphones have evolved over the years to suit a wide variety of uses. The major differences between microphones are the transducer type and the pickup pattern. The transducer is the element inside a mic that converts sound waves to electrical impulses. The pickup pattern is the area around the mic where sound can actually be "heard" by the microphone.
First, let's look at microphone pickup patterns.
A mic that picks up sound from all sides is called an omnidirectional mic. Omni mics are great for picking up natural room sound and are also very good for capturing group vocals. A unidirectional mic is sensitive to sound only in a specific direction. The most common type features a cardioid (heart-shaped) pattern that rejects sound coming from behind the microphone. A supercardioid mic has an even narrower pickup pattern, further reducing bleed from nearby sound sources.
Cardioid mics that are sensitive to sound coming from just one direction are the practical choice for most choir applications.
To understand the difference between these types of microphones, you have to know something about how they work.
Dynamic mics require no batteries or power supply, are rugged and can handle high sound pressure levels, like those delivered by kick drums, snare drums, and high volume guitar amps. They're also good for loud, aggressive vocals.
Other Considerations...
The type of services your congregation hosts are also a factor in choosing microphones. More traditional services featuring the choir singing over an organ or piano generally want a more reverberant sound, which would call for a microphone with a wide pickup pattern, while contemporary services that feature a live band may require a mic with a narrower pickup pattern.
Other considerations when selecting the right microphones include the aesthetics, portability, and ease of set-up. Small and nearly invisible when viewed from the congregation, hanging microphones provide a cleaner look than mics on stands but can't be moved or changed as easily. You also may want to consider using mics on stands if your place of worship features different types of services or frequently needs to reconfigure for smaller or larger choirs or musical groups.
and Where Should They Go?
Once you've made the decision on which mics to use, you need to consider how many you need and where to place them. Here are some tips:
How many?
The simple answer is: as few as possible. Fewer microphones mean less feedback and an easier job of adjusting for the best sound. A decent cardioid choir mic, correctly placed, will cover 15-20 singers, arranged in a rectangular or wedge-shaped section about 10 ft. wide and 3 rows deep. A choir of 30-45 voices should require no more than two or three mics.
No hard and fast rule here. Some professionals recommend a vertical height as tall as the tallest singer in the back row. Others suggest that height, plus another 2-3 feet. Raising the mics makes all the singers equidistant and prevents the front row singers from overwhelming the back row.
2-3 feet in front of the first row should give you a balanced sound.
For larger or unusually shaped choirs that require multiple microphones, try to observe the 3:1 Rule:
If a microphone is one foot in front of the front row of your choir, the next nearest microphone should be placed about three feet apart.
You want to avoid the hollow sound that results from phase cancellation or the comb filter effect. This can happen when too-close mics pick up two vocal signals in the mix - one direct and one delayed. Certain frequencies cancel out, creating a frequency response that looks like an inverted comb - hence the name. And unless you're looking for that kind of a filtered sound, it's something you'll want to avoid.
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