http://www.pcsincnet.com/music/ClairDeLune.mp3

13.8 megabyte file!

A collaborative effort with me playing the role as amatuer recording engineer.

One of my very best friends Trent Kjell (pronounced "Chell" for those Norwegian/Swedish impaired members) is the pianist.

Trent is a very good amateur pianist and just recently learned this piece. There are a couple of mistakes but they certainly do not make this recording un-listenable.

We recorded this at my house on my Estonia 190 satin ebony. I used two Shure SM57 placed under the piano left and right and an Audix OM-3xb ambient placed above the piano center.

I recorded everything at unity gain using a Mackie 14VLZ mixing console to a Digidesign MBox 24bit USB audio interface using ProTools LE 6.4 on a iBook G4 running Mac OS X 10.3.5.

The levels are not too high in this recording so depending on what you are using to play it, you may need to crank it up a bit to hear all of the nuances of the recording.

This was my first real attempt at recording my piano. There was absolutely no processing done on this recording. What you will hear is completely raw except for the mp3 conversion using iTunes.

Many thanks to Trent for playing so well and allowing me to experiment with the equipment. This experiment should allow me to make better recordings of pieces that my daughter and I are currently studying.

Recording and performance critique is most welcome. Trent would love to hear what your honest opinions are about his efforts as would I in regard to the recording itself.

Thanks and enjoy!

Mark

Mark,

I enjoyed the performance and recording immensely. The recording is absolutely clear and sounds "immediate", as if I was standing next to your piano. There are times the piano sounds almost harplike. It's a lovely sound.

Bravo to Mr. Kjell. It is a wonderful performance. Very gentle and warm, but not overly dramatic. The timing choice I heard in the 14th measure did make me pull out my sheet music to have a look. I've not heard it done quite that way before. But different interpretations of a familiar piece can be illuminating.

Thanks very much to both of you for sharing your work.

ravenswood

Hi John,

Thank you very much for the kind words! I Passed your comments on to Trent. I am trying to get him to join the forums. He tends to be a lurker on most forums but does like to participate from time to time.

Thanks again for the encouragement! I am very happy that you enjoyed it!

Mark

It's so beautiful! Your piano sounds beautiful too! Hey, I'm still a beginner, so I didn't notice the mistakes. This is one piece I have always wanted to learn, and hopefully I'll be ready soon!

Hi sleepingcats,

Thank you. Keep practicing! I started learning Chopin's Prelude in C# minor op. 28 no. 10 a couple of weeks ago. It's only about 30 seconds long but oh what a long 30 seconds! Check it out if you do not already know what piece I am talking about. I thought I would never get it but I am making very good progress due to a steady practice regiment.

I loved it! I was startled in a couple of spots as one of us is playing it wrong. (Probably me) Some things were intentional, though, like a couple of arpeggios during the first 8 measures. But he played it quite expressively, and quite well. Tell him great job.

As for the recording itself, why did you elect to put two mics below the soundboard and not have them above the strings aimed toward the hammers? It does sound good. I'm experimenting recording right now (with just one mic directly into the computer).

Hi gryphon,

Thank you for the kind words! I will forward your comments on to Trent.

As for the mic placement, I have been experimenting with mic placement for a while and liked the sound it produced. A friend of mind suggested that I place them there and it seemed to work so that's where I put them now.

Oh this piece is so soothing and just curious to know how many years has yr friend Trend learn/play piano. How I wish I will attain this in time to come

Trent has been playing since he was 4 years old. Never played professionally and has taken more than a few years off without playing much at all. He is 38 years old.

Mark

I like it. It's time it gets kicked back up to page 1 for at least a little while I think.

I never tire of listening to this song.