Looking for Some Opinions On a Recording

[davewerden]

Soon I will post a video of "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. The "bridge" of the song happens twice in this arrangement. In the original there is a choir aaahhh-ing in the background. My recording will be euphonium and piano.

BUT... I have some choices and I'd like opinions. Below are 3 excerpts from the audio, each excerpt starts somewhere before the first bridge (euphonium solo) and ends after the second bridge (which is a piano solo):

1. Normal, just me and the piano.
Feed the Birds, just solo/piano

2. Choir parts added with muted euphonium.
Feed the Birds, solo/piano/muted-euph-choir

3. Choir parts added with open euphonium.
Feed the Birds, solo-piano/euph-choir

So, I'd like to know your favorite, and feel free to vote differently for the euphonium setting and the piano setting.

FYI, this is the first time I've done a performance-type of recording using multi-tracking.

Thanks!

[Mederlock]

I am definitely a big fan of the version with the muted euphonium 'choir', I find the open euphonium 'choir' blends a bit too much or too little at the different ranges whereas the muted one seems more uniform, if that makes any sense.

[RickF]

I prefer the first sample with just you playing. The 'aahs' just don't sound right to me.

my opinion FWIW.

[carbogast]

I like the "muted choir" version, for the same reason given by "Mederlock".

[davewerden]

Thanks for the feedback so far! All comments are welcome, even the ones that say "leave it out."

But I want more, more, more!! Keep 'em coming.

[JakeGuilbo]

I also prefer just you and piano. The choir coming in is distracting from your beautiful sound and the voice sound is almost more organ like and not vocal in nature. I gather this is because it is synthetic and probably a tool limitation. Either way I love the song and loved your performance with piano. Any piano reduction (I definitely don't have to tell you this) will not have the same impact necessarily as the original performance but for me the point is the beauty of the solo instrument with piano filling in the harmonic gaps.

I get what you are trying to do though, the original performance definitely has emphasis on that bridge section. I think your playing more than communicates this "impact" along with your piano arpeggios and arrangement. On second listen I realize my brain was filling in the gaps with what I remembered from hearing this song in the movie as a kid.

[davewerden]

All along I've been considering putting up the plain version first, then possibly adding the "choir" version later for comparison. So I went ahead and did that. The non-choir version (the whole thing - not just the excerpt!!) is now live on YouTube:

Feed the Birds, Euphonium and Piano Video

You can even comment on the full video if you want, because I used some color effects. The original scene, at least in my memory, had lots of gray stone and started in a dusky light. So I tried something a little different. See what you think, and comments are welcome.

But please feel free to continue with comments on the excerpts above!

[aroberts781]

For me, I liked the first bridge with just piano and solo euphonium and I agree with Jake that the beautiful melody on the solo euph creates a nice mood with just the piano arpeggios. However, the euphonium choir parts are so nice that I think they would be a great addition to the second bridge. I preferred the open horns to the muted horns.

[RickF]

I really liked the so called 'plain' version. Very nice.

[tampaworth]

Thanks for allowing our input. I'm a fan of the open euphonium choir version. IMO your solo has no problem cutting through. I'd be a fan of leaving out the piano entirely or at least reducing the volume of the piano. The Euph choir with solo is just so soothing and tranquil that the piano accompaniment, especially arpeggios could be a bit more delicately presented (just tickling the ivories).

[davewerden]

IMO your solo has no problem cutting through. I'd be a fan of leaving out the piano entirely or at least reducing the volume of the piano. The Euph choir with solo is just so soothing and tranquil that the piano accompaniment, especially arpeggios could be a bit more delicately presented (just tickling the ivories).

That would be interesting to hear, but I don't have that ability. Let me explain. The solo/piano version was recorded normally, as I have done my other YouTube videos with Sara on piano. We record "live" (either in front of a congregation or alone in the sanctuary) with stereo mics and a digital audio recorder running along with a digital camcorder. So the version I just put out on YouTube is in this mode.

Then, after the recording was finished and edited into the video, I did a separate session in my home studio recording the choir parts with a multi-track digital recorder as I listened to the solo/piano track. Once that was done, I had 5 tracks:
- solo with piano
- choir part 1
- choir part 2
- choir part 3
- choir part 4

Then I created a separate session following the same pattern and created the muted version.

So the relationship between solo and piano is carved in stone, so to speak. This was actually an experiment in whether a person can use multi-tracking to enhance an existing "normal" recording, using readily-available technology.

I think part of the reason the choir version is not doing better in the voting here is that it doesn't quite fit. The acoustics were too different when I recorded those parts. I have played with them since, adding some reverb and moving into a wider stereo spread. That seems to help. I should have recorded them in the church, but it's hard to book the sanctuary and I don't like to tie it up too much for non-worship functions.

[Snorlax]

Add me to the list of people preferring the muted choir.

Another possibility would be to take the piano part and develop it for strings
and/or woodwinds using a decent sample set.

Jim

[adrian_quince]

Hi Dave,

I definitely prefer the "plain" version. Both the muted and open euphonium choir muddy the arrangement to me. It's too much of the same timbre in the tenor register for my ear. Were the players available, it'd be interesting to hear the choir parts in the soprano register with either strings or clarinets.

Also, in the vein of the multitracking experiement, it'd be interesting to hear the different voices of the choir done on different horns. I remember a while back you posted a series of videos of Neapolitan Dances with different types of euphoniums/baritones. I'm thinking if the choir were made up of a more diverse set of sounds it might help add more clarity and diversity to the recording.

Best,
Adrian

[davewerden]

I actually did consider the idea of different horns. From the bottom up, Eb tuba, euphonium, large bell of my double-bell, and baritone. I may try that sometime.

The suggestions of higher voices are attractive to my mental ears as well, but that will have to wait for a better opportunity.

Thanks for the continuing comments!

[Snorlax]

Let me see if I can find sheet music for this & cook something up with strings and/or
woodwinds. Check this out for fun.
Anituba 2.mp3
Jim