Ensemble or kit
Women's choir (SSAA)
A choir of adult women, usually soprano and alto with two parts each (SSAA), or SSA; "girls' choir" if all are young.1
Part of the Choir family; that family's advice shows here too.
- Sources
- 4 (2 independent)
Mics sources recommend
6 setups from 4 sources, 2 of them independent of any mic maker. Few independent sources so far, so the mics are listed without counts. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.
Studio
The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Contact 3 × Neumann TLM 102 / TLM 103main pickup, Decca tree
Blogger identifies Neumann TLM-102 (or TLM-103) on a Decca tree in TV footage of a nuns' choir session (inference).
2 - Room Shure SM81high room/ambient spots
Spot mics aimed at the group "appear to be small-diaphragm condenser mics, such as the Shure SM81" (inference from footage).
2 - Main pair or array Royer SF-12main, single stereo ribbon in the centre of a 12-piece vocal ensemble, singers in front of and behind the mic, 6 ft away
One SF-12 "positioned in the center of the group", singers at front and back, 6 ft from the microphone (paraphrase)
3 - 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."
4
On stage
Main pair or array
The 2 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Main pair or array Shure SM81main, a single mic for the whole schola, with a little digital reverb in the PA
Ask for the Shure SM81 (not THE best for what you want, but reliable and a workhorse in the industry ... one is all you need
5 - Close 2 × Audio-Technica AT4050pair, matched pair at 90 degrees; a good arm's length from each singer to the mics
get a matching pair ... in a pair facing off each other at 90 degrees. A good arm's length for each vocalist from the mics is best.
5
Where the sound comes from
- voices: Many incoherent voices whose intensities add; a few loud voices dominate fortissimo.8
Layout
Same as the SATB entry; the whole range sits above about A3 (no bass section to prop up; my inference). SOS found small-diaphragm close mics brittle and sibilant on an adult mixed choir, which would matter even more for high voices (my inference).10
Recording it
The one case study is a TV-footage reading by a blogger of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary's Decca session: a Decca tree of what looked like Neumann TLM 102 or TLM 103, two M/S groups (one per side of the room, the nuns being split in two groups), and two high spot mics that looked like small-diaphragm condensers (Shure SM81 suggested): nine mics for a small choir. This is inference from a photograph, so low confidence.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.11,12,13,14
Problems to watch
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.
| Player's exposure (dosimeter) | |
|---|---|
| 96.9 dB(A) | at the singer; university choir, sopranos (mean Leq)6 |
| 92 dB(A) | at the singer; university choir, altos (mean Leq)6 |
| 96.87 dB(A) | dosimeter on the right collarbone, 5-7 in (13-18 cm) from the ear; university choir (85 voices) soprano, one singer, mean Leq over five rehearsals and performances of opera choruses with orchestra (each about 1 h)6,7 |
| 92.04 dB(A) | dosimeter on the right collarbone, 5-7 in (13-18 cm) from the ear; university choir (85 voices) alto, one singer, mean Leq over five rehearsals and performances of opera choruses with orchestra (each about 1 h)6,7 |
| 94 dB(A) | chorister (dosimeter); Finnish National Opera choristers, mean exposure; 100 dB(A) in choir-only rehearsals secondary6,7 |
No figure for women's choirs separately; the university choir soprano and alto data apply (soprano mean Leq 96.9, alto 92.0 dB(A) at the singer).6
Sources
- Wikipedia: Choir
- Home Brew Audio: Recording The Benedictine Sisters - Multiple Stereo Mic Set-Ups (Ken Theriot, from TV footage)
- Royer Labs library: Balkan Babes (Russell Dawkins, 2014)
- Royer Labs FAQ: Which Royer mic would you recommend for recording vocals?
- MusicaSacra forum: Microphones for chant (small women's schola, about five singers, conference room, Jan 2012)
- Cook-Cunningham, Grady and Nelson: choir singers' noise exposure (IJRCS 4(1), 19-35)
- IJRCS: Cook-Cunningham, Grady and Nelson, Hearing doses of university choral singers (4(1), 2012), PDF
- Titze and Maxfield: choir dynamic range model (JASA 142(4), 2464-2468)
- Katz and d'Alessandro: voice directivity measurements (ICA 2007)
- Sound On Sound: Session Notes, Recording A Choir
- ProSoundWeb: Church Sound, Effective Microphone Strategies For Choirs
- SoundPro: How To Mic a Choir, Best Mics & Placement Tips
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a choir
- Audio-Technica: ES933 datasheet (hanging choir mic)
- ProSoundWeb: Choir Mic Techniques, Rising To The Challenge