Quality of pre-screen recordings

bridgenail
Mon, 18 May 2015 15:28:19 +0000

For undergrad, my daughter’s high school gave her a recording device (only vocals required) and she went into a cinder block room for her recordings. It sounded tinny and harsh. We contacted her music school and paid for her to sing in the recital hall with her pianist there. They recorded her. In the end I don’t think it cost over $200. We were well-organized and got it done in 30 minutes. She did a few takes and she and her pianist quickly picked the best ones. I was much more comfortable with the sound quality. For grad school auditions, she hired a grad student in the school who had equipment. It cost $150. She did not use a recital hall just a class room (this was video and vocal). She had a friend who used a recital hall for a better background and maybe acoustics. Their results in pre-screening were identical - passed all except Juillard. I don’t think you need to go to a professional studio and spends tons of money. If there is a decent room at home, school or church that’s fine. For me, it was more the recording equipment and formats. It was worth a bit of money to have someone else deliver those recordings in the right format as I know nothing about that.