{ "id": "shaping-microphones", "title": "Shaping Your Sound with Microphones", "course_url": "/learn/courses/shaping-microphones.html", "audience": "advanced", "lesson_count": 8, "mapped_checkpoint_count": 8, "rows": [ { "id": "microphones-1", "lesson_number": 1, "title": "1. Listen before you place the microphone", "assignment": "Open apStudio → Session library → Street Life — plugin demo. Let all sources load. Leave recording disarmed. Bypass added inserts, UNIQUEL-IZER, D1, microphone modeling, and sends. Select a 15-second passage with an active vocal. Listen in context, then solo Vocal and identify one attack, one sustained sound, and one phrase ending. Repeat with Drums and Guitar. Describe how close or distant each sounds, how much room you hear, and any sound spilling from other instruments. Write a capture goal for a new recording of each source: what should be prominent, what should be reduced, and what you would test first.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Identify the intended expression and point to two audible details that support your interpretation.", "standards": [ "interpret" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Identify the intended expression and explain how specific musical elements and production choices convey it." ], "assessed_focus": "Identify the intended expression and explain how specific musical elements and production choices convey it.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-2", "lesson_number": 2, "title": "2. Understand microphone types", "assignment": "Select Vocal. Choose Shabby Road microphones in Track plugin, then Open existing plugin settings. Start with Original recording. Replay one phrase with EQ, dynamics, and effects bypassed. Select Studio 47 and enable the model. Adjust Comparison gain to avoid choosing it simply because it is louder. Compare Ribbon 38 and Stage 57 on the identical phrase. Record one tonal difference and one drawback for each. Restore Original recording. State what this model comparison cannot tell you about the physical recording.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Retain the starting state, the proposed change and its result. Explain what the test established and what you would try next.", "standards": [ "design" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "State the problem and expected result, test a controlled change, and use the result to choose the next action." ], "assessed_focus": "State the problem and expected result, test a controlled change, and use the result to choose the next action.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-3", "lesson_number": 3, "title": "3. Use pickup patterns and proximity effect", "assignment": "Listen to the dry Street Life Vocal phrase and describe its direct-to-room impression without assigning a distance. Draw a top-view plan for a vocal recording, marking the performer, microphone front, a reflective wall, and an unwanted noise source. Mark where an omni, cardioid, and figure-eight would be most sensitive. Explain which placement you would try and why. If recording a physical test, follow that microphone’s power instructions, use a fixed performance, and change one distance or angle at a time. In the learning record, separate your Street Life listening observations from your proposed or physically tested placement.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Include a labeled placement sketch and microphone information from its manufacturer. Record whether you made the capture yourself, observed a demonstration, or analyzed supplied audio. Practical microphone operation requires a witnessed capture.", "standards": [ "mic" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose." ], "assessed_focus": "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-4", "lesson_number": 4, "title": "4. Separate polarity from timing", "assignment": "On a practice copy, compare Vocal with its polarity-inverted version alone. Write down whether you hear a difference. Duplicate Vocal at the same start position and level. Invert one copy with a polarity control, keeping other processing off. You can also use the supplied polarity example for this comparison. Play the aligned copies together and listen for cancellation. Check that one copy is inverted and the two levels match. Move one copy slightly later, then compare the changed sum. Restore alignment afterward. Explain why polarity inversion cannot correct an arbitrary arrival-time difference.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Add a labeled sketch explaining the sound behavior you observed, and cite the relevant lesson or source. Separate a listening observation from a physical measurement.", "standards": [ "sound" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Connect the observed sound to its physical or digital cause and use a labeled sketch or graphic to explain it." ], "assessed_focus": "Connect the observed sound to its physical or digital cause and use a labeled sketch or graphic to explain it.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-5", "lesson_number": 5, "title": "5. Choose a stereo technique", "assignment": "Solo Drums and identify whether the image is stable or changes with different instruments. In MIX, identify its left and right pan controls. Write their starting values before changing either. Narrow both sides symmetrically, replay the same passage, then restore the original width. Repeat with Rhodes in the ensemble. Listen for how the centered vocal competes with it. Sketch an XY pair and a spaced pair. Explain one advantage and one compromise of each for an ensemble recording.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Name the musical aim and two listening criteria. Mark the exact passage supporting your decision; explain one benefit and one cost of the chosen version.", "standards": [ "compare" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Name the musical purpose, compare the same passage fairly, and support the decision with audible details." ], "assessed_focus": "Name the musical purpose, compare the same passage fairly, and support the decision with audible details.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-6", "lesson_number": 6, "title": "6. Capture a clean vocal", "assignment": "Bypass the vocal’s processing and listen through a complete phrase plus the silence around it. Identify a quiet detail worth preserving and any distraction you hear. Note where each occurs. Write a recording setup separating physical input gain, record-track input, playback fader, and headphone level. Plan three short takes with one controlled change: distance, angle, or room position. Explain how you will keep the performance comparable. Use your notes to decide whether the next action belongs at capture, editing, EQ, or dynamics.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Include a labeled placement sketch and microphone information from its manufacturer. Record whether you made the capture yourself, observed a demonstration, or analyzed supplied audio. Practical microphone operation requires a witnessed capture.", "standards": [ "mic" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose." ], "assessed_focus": "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-7", "lesson_number": 7, "title": "7. Place microphones on instruments", "assignment": "Find an active phrase on each named source. Solo briefly, then restore the ensemble. For Guitar, describe the balance of attack and sustain. Propose one placement change for more attack and one for more body. For Sax solo, identify a phrase where tone changes with register. Explain why one EQ setting or bell position might not suit every note. For Djembe, distinguish the transient from the resonant tail. State what an overly fast gate would remove. Produce a labeled placement sketch for one source and describe what would make you move the microphone.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Include a labeled placement sketch and microphone information from its manufacturer. Record whether you made the capture yourself, observed a demonstration, or analyzed supplied audio. Practical microphone operation requires a witnessed capture.", "standards": [ "mic" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose." ], "assessed_focus": "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." }, { "id": "microphones-8", "lesson_number": 8, "title": "8. Build a repeatable capture workflow", "assignment": "Create a microphone worksheet for Vocal and one instrument: desired sound, proposed pattern and placement, rejection target, gain plan, and two alternate tests. Document one Shabby Road response comparison using the same Street Life phrase, including Comparison gain and the limits of the model. Include a stereo or combined-microphone plan and explain your mono/polarity check. Replay your chosen comparison in context and write what improved and what became less useful. Complete the knowledge assessment and submit the final written analysis in your account record.", "practice_steps": [], "evidence_requirement": "Include a labeled placement sketch and microphone information from its manufacturer. Record whether you made the capture yourself, observed a demonstration, or analyzed supplied audio. Practical microphone operation requires a witnessed capture.", "standards": [ "mic" ], "assessment_criteria": [ "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose." ], "assessed_focus": "Compare microphone behavior, justify placement and connections, and check the result against the recording purpose.", "alignment_scope": "The named work assesses this part of the standard; consult the official source for its complete scope." } ], "teacher_assessment": { "instructions": "Assess the work named in each row. Record the file or portfolio entry, the criterion, the result and the next action. Use a practical observation for equipment operation. Give feedback on the learner’s decisions as well as the finished result.", "levels": { "3": "Criterion met, with independent verification or a successful application in another situation.", "2": "Criterion met: the required work is complete, accurate and supported by evidence.", "1": "Some relevant work is present, but the intended result has not been demonstrated.", "0": "The required evidence has not been submitted or demonstrated." }, "self_guided": "Read the evidence requirement before starting. Save the work, check each criterion and revise any missing or unsuccessful part. Use a peer or instructor for tasks that require feedback or a witnessed practical demonstration." }, "teacher_practice": [ { "standard": "teach", "task": "Prepare and teach “1. Listen before you place the microphone.” Demonstrate the task, then have learners complete it independently.", "evidence": "A teaching plan, demonstration or teach-back, and learner work showing the result.", "criterion": "State the learning objective, teach a workable activity and show how the resulting student work demonstrates the objective." }, { "standard": "adapt", "task": "Adapt one practical assignment for a learner with limited equipment, a different way of accessing instructions, or a different way of presenting the result.", "evidence": "The original task, the adapted route and the shared assessment criteria.", "criterion": "Name a specific access or learning need and provide a usable alternative that preserves the intended skill." }, { "standard": "assess", "task": "Use “8. Build a repeatable capture workflow” to assess the learner’s decisions and finished work. Plan feedback and a second attempt for one unmet criterion.", "evidence": "An annotated rubric, specific feedback, revised work and a brief comparison.", "criterion": "Score the work against stated criteria, identify the misconception and provide feedback and a suitable next activity." } ], "readiness": { "pathway": "build", "fit": "About 15–18 after a first recording course; younger learners need demonstrated studio skills.", "prioritySkills": "Microphone choice and placement; controlled comparisons; documenting a recording decision.", "priorSkills": "Can open a multitrack session, distinguish tracks, and compare two takes at a safe level.", "equipment": "ArtistPro studio access, headphones, supplied Street Life examples; microphone and interface for capture extensions.", "expectedTime": "Plan 8–12 hours for eight lessons and labs.", "teacherGuidance": "Teacher recommended for school use and required for any practical microphone setup.", "educationTitle": "Shaping Your Sound with Microphones — Recording Elective", "teacherEditionUrl": "/learn/access.php?resource=teaching/shaping-microphones/teacher.html" } }