Chris Curtis Web Site

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It is a lovely warm day today. It could be one of those southern British oppressive and humid summer days, but there is a breeze and blue sky so it is nearly perfect.

I spent time today mixing recordings I made yesterday of over 40 youngsters all singing their hearts out. Not perfect, but very pleasing.

I cannot believe that this blog is now 5 years old!

It has been rather sluggish of late, but the blog still exists and is being edited from time to time so it is probably one of the older, still-active blogs out there. Thanks for visiting.

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I have not disappeared just very busy at work. We have been making a fantastic new performance space, appointing staff, preparing for inspection and all the usual things, plus I am coaching a cheerleading team towards the National Championships. Too little time to blog, or to do anything much outside work worth blogging about. Apart from regular walking, and very occasional runs, I have not done anything related to orienteering for many months. I miss it, but can’t fix things to get there at the moment. I am playing the sax often, but only for fun.

I have been experimenting with a Zoom H2 digital recorder. We have a major need to record students playing and singing at school and at the moment are using all sorts of things from full-blown cubase through various digital recorders and CD recorders. None of these are ideal. We need simplicity but also high quality. The Zoom looked worth a try. The microphones are built in, once the record volume is set you just press the obvious red record button once to check levels and again to record. It all goes onto an SD card and can go onto the computer directly or via a USB connection to the zoom.

I have done some recordings using the Zoom and I am very impressed. The set-up could not have been easier.

1. The zoom sits on the music stand (though this might not be an ideal location it works well enough)
2. I play the backing track on my ipod through open back headphones, so I can hear the backing track and the Sax but the zoom only records the Sax
3. I pull the zoom recording into audacity, normalise it and then align it with the backing track. Counting in with the backing track helps!
4. I add a little reverb and equalisation in audacity – especially to the sax. I tend to leave the backing track alone.
5. I create an mp3.

The result is like this:

The Wedding

Given this was recorded in my bedroom without any attempt to exclude external sound, and it has had only a little work in audacity, the sound quality is really quite pleasing (not quite so sure about the playing, though!)

The “music stand” placement for the zoom (it literally sits on the music stand in front of the music I am reading) can tend to emphasise the breath and key sounds from the instrument, though I have found taking a step or two backwards is helpful. There is also a risk that I will send it flying! I ought to put the Zoom on a mic stand. It is very convenient though. You hit the red button on the zoom, then hit “play” on the ipod (which is on the bed – my headphones have long leads) and by the time the backing track is counting in, you are ready to play.

The music is “The Wedding” by Abdullah Ibrahim. I love the smoochy, laid back tune. This arrangement is in the AB Real book which contains pieces for ABRSM Jazz grades 4 and 5 for Clarinet, Alto and Tenor Sax, Trumpet and Trombone and the backing track is from the Grade 4 Tenor Sax CD that goes with it. It is used here for educational purposes. The middle 8 is improvised.

The Sax is a Bauhaus-Walstein Phoshor-Bronze Tenor (probably the best value Sax in the world) with a Vandoren V16 ebonite mouthpiece and fibracell 2 reed. I have been playing sax for about a year.