Guide to Recording Marching Band

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to provide all you need as a music director to get you started with amplifying and recording your marching band. For the purpose of this guide, Marching Band refers to a primarily outdoor ensemble performing on a field made up of brass, woodwinds, front ensemble and battery.

The guide is broken down into two sections, each with three Tiers to help you get started regardless of the equipment you may have or plan to get. Since most marching perform some form of performance, be that competitive or noncompetitive, we will begin with the live application of marching bands then move onto recording one.

Introduction

Recording

Like before the recording section of marching band will be split into three tiers, each one aimed at helping you achieve the best recording possible with what you have.

Tier 1

Tier 1 recording for marching band focuses on achieving a great recording using a single device to capture the sound. This can mean using your phone or a handheld device. Here are some things to consider:

Equipment:

Mobile device using a quality recording app with gain control
Handheld recording device with built in microphones.

Placement

Find the center of the ensemble, this is most often the 50 yard line.
Position the microphone far enough that it can capture the entire field and not just a certain section.
Try to position the device elevated about 10 feet in the air.
Recordings from “the box”, although a great position, may be too far from the ensemble if you have a smaller ensemble.

Tier 2

Tier 2 involves using common stereo recording techniques in order to achieve a great recording.

Equipment

Two to four matched microphones (cardioid or omni) with windscreens
Recording device such as a mixer, audio interface or XLR equipped handheld recording device

Placement

Like before, you will want to find the “sweet spot” where you are close enough to the band to capture all of the details but far enough that you capture the whole field.

ORTF with Outriggers

Due to the nature of marching bands and how they are set up, you will want to ensure that you have enough stereo separation to hear the winds and battery travel around the field while still having a strong center where your front ensemble may be. The reason I recommend an ORTF has to do with the fact that it still gives you a strong center while giving your a better Left/Right separation compared to say XY. If you have a large enough ensemble or if your drill takes you from one side of the field to the other, you can add outriggers to further capture the field. In order to achieve this, you will want to:

Use two to four cardioid microphones with the center array angled 90 degrees from each other and spaced 11.8 inches apart.
Set the main array far enough away from the field to capture everything. Your ears are a great way of deciding this, start in the middle and walk back until you can hear everything.
Set the array 10-12 feet in the air with the microphones aimed at the middle of the field.
Set the outriggers at the same height and distance as the main array and space them 10-20 feet from the main array

Spaced Pair

Because a spaced pair allows you to capture a wide amount of space, it is a great technique for recording a field. Depending on the size of your band, you might end up using 3-4 microphones. To get started you will:

Use three to four omnidirectional microphones depending on your size of band and how much field you take up.
For a small to medium sized band, start with one omni mic in the center 50 yard line, about 20 feet from the front sideline, then place the other two omnis 10-20 feet away on either side.
For a medium to large ensemble, you will want to have all of your microphones spaced evenly across the front of the field about 20 feet from the front sideline.
- Start with your center two 15-20 feet apart from each other and make sure to space your outriggers the same distance. Adjust them until you are able capture the primary performance zone
Make sure all of your microphones are elevated 10-12 feet in the air in order to capture the whole field
Aim all microphones towards the center of the performance area.

Tier 3

Tier 3 is similar to what you may find during large marching events and competitions, for this you will not only need a main array and outriggers but will also use speaker microphones and, if possible a multitrack recording out of the primary mixer.

For tier 2, you may use any of the previously stated methods but will incorporate the following:

Speaker Microphones

Similar to recording a great guitar amp, if you are using speakers for front field amplification, you will want to place a microphone (dynamic or high SPL condenser microphone) in front of the main speakers.

Please note: You may be using additional speakers for front fills or effect speakers, these will be picked up by your main array. The main goal with this is to capture the blended mix of your front ensemble, electronics and any soloists you may have.

Multitrack Recording

If you are using tier 3 recording techniques, chances are you are using tier 3 live amplification recommendations as well and are running your entire ensemble through a mixer. Just like with recording an ensemble, you may want to emphasize something or adjust the balance of a specific section of the show. This is where taking a multitrack recording of your mixer comes in handy, this will allow you to have even further control of your mix on top of getting the processed audio from your speaker microphones.

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