4

Some months ago, I have started composing piano music in mostly romantic style (somewhere between Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Albeniz for most pieces). I have recorded some of them as videos using my digital piano but so far I have just posted those videos publicly on my Facebook page. I have used for that recording a BOYA BY-LM10 microphone. Even though that seems to be rather intended for recording speech, the quality is better than when using the built-in microphone of my tablet with which I record the videos.

My first question:

Is such an audio quality acceptable for posting on YouTube?

This being said, I will soon have the opportunity of accessing a grand piano at the home of friends where I may possibly do some recording. But that would involve much more logistics, and apart from that I am wondering:

Would it be in that case advisable to use as well a different kind of microphone (i.e. an omnidirectional one)? Would that make a huge difference in audio quality, how useful for YouTube?

A friend of mine who is very knowledgeable about social networks told me after listening to one on my Facebook page that in his opinion, the audio quality of the digital piano would be largely sufficient even for YouTube. But I am not very sure, especially as that friend is much less knowledgeable about *classical * style music. Others say (generally speaking) that for a YouTube video in order to be appreciated, the quality of the audio is much more important then the one of the image.

Improve this question
2
  • 4
    It's a digital piano - is there some way you can plug direct instead of using a mic? With the grand, it's worth recording in stereo. I tend to listen on cans, and stereo recordings are usually much more listenable. For those who just use their speaker phone, it's not going to make much difference to what they hear, but I'd have thought listening to serious music won't be done using a tinny little speaker!
    – Tim
    Mar 11, 2018 at 17:08
  • soundonsound.com/techniques/piano-recording Your mic specs: Frequency response: 35Hz-18KHz Signal/Noise: 74dB or more Reception sensitivity: -30dB±3dB / 0dB=1V/Pa,1KHz
    – Ate Somebits
    Mar 18, 2018 at 3:29

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

The main advantage of a digital piano for recording is that you don't need a microphone at all. Every digital I've seen has a headphone jack and/or a line out; with the right cable you should be able to plug your piano directly into a tablet or laptop and get a good recording without a lot of fuss.

Your friend's grand piano may sound better, but choice and placement of mics is a complicated subject; a web search for "piano recording" should give you lots of resources.

I'm not sure what "good enough for YouTube" means. YouTube videos can represent audio with high fidelity, so the limiting factor will be how they're played back; for example, somebody using headphones is going to hear more than somebody using phone speakers.

Improve this answer
2
  • Well I have tried connecting the digital piano to the computer but it doesn't take into account the pedal (damper). I have sought on various forums, and that problem seems to be common! No solution suggested...
    – Wolfgang
    May 31, 2018 at 17:36
  • BTW feel free to get an impression of how it sounds right now, by searching the 3 words "wolfgang berndt karfreitag" on youtube. I'd say not too bad!
    – Wolfgang
    May 31, 2018 at 17:41
1

I don't see why not. I have a Yamaha digital piano and the sound quality is great, even in the speakers, much better then the older acoustic piano I had. I bet you couldn't tell it apart from an actual piano.

Of course there are different digital pianos, so it depends on the model you have, but based on the ones I knew I believe it's true.

Considering the little loss of quality in any recording you make, the difference between a good digital piano and an acoustic piano would be even more unnoticeable on Youtube.

Improve this answer
1
  • Well I guess it is also (maybe most) about the feeling when playing on a real piano. Even though the touch quality of the Yamaha is good, you just feel you can make so much less nuances, compared to a real one.
    – Wolfgang
    May 31, 2018 at 17:43

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.