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BASIC MICROPHONE TECHNNIQUES FOR 

 LIVE PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC RECORDING IN NIGERIA. 

 

Udeozor, Vincent Chukwuma 

Music Department, NnamdiAzikiwe University, Nigeria. 

Email- vincezzo4u@yahoo.com 

 

Abstract: 

This study exploits several ways by which microphone can be 

positioned/placed during live performance and recording in Nigeria. 

Musical performance cannot be appreciated without proper 

microphone techniques. Participation, observation as well as literature 

reviews from the research methodology are used in carrying out the 

research. Challenges facing this work would be highlighted as well as 

possible solutions and recommendations. 

 

 

Introductions 

We cannot digest this discourse without knowing the meaning of this 

instrument called microphones. From the acoustic point of view, 

microphones are familiar, and almost ubiquities piece of sound 

equipment that changes sound energy into electrical energy. A lay 

man‟s understanding will have it as an instrument for singing. Perhaps 

the best way to emphasise the importance of the microphone is to say 

that without it, with the exception of electronic instruments and 

computers, audio in the recording would not exist. Going to the 

historical lain, it should be noted that the earliest recordings were 

made through a horn; sounds were emitted into horn and recorded 

directly onto a cylinder or disc. This type of acoustic recording was 

supplanted by electrical recording around 1925, and then microphone 

took over, in 1876, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used 

as a telephone voice transmitter. At the US centennial exposition, 

Emile Berliner had seen a bell company telephone demonstrated and 

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183 

was inspired to find ways to improve the newly invented telephone. In 

1878, the carbon microphone was invented by David Edward Hughes, 

and later developed during the 1920‟s.Hughes‟s microphone was the 

early model for the various carbon microphones now in use. The ribbon 

microphone was invented in 1942 for radio broadcasting.In1964, Bell 

laboratories researchers James West and Gerhard Sessle, invented 

electro acoustic transducers, an electric microphone. The electric 

microphones offered greater reliability, higher precision lower cost 

and a smaller size. It revolutionized the microphone industry with 

almost one billion manufactured each year. During the 1970‟s, dynamic 

and condensermics were developed allowing for a lower sound level 

sensitivity and a clearer sound recording. 

 

Operating Principles 

The recording industry which is changing rapidly has one area where 

the technology is almost the same as it always was and this area is 

microphones. When choosing a microphone, there are three things to 

consider: operating principles, directional characteristics and sound 

response, cost and durability may be two other considerations. Going 

back to our physics class, microphones are transducers. They change 

sounds acoustics energy (variations in air pressure) into electrical 

energy (variations in voltage) from a technical design standpoint; 

therefore, the most basic way to classify different types of micsis by 

the methods they use to do this. Microphones use a diaphragm usually 

of twin, lightweight material, that is struck by sound waves and 

vibrates accordingly into an analogous pattern of varying voltage and 

the electrical signal is then available for recording and processing. 

Based on this way we can break microphones down into the following 

categories: 

 Dynamic moving –coil designs (the diaphragmis attached to a coil 

of wire) 

 Ribbon (actually, dynamics as well, but with a ribbon of a moving 

coil) 

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Condenser (i.e capacitor mics, where the diaphragm is part of 

capacitor) 

Dynamic moving- coil microphones designs, better known as dynamic 

mics, use the principal of electromagnetic induction to convert 

acoustic energy to electrical. The diaphragm is attached to a coil, 

which lies in a magnetic field (generated by a magnet incorporated 

into the mic).When sound waves strike the diaphragm, it vibrates 

accordingly, and this causes the attached coil to move within the 

magnetic field generating a voltage which varies in accordance with 

the pattern of the original sound wave (a typical loudspeaker works by 

the same principle, only in reverse) moving-coil designs are usually 

sturdy and rugged and so are popular for live use, especially hand – 

held applications. Moving-coil microphones are rugged, generate low 

self-noise, tend to be less susceptible to humidity and a wide 

temperature variations, and handle high sound –pressure levels 

without distortion.  They are less expensive than other professional 

microphones. 

 

Ribbon Microphone is another type of mic design that uses 

electromagnetic induction. People refer to this design as „‟ribbons‟‟. A 

thin (usually) corrugated ribbon of metal foil is used as diaphragm 

again suspended in a magnetic field, inducing a voltage whose pattern 

is analogous to the original acoustic sound wave‟s as above. In older 

ribbon designs, the ribbon material itself was extremely fragile, 

making these mics more suitable for studio use than live. Ribbon 

microphones are not widely used today, except in music recording and 

for the speaking voice. They are more expensive than many moving-

coilmics and have to be handled with care particularly when it comes 

with loud sound levels. Recently developed ribbon microphone 

technology is the active ribbon microphone which uses an amplifier 

system that requires phantom power. Phantom power is a method of 

remotely powering an amplifier or impedance converter by sending 

voltage along the audio cable. 

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Among the advantages of the active ribbon microphone over 

conventional ribbons are higher output and sensitivity, wider and 

flatter frequency response and the ability to handle higher sound 

levels before distortion (Alten: 1981) 

 

 

Performance Characteristics 

Microphones have their individualistic approach for a particular 

application. Moving-coil microphones are rugged, generate low self-

noise, tend to be less susceptible to humidity and wide temperature 

variations and handle high sound pressure levels without distortion. 

They are usually less expensive than the other professional types and 

come in a wide variety of makes and models. The element of a moving-

coil mic has more mass than that of a ribbon of capacitor microphone 

and, therefore, has greater inertia in responding to sound variations. 

This results in a slower response to transients sounds that begin with 

a quick attack, such as a drum hit, breaking glass, and then quickly 

decay. Ribbon microphones are not widely used today, except in music 

recording and for the speaking voice. They are more expensive than 

many moving coil mics and have to be handled with care, particularly 

when it comes to loud sound levels. Ribbon mics generally have low 

self-noise, but they also have the lowest output level of the three 

major types. This means a power signal-to-noise ratio if the mic is too 

far from the sound source or if the cable runs us too long. Capacitor 

microphones are highly-performance instruments. They reproduce 

clear, airy, detailed sound and are the choice among professional-

quality microphones when it is necessary to record sounds rich in 

harmonics and overtones. Capacitor mics have high sensitivity, which 

make them the preferred choice for distant miking: high-end response 

is not hampered by extended mic-to-source distances. The capacitor 

microphones are generally more expensive than moving coil and ribbon 

microphones. 

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Behavioural Characteristics 

The way in which a microphone responds to sound in the air around it 

is expressed as the mic‟s pattern. This describes the microphone‟s 

sensitivity to sound coming at it from the front, sides and rear of the 

diaphragm-in other words, the microphones directional 

characteristics. 

 

Microphones Has Three Basic Directional Characteristics 

A. Omni-directional: the mic responds with equal sensitivity to 

sounds from all directions (front, rear, sides). 

B. Bi-directional: the mic is sensitive to sounds from the front and 

rear (00 and 1800 respectively) but rejects bounds from sides 

within 900-2700. 

C. Uni-directional: the mic is primarily sensitive to sounds from 

one direction (cardioids, super-cardioids, and hyper-cardioids) 

and rejects sounds from the rear. 

As mentioned earlier, an omni-directional mic which picks up sounds 

from everywhere consists of a disc-shaped diaphragm in a sealed 

enclosure, open only at the front. That means all sound is picked up by 

direct pressure on the (front of the) diaphragm. Omnimics can be 

referred to as pressure mics. When sound waves from the side (900-

2700) strike, both sides of the diaphragm at the same time resulting 

in equal but opposite pressure on the front and rear, the sounds from 

the sides will be cancelled, that is to say that the mic therefore picks 

up sound waves from the front and rear and rejects sound from the 

side, this is a pressure gradient design, also known as a bi-directional 

mic. The microphone that falls under this category is condenser 

microphone and are mostly used for choir applications, they are 

generally more capable of flat, wide-range frequency response rather 

than one microphone per sound source the object is to pick up multiple 

sound sources (or a „‟large” sound source) for one microphone picking 

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up a typical choir, the suggested placement is a few feet in front of, 

and a few feet above, the heads of the first row, it should be centred 

in front of the choir and aimed at the last low. A cardioids microphone 

can cover up to 15-20 voices, arranged in a rectangular or wedge-

shaped section, for larger or unusually shaped choirs, it may be 

necessary to use more than one microphone. 

 

 

Uni-Directional  

Unidirectional comes into play where a more restricted pick up 

characteristics would be desirable. Sound waves arriving at the rear 

of the diaphragm are delayed, usually by rear entry ports (acoustic 

chambers) in the body of the mic. This delays the arrival of a sound 

wave relative to its arrival at the front of the diaphragm-in other 

words it puts the sound coming in at the rear out of phase with the 

same sound coming in at the front. This type of mic is very sensitive 

to the sound coming from the front, and which rejects sounds from 

the rear. When the pattern of this kind of unidirectional design is 

plotted, it looks like a heart shape and so is commonly referred to as a 

cardioids pattern from the latin word for „‟heart‟‟. This type of mic can 

be used in mixing a bass drum since it has its concentration in the 

front. Also close mixing guitar cups, drum kits, close on trumpet bells. 

 

 

Vocal Mixing Techniques  

Some singers, even professional find it very hard to perform with 

microphones especially during live recording or performance. These 

bad techniques often times result in some fantastic voices being over 

looked due to poor sound quality. 

 

 

 

 

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Things to Bear in Mind While Handling the Microphone 

1. Pointing the microphone towards a speaker when you are two 

close causes a high pitched noise called FEEDBACK. 

2. Aiming the volumes too high will cause FEEDBACK and 

DISTORTION. 

3. Holding the microphone too close or too far from your mouth. 

This results in your singing sounding multiple and distorted. 

 

Set your volume controls so that the backing track is lower than 

your singing. To avoiding, ensure the mic is held no closer than 2 to 

3 inches from your mouth during normal singing. Also, when aiming 

for high notes, avoid moving the microphone closer to your mouth.  

Furthermore, point the mic at about a 45 degree angle above; 

below; or to the side of the performer‟s mouth, depending on the 

mic‟s pick up pattern‟. Cardioidsmics are best suited for this. 

Ideally, hand held mic should be positioned 6 to 12 inches from the 

performers mouth at an angle of 45 degrees or less. Positioning 

the microphone at the angle of about 90 degrees may result in 

popping sounds when consonants like P and T are pronounced. 

 

Snare Drum 

Use a capacitor mic which makes snare to sound richer or crisper 

or moving coil mic that tends to give it a harder edge in mixing the 

snare drum. Point your mic 6 to 10 inches from the drum head and 

aim the mic so that its pick up pattern is split between the head 

and side of the drum. 

 

Bass Drums 

This drum purpose in most music is to provide transient, low-

frequency energy burst that help establish the primary rhythmic 

pattern of a song.The kick drum‟s energy is primarily focused in 

two areas:low-end timbre and “attack”. Although this varies by 

individual drum, the attack tends to be in the 2.5-5khz range. 

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Tom Tom 

 The kick and snare establish the low and high rhythmic functions 

the toms are multiple drums that will be tuned from high to low 

between the snare and kick. They are primarily used for fills 

during performance, but may also be consistent parts of the 

rhythmic structure. The attack range is similar to snare drum, but 

often with more sustain. An individual directional mic on the top 

head near edge can be used on each drum and panned to create 

some spatial image. 

 

 

Hi Hat Cymbal 

the hi-hat cymbal produces too sounds; a clap and shimmer; 

depending on how important these accents are to the music, the hi-

hat can either can either share the snare drum‟s mic or have a 

microphone of its own. If it shares, place the mic between the hi-

hat and snare and adjust the sound balance through mic placement. 

If your miking only the hi-hat place the mic at the edge of the hi-

hat to produce a brighter sound. 

 

 

Acoustic Guitar 

When recording an acoustic guitar, place your microphone about 6 

inches above the bridge and even within the front of the guitar 

brightens the natural sound of the instrument. Aiming a 

microphone at the centre of the guitar hole 2 to 3 feet away 

produces a sound with balanced highs, middles, and lows. 

 

 

 

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Congas This is a special instrument in Africa, miking such an 

instrument that has its sound concentration both in the middle and 

at the edge of the instrument would require a special skill in the 

sense that the instrument is play with the expression of the body 

as part of its skill. Miking the instrument from top may engage the 

player and microphone in a “fight” but not that a good result may 

not be achieved miking from the top, but to achieve a more 

desirable result, is preferably good to mic beneath the instrument.  

 

 

Conclusion 

 Trying to exhaust the microphone technique of all the instruments 

may not be possible in this discourse as we have numerous musical 

instruments. The basic thing or aim of this work is to create 

consciousness in the use of microphones especially in the vocal 

technique. We should also bear in mind that mixing something that 

makes sound; use a microphone with a frequency response that is 

suited to the frequency range of the sound, if possible, or filter 

out frequencies above and or below the highest and lowest 

frequencies of the sound. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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References 

Internet Sources 

www.recordingmag.com/resources 

www.adorama.com/basic-miking 

www.music.tutsplus.com 

Benade, A. H. Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics. 

Parker, S. P Acoustics Source 

Huber & Runstein Modern Recording Techniques. 

Everest, F. A (1981).The Master Hand book Of Acoustics 

Alten, S R. Audio in Media 7th Edition  

Hornby, M S. Production in Pro Tools 

Kristin, P & Reil, K. R (2014).Basic Miking Techniques for Recording 

Pop\Rock Music. 

 

Basic Microphone Technniques During Live…           Udeozor, Vincent Chukwuma 

 

http://www.recordingmag.com/resources
http://www.adorama.com/basic-miking
http://www.music.tutsplus.com/

