Live performance of music. Live sound: practical tips What is live sound

Music is a magic born of nature itself, a simultaneous magical combination of silence and sounds organized in time and space. Live music can only be compared with the harmony of the universe, because it can also evoke the most contradictory feelings and emotions in us: tears, joy, tenderness, passion, delight, surprise, pacification, and sometimes even indignation, irritation and anger. She is able to return us to the past, nurtures us in the present and draws the horizons of the future. Maybe that's why music is eternal?

Live music - what is it?

Live performance of music is reproduced ordered sounds saturated with a certain energy of the person who extracts them. The energy of the reproduced sounds is unique and inimitable, because it is felt only here and now at the moment of its sending, and most importantly, it conveys the inner, innermost experiences and feelings of the musician. Moreover, it doesn't matter if we hear the sounds of instruments or voices, the main thing is that “living substance” gives them to us - breathing, thinking and feeling. Giving us music at a specific time and only in the place where the action itself takes place. It follows that live performance music is an enchanting eruption of the human soul.

For centuries, music excited the hearts of people, was a kind of outlet for humanity. She inspired, directed, soothed and protected, lifted the spirit, dissolving the accumulated worldly negativity in herself. And it's no wonder that with the development of civilization and technology, people have a burning need to hear music always and everywhere, pampering their ears with their favorite motives.

The history of the emergence of sound recording

So, the first to surprise and delight the world with his brilliant discovery was the French librarian and bookseller Edouard Leon Scott de Martinville in 1857. He managed to make a global breakthrough in the development of the musical field and create the first sound recording device called a phonautograph. This device made it possible to visualize sound vibrations, but not reproduce them. And only in 1877 the American inventor Thomas Edison was lucky to improve the Martinville apparatus, which was called the phonograph. He could not only record sounds, but also play them. At that time, the first recordings of excerpts from performances, performances of musicians, singers and orators were made.

At the end of the 18th century, the beginning of the 19th, the first records appeared and a record company was created. From year to year, people have improved Musical direction and thanks to this - today we have the opportunity to enjoy the magical sounds of music without limiting ourselves in this, thanks to the acquired technical capabilities for its transformation and amplification. Electronic equipment, acoustic systems, microphones, mixers, consoles, converters, all kinds of gadgets and modern "smart" instruments - all this contributed to the development of modern music industry, bringing it closer to perfection and to the formation of various musical genres and directions.

These days, in addition to performing live music, there are many options for presenting music.

Plus phonogram

A plus or plus phonogram is the most convenient and common method for modern artists, which greatly simplifies work in this area, making it possible to give your talent to the masses with minimal cost time and effort.

Plus phonogram became a trendsetter in the 80s - 90s, when pop music was rapidly developing all over the world. The artists toured cities and countries, giving 3-4 concerts a day, gathering huge stadiums of fans and amateurs. Then it turned out to be simply impossible to do without her.

At its core, a plus is a pre-recorded musical accompaniment with the voice of a singer or singer overlaying it using special recording equipment.

This makes it much easier for artists to perform at concerts. They just need to adequately play their role on stage, opening their mouths to the soundtrack and creating a festive atmosphere in the hall.

For all the practicality of using the plus, there is a very big drawback in it. It does not allow the artist to open up one hundred percent, because thanks to the recording, the energy flow emanating from the performer is lost at the moment when he sings, extracting sounds live. Of course, contact with the viewer becomes less emotional and natural. But after all the main task"Stars" - to establish an energetic connection with the listener and give him an unforgettable atmosphere. Therefore, today they are trying to revive live performance and more and more musicians return to live performance of music.

Backing track

A backing track is a recorded instrumental track, sometimes with prescribed backing vocals. As well as "plus" is recorded at the studio by arrangers. Professionals do a great job with musical material, recording each instrument separately (drums, violin, keyboard group, guitar, bass guitar, winds), if we speak musical terms, then - accumulate presets. Then they are brought together (connected), while applying the desired effects, if appropriate. And the performer then overlays his vocals from above, that is, sings live.

The backing track is also a common form among artists, because it makes it much easier to organize performances and cheaper, which is important. Performing with a pre-recorded backing track requires much less technique and people involved in this event. Sometimes, without backing tracks, it does not seem realistic to establish a concert, this is hindered by the technical capabilities of a particular venue. When singers work to the "minus", it is audible, and even a person who does not understand all the intricacies of musical problems is capable of determining that a vocalist is singing live.

Performing music live

This is when musicians play electronic or classic instruments or they sing in real time - here and now. But in any case, in our time, all kinds of technical devices... This is necessary in order to reveal the image of this or that work, to introduce new colors and shades, to emphasize some nuance or hide it.

With the help of technology, you can brighten up flaws or professional bloopers and make a live music show brighter, more spectacular, extraordinary and individual.

Legendary musicians prefer to perform live only. Because they understand the "secret of success" and it is extremely important for them to have that same energetic exchange with the audience, giving themselves to the audience completely emotionally and physically dissolving in this process. Moreover, the live performance of music is an indisputable sign of quality and professionalism. That is why such kind of groups as a cover group work only live, if, of course, they are real professionals.

Live concert from "A" to "Z"

Live sound initially presupposes areas and halls specially designed for this, where architects, even when developing a building plan, take into account all the nuances to recreate the correct acoustics. This contributes to the beautiful extraction of live sound, its depth and volume. Of course, if musicians know how to do their job, observing musical literacy... Transferring all intonational and dynamic moments, virtuoso passages, theoretical strokes and tempo, exactly as the author intended performed work... An example is the playing of an orchestra. If during the performance all of the above is maintained, then we can enjoy the divine power of music with pleasure, temporarily falling into another - unearthly dimension.

In conclusion, I would like to note - in order to create and perform a living breathing performance of songs or music, creative people apart from professional skills, technical "bells and whistles", it is necessary to have inspiration and have a Divine gift, in other words, talent. Only in this case musical history will be replenished with new masterpieces, the performances will be successful and unsurpassed, and the audience will be grateful and devoted, giving the artists applause and thunderous applause.

"Appeared relatively recently and is often misinterpreted. Let's find out what falls under the definition “ live music"And what not.

Initially, any music is live

Before a certain moment the development of technical thought, any music was live - music performed by musicians. There was no other way to hear music than to invite musicians to do this.

How music appeared without musicians

The first "lifeless" alternatives that did not require the participation of musicians were music boxes and barrel organs. One of the pinnacles of mechanical musical devices became the "mechanical piano".

With the advent of recording devices, there was no need to use the services of musicians every time. The person now has a choice - to listen to sound recording or live music. Today there are several variants of live performance: live sound, fully live performance and partially live performance.

Live sound

Performing music with live sound (sometimes they say "acoustic composition" or "playing acoustics") is both the most difficult and the most natural way to play music. With this design, no electrical devices are used. The beauty of the sounding of instruments, volume and balance, ensemble coherence and expressiveness - absolutely all aspects of performance are regulated exclusively by the musicians themselves and depend only on their skill. This sound is close to the human voice.

Live performance is one of the options for live music

Emergence electronic instruments, electronic means of sound reinforcement and sound processing greatly facilitated the process of performing music and expanded the possibilities of musicians. Today quality performed music less depends on the skill of the musicians. Electronic devices regulate the sound volume, the timbre of the instruments, provide the performance of various techniques and means of expression. This is no longer a living sound close to nature. But this is also a living process of musicians performing music, requiring skill and talent. This is also live music.

Partially live performance - performance "under the minus"

It appeared quite recently. Some of the musical material (for example, rhythm base, bass line and harmony), and sometimes all music material pre-recorded in the studio on an electronic medium. During a concert performance, some of the music is played by musicians, and some is played from the media. Sometimes from the entire composition of the musicians only one vocal remains, and all the instrumental parts are reproduced in the recording. This performance can be called "partially live". Nevertheless, the presence of a musician, at least one, allows us to classify this performance as a “live music”. His undeniable advantage- significant savings in the budget of the concert program by reducing the number of musicians and technical rider. In the sphere musical accompaniment On holidays, such musical groups are most popular.

Performing music with soundtrack

Performing music isn't just about making sounds. An artistic performance has a powerful visual effect. Performance by a symphony orchestra, rock band or popular singer is a colorful performance, a show that is pleasant to watch. With the development of technical means of reproduction, processing and amplification of sound, it became tempting to imitate live performance during a concert. Even professionals can not always say with confidence whether musicians perform with a phonogram or work "live". We will not touch upon the moral and ethical side of the issue of performances with a phonogram. There are objective circumstances in which work "plus" (under the phonogram) is the only possible variant performances of artists.

Musical accompaniment of the event - what to choose?

So, there are two main types of music we hear - live (performed by musicians) and inanimate (reproduced from a carrier). Performing music with live sound and playing a recording are two opposite poles. Between them there are intermediate options: live performance, partly live performance, performance with a phonogram. What to choose as the musical accompaniment of the event - live Music band or a DJ service with a set of sound equipment and standard set audio recordings, you decide. We, Art Studio "Maestro", will efficiently implement any of your ideas.

1. The singer's voice sounds too flat

Any intense movement affects the singing - that is why the phrases in dance songs are inevitably shorter than in lyrical slow songs. If the character of the singing does not change in any way while the artist is jumping around the stage, and you do not hear his breathing, this is a sign of the switched on "plywood".

Andrei Kovalev, one of the most famous fighters for live sound, the author of the Moscow City Duma bill “On phonogram”, which was not adopted in 2007, told Trud about the most frequent counterargument of the “plywood” defenders on the stage: “Once a controversy unfolded between Madonna and Elton John. Sir Elton said: “Dear Madonna, I went to your concert, so what? You sang half of the songs to the soundtrack. " Madonna replied: "Yes, dear Elton, because I jump and dance on stage." Elton objected, "But I paid not to watch you jump, but to hear you sing."

What Madonna said is, of course, an excuse. Even with the greatest intensity of movement, you can sing normally. See how Slipknot works. Or Iron Maiden - their leader Bruce Dickinson is over 60, and what kind of vocals he gives out running around the stage! It's all about desire and physical form... Singing in combination with jogging on the treadmill is a great way to train. And we have actively dancing people singing exclusively live. For example, Angelica Varum and Leonid Agutin - they even demand from the organizers of corporate events, not to mention poster concerts, that there is equipment for live sound.

2. Watch the hands of the sound engineer

If you are sitting in the hall near the sound engineer's console, watch his work. Some artists - for example, Glucose - record separately instrumental accompaniment and own voice... This allows the following manipulation: at some moments, the singer can stretch the microphone to the audience - they say, sing it yourself and make sure that the sound is alive. In these seconds, watch the sound engineer: if he sharply moved one of the knobs up - most likely, he entered on full power the soloist's microphone, and now the sound is really alive. And before that there was "plywood".

“All rock musicians work live,” says Andrey Kovalev. - Like all chansonniers. Pop singers, on the other hand, average fifty to fifty. For example, I don't understand Philip Kirkorov - he is a great singer, he could always sing live, but he performs up to 30 percent of the songs with a phonogram. Dima Bilan uses the so-called doubles: he puts a live voice on the tracks he himself recorded, so there is only 20-30 percent of the live sound there. Boris Moiseev works only with a phonogram. But Nikolai Baskov, Valery Meladze, Oleg Gazmanov or Ranetki always sing live. "

3. Speaks with one voice, sings with another

Today, performers love all kinds of appeals to the public: "What are you wonderful!", "Where are your hands?" etc. Experts advise to follow up on this. If, with the same strength of the voice, its timbre in the spoken version is very different from what sounded in the song, this is a sure sign of using a phonogram. This, for example, happens when filming most television programs, which are traditionally written for a ready-made soundtrack.

4. TV camera - companion of "plywood"

If you saw cranes with television cameras in the hall, you can be 90 percent sure: "plywood" sounds here. And if the concert is a team, that is, it is held with the participation of many artists, then 100. Because it is impossible to quickly adjust the equipment for each artist. “From my experience in the Pilgrim group, I know that it takes at least three hours to adjust the sound,” says Kovalev. - Of course, no one does this at group concerts. But in this case, the audience should think: is the spectacle worth those big money who they paid for it? After all, in fact, they were made extras, that is, they should be paid for shooting, not they. "

So, all the "Songs of the Year" and similar actions are solid "plywood". Although in fact, we have gone far from the times when imperfect equipment did not allow us to record high-quality sound on a live show. Today there is such an opportunity. On some TV shows, the sound is already lively and very high quality. So it's all about the desire or unwillingness of TV people to tinker with live acoustics.

5. Just like on disk

Live performance always has some individual characteristics and roughness. Here the rhythm quickened a little, there a melodic decoration was added: If you hear singing, do the smallest details coinciding with a phonogram known from discs and radio broadcasts, this means that it is it that sounds here.

However, this method does not always work. “Some masters go for tricks,” Andrei Kovalev told Trud. - Those stars, who are allowed by means, write a special concert "plus one" with some roughness of performance. For example, Sofia Rotaru in the 1970s recorded a phonogram with a deliberate kick, as if her voice was breaking. She apologized sweetly in this place, and the audience got the impression of live singing. "

Poll: "Is phonogram evil?"

Joseph Kobzon, singer: "There are no specific penalties for a phonogram"

- When I was chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture, we talked a lot on this topic. There is a consumer protection law, but there is no enforcement mechanism and no penalties. It is necessary to create a staff of inspectors - not as part of Rospotrebnadzor, but a new body.

Joseph Prigogine, producer: "Phonographers have gone to corporate parties"

- Those who exist at the expense of public concerts work live. And the phonographers went to corporate parties. At group concerts, the phonogram can be. It is not customary for us when one live orchestra accompanies all the singers of the program.

Ilya Damn, p ok-musician: "The phonogram is a lie"

- In rock music, unlike pop music, it is impossible to imagine a phonogram. This is called a lie. When on stage they open their mouths and wag their booty under someone else's record - their own, and it happens that someone else's. Talking about the fact that live sound creates technical difficulties in some shows is an excuse.

Vyacheslav Butusov, rock musician: "We need to cultivate conscience in people"
- “Plywood” has penetrated into our concert business as much as our concert business allows. Since our concept of "business" is strongly perverted and means only a primitive scheme: give less - take more, then all of our concert activity looks like a robbery by Ostap Bender. Why do rockers usually work live, and pop music often - to "plywood"? Rockers are ascetics, they do not need to eat sweetly and sleep softly. Thanks to this distribution mental attention they manage to devote more time to the useful aspects of this life.

Every sound engineer has certain difficulties in recording live sound, especially if it does not take place within the walls, but, for example, at a concert that will be shown on television.

Today you can often see the title “live sound” in the corner of the TV screen. It basically means that it comes about musicians playing without a phonogram. In some cases - records theatrical performances, concerts with a choir or Symphony Orchestra- the phonogram is basically not used. However, since the 70s of the last century, the phonogram has firmly become fashionable among the majority of performers, and this continues to this day.

Part of the performance to the soundtrack was due to the peculiarities of the filming. In order to make a good recording, it was much easier to persuade the artist to bring the soundtrack and perform, simultaneously opening and closing his mouth, than to pore over the ideal sound for a long time with him. The phonogram also has advantages: the dynamic and frequency range is corrected in advance, which makes it possible to develop in concert hall high levels sound pressure.

On the other hand, musicians performing "live" often encounter misunderstandings and even resistance from TV people and other performers. First, it lacks the basic equipment needed to record this level; secondly, the "live" sound completely betrays unscrupulous colleagues singing to the "plywood". But the plus of a live performance more than makes up for all the minuses, since the energy and impact on the listener are simply invaluable.

Fortunately, Western sound masters have found a completely new approach to recording live music, and we have someone to learn from! Basically, they shoot, as in the mode live broadcast; quality and visual power musical number are preserved almost completely, only slightly yielding to real sound. Hopefully the traditional approach to music will gradually fade away; in the meantime, it remains to enjoy the magnificent concert discs the best musicians world produced by leading