Use of headphones

[wirralaccordion]

I just wondered why some accordionists use headphones when recording themselves on Youtube. Unless I am mistaken this seems to apply regardless of whether the accordion is acoustic or electronic.

 

[Snoopz]

Probably because you want to hear what is actually recorded. This way, you can identify problems with the recording before you are through with with your piece just to notice that the sound got a funny crackle to it

 

[Rosie C]

Possibly playing to a 'click track' for timing, or multi-tracking.

 

[dak]

How else are they going to get live coaching from their recording engineer and accordion instructor and other relevant studio personnel? Also could be the babyphone. They might not want to interrupt a recording unless there is something in need of urgent attention.

 

[boxplayer4000]

wirralaccordion:
Many accordionists, and I include my self among them, are less than perfect when it comes to playing a piece absolutely fault free. Even simple computer-based recorders allow the piece to be pre-recorded and ‘mistakes’ to be corrected. I suspect that in many of the recordings you allude to the accordionist is listening to this mistake free recording, on his headphones, while he records the video. It is then fairly simple to attach the ‘perfect’ audio recording to the video one on the computer.
Purists will say that the practice is cheating a bit but it’s a fact that good conditions for recording video are not always good for recording audio.
There’s good advice on the subject, on this website, from people such as JerryPH.

 

[JerryPH]

Possibly playing to a 'click track' for timing, or multi-tracking.

That is the only reason, most of us are not in a studio listening to the sound engineer… if you are alone and doing a 1-take recording, there isn’t any reason short of the above to have them on… nowadays, you won’t see me wear headphones in my videos, even when multitracking, I use small earphones that are hidden. Personally I think headphones look ridiculous, and I don’t want to look ridiculous… LOL

 

[JerryPH]

Purists will say that the practice is cheating a bit but it’s a fact that good conditions for recording video are not always good for recording audio.
There’s good advice on the subject, on this website, from people such as JerryPH.

Well, yes and no. Do I “fix” my takes? Nope, not that anal, though I am not far from it… lol

So where am I playing that the original sounds are not leaving my accordion? Well, I have not yet made that kind of video, but I would like to try sometime this summer, where I have a multi-location, multi-camera video made that lets me do 2-5 videos strung together done at several takes/locations just so I can say I made one like this.

Is it against my “purist” blood? nah, I prefer recording audio and video in one take at the same time so its much easier.

 

[Ben-jammin]

That is the only reason, most of us are not in a studio listening to the sound engineer… if you are alone and doing a 1-take recording, there isn’t any reason short of the above to have them on… nowadays, you won’t see me wear headphones in my videos, even when multitracking, I use small earphones that are hidden. Personally I think headphones look ridiculous, and I don’t want to look ridiculous… LOL

I disagree. Hearing the eq, compression, and effects like reverb or delay in the mix can impact how a performer approaches dynamics and other elements in their playing. One can argue that a recording should only document what’s there in the live space but to some it’s to make the best sounding recording and use whatever tools are at their disposal. For many hearing a good live mix that doesn’t bleed back through their mics gives them a leg up. You can talk about how ridiculous it looks, but pro and amateur musicians have been using headphones for recording for decades.

 

[JerryPH]

Let me clarify... I am exclusively speaking about wearing head sets while making a video and my opinion is that they dont offer any advantage over a good set of earbuds and I just hate the looks, to me they detract. Times 10 for digital accordions.

Everyone is free to do as they wish of course, bur especially with digital instruments why wear headphones? The sounds are 100% the same with and without the headsets. External sounds do not get in the chain.

The anesthetics of wearing big head sets is not needed during videos.

 

[dak]

The anesthetics of wearing big head sets

"N" is just 1 anyway. You could have kept it for the next post just out of æsthetics.

 

[boxplayer4000]

Well as the Irish say 'Every cripple has their own way of walking'. So long as we all get what we want in the end. Certainly the modern technology, fantastic microphones etc. make life easier for all.

 

[dak]

Well as the Irish say 'Every cripple has their own way of walking'. So long as we all get what we want in the end. Certainly the modern technology, fantastic microphones etc. make life easier for all.

I just watched how my housemate gave a phone number to a vet, saying all the digits and the name and the vet typed it all into her mobile. How error-prone and awkward. A few days earlier my brother and sister exchanged a contact just by bumping their iPhones together and it hardly took them three times as long until this worked without a hitch and transferred the number they were actually interested in. Now that's what I call elegance. If life continues to get easier the way it does, I won't be able to keep up.

 

[JerryPH]

iPhones AND androids using NFS, that same method can be used to not just transfer contacts but at the store to use like a tap credit card, it is also a way to exchange business cards or music files or photos… that’s been around a while, perhaps 6-7 years. This is also the way that a teen went through the New York subway system stealing the info from 25,000 credit cards by just walking past people with a computerized reader while riding the subway during rush hour and made over $5 million dollars in 6 months.

Getting back to the headphone thing, this is just me, I’m not saying everyone must do it my way, just explaining my feelings what It is the “look” that I want to share when I make a video. When I made the “Pretend” video where I had to hear the digital accordion and play along with it on an acoustic accordion, I wonder how many even noticed I was wearing ear buds?



I hate the look of headphones in a video, I perceive it as clunky, or a lack of knowledge (don’t they know that it looks silly, don’t they know that when recording digitally no sound from the analog side can seep in to the recording? Don’t they know it’s NOT needed?)… instead of hearing the sounds, that is what goes through my head. Perhaps I am the one not normal, who knows, but that is what’s happening in my brain bucket… lol

When I made a recording of “Tea got Two”, I went as far as testing how much of the sound from the speakers leaked in to the acoustic mics and was thrilled when I saw that it was very hard to hear the backing track in the background while in actuality, the volume from my speakers was loud enough for me to hear over the sound of my acoustic playing, so not even ear buds were needed, though I was ready to use them if needed.



In the above video, I first recorded the backing track on the BK-7m with the 8X, then just recorded the right and left acoustic mic’s from the Beltuna while listening to the backing track. This gave me 4 separate tracks that I combined in post and just recorded the video of me playing against a green screen.

IMHO, It’s the small things like this that separate those videos from the others. My goal was always to make my videos stand apart from the others, but at the same time share that knowledge too.

 

[dak]

In the above video, I first recorded the backing track on the BK-7m with the 8X, then just recorded the right and left acoustic mic’s from the Beltuna while listening to the backing track. This gave me 4 separate tracks that I combined in post and just recorded the video of me playing against a green screen.

Well, the waves don't wave a whole lot… Which makes me wonder whether there is a market for background videos rather than just background photographs.

 

[JerryPH]

Well, the waves don't wave a whole lot… Which makes me wonder whether there is a market for background videos rather than just background photographs.

I am sure there is, but what does that have to do with headphones?

 

[wirralaccordion]

Thanks for all your comments guys. Very interesting. I myself also think like Jerry that headphones look ridiculous. I can understand the need for them when playing in a group ( sometimes you see a keyboard player wearing them, presumably so that he can hear himself playing ) but in solo playing I still don't get it ). As for listening to clicks to set the tempo, would not a better solution be to have a timed flashing light?

I'm not a pro so for me a £90 point and shoot camera with movie facility on a little tripod is all I use but then again I'm not playing for perfection, just pleasure.

 

[Ventura]

how to look really, really good wearing headphones while recording

 

[murathan]

Headphones adds a coolness like they are doing something important. I guess there is a reason sometimes

 

[jozz]

the reason is product placement

almost any podcast is endorsed by Shure and their SM7 studio mic
same goes for headsets, especially in gaming channels

 

[JerryPH]

Besides lack of knowledge, or keeping your neighbours happy by not hearing you, why are many of the digital accordionists making videos with them on? OK if we are talking pet peeves, how about those people that make videos and they look as if they are playing with their left hands... looks like a legit lefty, until we see the letters on their accordions are backward. If they cannot take 5 seconds to go in to the settings and invert the image, I cannot take 3 minutes to listen to their effort.