Posted by Joe S. on August 11, 1999 at 21:42:12:
In Reply to: Re: Hartely's unaccomp. Suite posted by Jay Bertolet on August 11, 1999 at 11:54:47:
All I was trying to convey was that many tapes (due to the recording setting, recorder's experience, and quality of the tape) are so "low-fi" that they sound like Edison cylinders. DATs don't have ANY "sscscscscscscscsssss" in their sound, and if you have a friend with a c.d. burner, you STILL won't lose ANY fidelity. Recorded tuba sounds suffer particularly if you try to record them with dime store microphones...much worse than some other instruments do.
The splitting up of movements is a matter of opinion, I would think. During recitals, people do artificial junk like emptying water, adjusting their glasses, scooting their chair, etc. to give themselves "breaks". Pauses that long tend to sound wierd on tapes. At "live" auditions with college instructors, the instructors will often interject conversation, instruction, or suggestions between movements to give auditioners the best "shots" and to eliviate audition tension. (Believe it or not, they WANT you to do your best ;-)
As to between-movement splicing noise, there is none on a DAT, if done correctly. This fact, however, should NOT (!!!) be abused to the point of splicing WITHIN movements, but you already knew that.
Don't misinterpret this as an argument with Jay. I agree with virtually his entire post. The three very small disagreements are the point of taking breaks between movements, getting someone knowledgable and with top-quality equipment to help you with your recording, and attempting to communicate as much of your beautiful sound as possible on to the recording. Even an "engineer" can't make a tuba player with a bad tone sound good, and some "engineers" can make a good tuba player sound bad. In spite of the fact that the reviewer will KNOW that you don't sound EXACTLY like your tape, they still can't help but NOTICE the tone quality on the tape. (After all, what else do they have to concentrate on besides the friggin' tape that you sent them?)
I agree the MOST with Jay's suggestion of flying over here, getting a Greyhound bus pass, and scheduling a blitz of auditions at the schools that interest you. This will give you the best chances to make good impressions (and to demonstrate some initiative and
courage)...much more than any sound recording of any quality will in any way. Frankly, I purchased enough plane tickets for my kid to visit various campi to far surpass the cost of one Japan-U.S. R.T. ticket, and if money is "tight" you certainly don't want to waste tens upon tens of thousands of dollars and several years of your life on the wrong school that was picked via "correspondence". THIS WILL INVOLVE FOUR OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE YEARS (hopefully) OF YOUR LIFE. Do you really want to make this decision by "mail order"?
The best to you, and do your best. I know that you will, and I know that you will be an asset to your school.