Hello!

So you want to record your piano performances? Great!

Recording is so rewarding but it’s also unforgiving and frustrating. It lets you send songs to your friends, your family, and the entire internet, and it lets you enter the world of recorded music sales. It also lets you preserve all of your performance mistakes in high fidelity, forever, for all to hear.

Nervous yet?

Your first few recordings will be kind of atrocious. They’ll finally let you hear what your piano teacher has been telling you (maybe for years) but that you’ve never really internalized because it’s very hard to listen critically while playing at your limit. Use that new-found ability to concentrate solely on listening, figure out what you’re doing wrong, and get good!

Don’t get hung up on expecting perfection though; a perfect recording is rarely made in one take. Professional recordings are collages consisting of multiple takes, multiple overdubs, and even pieces of notes. Think extreme Photoshop but for audio. Automated tools exist for both tempo and pitch correction – take a look at Antares Auto-Tune or Logic Pro’s Flex Time.

Lower your standards to start and get some recordings done. Remember, a final draft is still a draft; it’s just that someone decided it wasn’t worthwhile to keep making changes.

Then work on your skills and raise your standards over time.

Good luck!

Contents

A map

This document will introduce several basic ways to record digital and acoustic pianos.

This document is a map and is not an exhaustive step-by-step guide. If knowledge can be assumed (e.g. how to play the piano or how to click the mouse on the computer) I’ve omitted it. If information is well documented somewhere else (e.g. in a user manual), I’ll direct you to that place. Instead, I’ll provide a way to connect the dots between those types of information.

Terms

Audio vs. MIDI

An audio file contains the sounds that you hear.

A MIDI file contains no sounds of its own and instead contains commands that instruct an instrument how it should play sounds (note on, note off, pedal down, pedal up, etc.).

As MIDI is a huge world unto itself and doesn’t allow one-step recording of the sound of a performance, I’ll focus on plain-old audio here.

Types of audio files

Audio files that you download or stream are compressed to save bandwidth and storage space. Some degradation in quality occurs with typical “lossy” compression techniques such as MP3 or AAC. As a result, some pianos will record uncompressed WAV files with no associated degradation. Sharing WAV files directly might annoy your friends when they receive a 150 megabyte email attachment. Compress WAV files using audio software. Audacity is a great place to start – it’s free, open source, and well supported.

Compressing a WAV file with Audacity is easy:

Open the WAV file in Audacity. From the menu, File > Export > Export as MP3 Name your file and save – default settings are fine.

DAW

DAW is short for Digital Audio Workstation, most commonly a software program used to record and edit audio.

Audacity can work in a pinch. More sophisticated programs are more expensive and have a learning curve but are worthwhile for more serious recording.

On Apple computers, GarageBand has a shallow learning curve and a direct upgrade path to Logic Pro for those who outgrow its significant (but still limited) capabilities.

Many audio interfaces bundle intro (limited but reasonably powerful) versions of DAW software such as Ableton Live Lite or Pro Tools First.

Audio interface

An external audio interface allows you to receive audio from multiple sources – for example, line-outs from a digital piano or microphones positioned around an acoustic piano.

If you’re recording a digital piano via USB, you may not need one.

Recording a digital piano

Depending on your gear, several methods may be available for recording a digital piano.

Record directly from the piano to a USB flash drive

Record audio from the piano via USB

Record audio from the piano via line outputs

USB audio capabilities of popular digital pianos

The following tables show the USB audio capabilities of a few popular stage pianos plus portable pianos recommended in the Reddit /r/piano FAQ.

Portable pianos

Brand Model USB A port? Record audio to flash drive? USB B port? USB audio? USB MIDI? Casio PX-160 No No Yes No Yes Casio PX-350 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Casio PX-5S Yes Yes Yes No Yes Kawai ES100 No No No No No Kawai ES8 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Korg SP170S No No No No No Roland FP-30 Yes No Yes No Yes Roland FP-60 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Roland FP-90 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yamaha P-125 No No Yes Yes Yes Yamaha P-255 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yamaha P-515 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Stage pianos

Brand Model USB A port? Record audio to flash drive? USB B port? USB audio? USB MIDI? Casio PX-S1000 No No Yes No Yes Casio PX-S3000 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Korg Grandstage Yes No Yes No Yes Nord Stage 3 No No Yes No Yes Roland RD-88 Yes No Yes Yes Yes Roland RD-2000 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yamaha CP88 Yes No Yes Yes Yes

Quick-and-dirty flash drive recording

Recording directly to a USB flash drive offers the least flexibility but it also requires the least amount of gear. If you don’t want to fuss with a computer or don’t want to buy new gear, it’s a decent way to proceed.

You’ll need:

A digital piano that supports recording audio to a flash drive

The piano’s user manual

A USB flash drive

A computer

Do the following:

Plug a flash drive into the digital piano’s host USB port and follow the instructions in your user manual. Once you’re done recording, remove the flash drive from your piano, insert it into your computer, and listen to the file to make sure it’s good. If you’ve recorded a WAV file, compress it as described in Types of audio files, above. Then share it with as big of a world as you’d like.

Record audio via USB

A select few digital pianos can act as digital audio interfaces, meaning that they output audio over USB when connected to a computer. This feature is incredibly convenient but unfortunately isn’t very common. In the list above, only the Roland RD-2000 and Yamaha CP88 stage pianos, as well as the Yamaha P-125 portable piano support it.

You’ll need:

A digital piano that supports USB audio

A USB A-to-B cable

A computer

Audio recording software, e.g. Audacity to start

Do the following:

Use the USB A-to-B cable to connect the piano to the computer. Open Audacity and select the piano as your input source. Press the microphone button to start monitoring – listening to the input but not recording it. Play a few keys and check that the audio meter is showing activity. Press record. Perform! Export the audio as MP3.

Record audio via line-outs, basic

If your computer has a stereo line input, all you’ll need to get started is an adapter cable allowing you to connect your piano’s line output to your computer’s line input.

If your computer has a built-in line input, it’ll likely be a 1/8” (3.5mm) stereo jack.

If your piano has a 1/8” stereo line output jack, you’ll need a standard 1/8” to 1/8” TRS cable. The Hosa CMM-110 Stereo Interconnect Cable is an inexpensive example.

If your piano has 1/4” Left and Right line output jacks, you’ll need a Y cable with a 1/8” TRS plug on one end and two 1/4” TS plugs on the other. The Hosa CMP-159 Stereo Breakout Cable is an inexpensive example.

You’ll need:

A digital piano with line ouputs

A computer with line inputs

An adapter cable

Audio recording software, e.g. Audacity to start

Do the following:

Use the adapter cable to connect the piano to the computer. Open Audacity and select the computer’s built-in line input as your input source. Press the microphone button to start monitoring – listening to the input but not recording it. Play a few keys and check that the audio meter is showing activity. Adjust the input level until your very loudest playing doesn’t hit the maximum level. Press record. Perform! Export the audio as MP3.

Record audio via line-outs, better

Some computers don’t have line inputs. Even if yours does, it may not provide a very high quality signal or you may have to choose between connecting headphones and connecting your piano.

In these situations, you’ll want to buy an external audio interface with at least two channels. If you don’t know what to buy, get a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for $160 and be done with it. If you must, you can go cheaper with a Behringer U-Phoria UM2 for $50. If you’re on Windows, it’s nice that the Scarlett comes bundled with DAW software so you can move up from Audacity without spending more money. The Behringer does not.

These external audio interfaces receive line-level audio via 1/4” mono jacks. If your piano has 1/4” Left and Right line output jacks, you’ll need two standard 1/4” TS instrument cables. The Pro Co EGSS-10 is an inexpensive example.

You’ll need:

A digital piano with line ouputs

A computer

An external audio interface

Cables

Audio recording software, e.g. Audacity to start

Do the following:

Connect the computer, external interface, and piano. Open Audacity and select the external interface as your input source. Press the microphone button to start monitoring – listening to the input but not recording it. Play a few keys and check that the audio meter is showing activity. Adjust the input level until your very loudest playing doesn’t hit the maximum level. Be sure to adjust both left and right channels equally. Press record. Perform! Export the audio as MP3.

Recording an acoustic piano

Recording an acoustic piano is considerably more involved than recording a digital piano. Table stakes include buying an external audio interface, a pair of microphones, and one or more high quality microphone stands.

We’ll discuss stereo recording techniques.

WARNING: DO NOT SKIMP on microphone stands. I’ve had a cheap microphone stand fall over and go through the front of a guitar. Do you want to pay top dollar to have your piano fixed, the one that might have cost you tens of thousands of dollars to buy? Spend the money on good stands with wide, heavy bases and counterweighted booms and think of them as an insurance policy.

Recommended equipment

For grand pianos

For grand pianos we’ll be using a coincident stereo microphone placement, meaning that you’ll only need one mic stand.

For upright pianos

For upright pianos we’ll be using a spaced stereo microphone placement, meaning that you’ll need two mic stands but won’t need a stereo mount.

Mic stands that won’t fall over . Buy two. 2x On Stage SB96+ studio boom stand ($115) 2x On Stage SB9600 tripod studio boom stand ($140)

. Buy two.

Reading

Shure’s Microphone Techniques for Recording is essential reading. Before you try any special mic placements, try the positions that it recommends.

The Mic It! book ($35) is a good supplement and goes over principles and techniques in a lot more detail than Shure’s guide.

Røde’s Stereo Microphone Techniques post is a nice supplement and includes videos of several stereo placements.

Recording a grand piano

We’ll be using a coincident X-Y stereo placement straight out of Shure’s guide – it’s grand piano placement 1.

Opening the lid is essential!

You’ll need:

Your acoustic piano

A computer

All the equipment listed above

Audio recording software, e.g. Audacity to start

Do the following:

Open the piano’s lid all the way or remove it entirely. Set up your computer, external audio interface, mics, stereo bar, and boom stand. Turn on phantom power on your external audio interface. On the Scarlett 2i2, do this by pushing the phantom power button on the front of the interface. Use grand piano placement 1 from Shure’s Microphone Techniques for Recording (page 11) with a 135-degree X-Y coincident stereo placement (page 22). Make sure the mic pointing at the bass strings connects to channel 1 of your external audio interface and the mic pointing at the treble strings connects to channel 2. Open Audacity and select the external interface (channels 1 and 2) as your input source. Press the microphone button to start monitoring – listening to the input but not recording it. Play a few keys and check that the audio meter is showing activity. Adjust the input level until your very loudest playing doesn’t hit the maximum level. Be sure to adjust both left and right channels equally. Press record. Perform! Export the audio as MP3.

Recording an upright piano

We’ll be using a spaced stereo placement straight out of Shure’s guide – upright piano placements 1 and 2. It’s tough to avoid hammer attack with easy upright placements, especially if your piano is up against a wall.

Opening the lid is essential! Lots of people like putting all kinds of stuff on top of their uprights. That’s great, but clear it off for the purposes of recording.

You’ll need:

Your acoustic piano

A computer

All the equipment listed above

Audio recording software, e.g. Audacity to start

Do the following:

Open the piano’s lid all the way or remove it entirely. Set up your computer, external audio interface, mics, stereo bar, and boom stand. Turn on phantom power on your external audio interface. On the Scarlett 2i2, do this by pushing the phantom power button on the front of the interface. Set one stand up to the left of the piano and the other to the right. Set up the left stand with upright piano placement 2 from Shure’s Microphone Techniques for Recording (page 12). Make sure to hook this mic up to channel 1 of your external audio interface. Set up the right stand with upright piano placement 1 from Shure’s Microphone Techniques for Recording (page 12). Make sure to hook this mic up to channel 2 of your external audio interface. Open Audacity and select the external interface (channels 1 and 2) as your input source. Press the microphone button to start monitoring – listening to the input but not recording it. Play a few keys and check that the audio meter is showing activity. Adjust the input level until your very loudest playing doesn’t hit the maximum level. Be sure to adjust both left and right channels equally. Press record. Perform! Export the audio as MP3.

Where do you go from here?

Some ideas to start.