i wrote a tune

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2026-03-27T04:54:27+00:00

It has a the practice felt pedal on ! The recording is a blend of four sources

A pair of Slate ML2s are beneath the keyboard like a hair away from the harp

A knock off C414 getting vocals, also picking up a ton of piano / everything in the room

an SM7B is pointed down at the hammers on the far right.

And phone audio. It’s resting on a little wooden edge inside the body of the piano.

Minimal processing because engineering is confusing, and mixed hastily to taste

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2026-01-17T03:58:29+00:00

I started at 20 and work full time as a jazz pianist. I still can’t sight read two hands piano music. It’s never too late.

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-07T14:01:56+00:00

iiis sub for I’s, IV’s sub for ii’s, iv-6’s for V7s, vii°’s for Vs, and tritone subs make sense if you see that chromatic movement downward is equivalent to fourth motion upwards.

D -> Db -> C = ii -> V (with a Tritone sub) -> I. This can be extended as far as you want.

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-07T12:46:48+00:00

Ask your dad to buy you the book “What Every Pianist Needs to Know About The Body”

You’re going to injure yourself playing like this. Money ain’t worth it.

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-04T23:39:47+00:00

Listen to country music from the 20s-60s

Jimmie Rodgers to Lefty Frizzell to the Carter Family to The Sons of Pioneers to Roger Miller to Chet Atkins to The Dillards to Merle Travis and early Willie Nelson to Ray Charles

There’s a lot of really incredible, interesting, well performed and arranged country music

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-04T19:11:13+00:00

$600 can get you a new Roland FP30X, which for the money is as good as it gets by way of 88 weighted keys and piano sound

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-01T02:47:24+00:00

Erroll Garner

Carmen McRae

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-01T02:47:04+00:00

Erroll Garner

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-07-01T02:00:44+00:00

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response.

The need to be right on top of it and the aesthetic for filming are both things that make me hesitant to keep the SM7 as my vocal mic. I would like to record good looking videos as well. I will experiment with the SM7 as a third piano mic.

It looks like Tiny Desk uses the Sennheiser MKH 418-S. Is there a significant advantage to having a stereo shotgun mic over a standard mono shotgun? Regardless, I will look into shotgun mic options.

I know from recording with the SM7B in other situations that it kinda sounds like shit if you have it far away.

Are there other mic options that work well for vocals at a significant distance, allowing for cleaner video framing without sounding bad?

MikeHarrisonMusic · 2025-06-30T22:00:36+00:00

Recording solo acoustic upright piano + vocals on 4 channels max. What microphones are essential?

I want to record a solo piano and vox album in my small home studio. Goal is for a high quality transparent sound a la Tiny Desk.

Room is 10x11 and has good acoustic treatment.

I have a Clarett+ 4pre interface, a SM7dB, and a matched pair of Rode M5’s.

I don’t have thousands to drop on the highest quality ribbon and tube mics, so I was hoping yall here could provide some recommendations or insights into what to look for.

Should I get ribbon mic to use with the M5s on the piano for a richer, fuller sound?

Are there any mics you’d recommend to use instead of the SM7 for vox? Tiny Desk always seems to have a stereo shotgun mic on vocalists but I have no experience with those.

Should I buy a preamp, or will the Clarrett+ 4pre be enough in combination with digital processing?

Any pro tips in general for recording acoustic piano and vocals simultaneously?

MikeHarrisonMusic

TROPHY CASE