Recording a spoken word performance

November 10, 2018 5:15 AM

Later today, I'm doing a reading/performance for the first time in years. What's the best way to record it?

I used to perform as a storyteller very often, so long ago that if you wanted a good-quality recording of your performance, you handed a black cassette to the sound person on your way in and she recorded it for you.

How does one do it now? Do you still ask the sound person? If so, what do you ask them for?

This is for a single voice spoken-word, so if the sound person isn't involved, I'm guessing I just use my phone?

Please explain the future to me now that I am in it.

posted by Orlop to Grab Bag (2 answers total)

If there is a sound person, they might be able to record directly to a flash drive, either via computer or directly from the mixing board. So it wouldn't hurt to bring one.

Otherwise, yeah, phone is probably it, using a basic recorder app.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:55 AM on November 10, 2018

If it's the kind of thing you're going to do often, there are a bunch of relatively inexpensive digital audio recorders that will most likely do a far better job of recording audio than a phone. I have the Tascam DR-05 ($99).

Zoom also makes inexpensive ones like the H1N

I've never been to any kind of spoken word event that had an actual sound person, let alone a mixing board with that was anything but rudimentary. But if you bring your own recorder, you can either just record you in the room (put the recorder on or near the podium) or hook up a cable to the mixer and record from there (you'll need a cable with a 1/8" plug on one end, and usually a 1/4" on the other).
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:06 AM on November 10, 2018