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I want to make mastering of piano music. These will be piano pieces. Each will last from two to three minutes. I will combine these pieces into the album. The album will have from eight to ten pieces. The finished recording will only have a piano - one instrument. After mastering I will upload the finished recordings to different music sites - this will be the only way to distribute these recordings. There will no be physical media - CD, DVD - in distribution.

What steps I need to make and what equipment to use to make mastering of piano music?

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  • This is just far too broad to answer. Where are you starting from? Do you have your piano in place? What type of piano? Do you have access to a professional studio or are you trying to record an old upright in the living room? What mics do you have? The list goes on...
    – Tetsujin
    Sep 8, 2020 at 7:57
  • @Tetsujin Thank you, Tetsujin. I consider few variants. Variant 1. Pianist will record pieces by himself. Next he will send recorded pieces to me. Next I will do mastering. Next I will publish. Variant 2. I will meet with pianist in the studio, I will put microphone to the piano, pianist will play, I will record pieces. Next I will do mastering. Next I will publish. Variant 3. I will use only MIDI piano. I will create pieces in MIDI sequencer. Next I will do mastering. Next I will publish.
    – Konskoo
    Sep 10, 2020 at 18:12
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    See the answer below. Each of the first 6 steps may take a decade of dedicated study. Step 7 is another discipline entirely, best left to someone else. Wish you luck.
    – Tetsujin
    Sep 10, 2020 at 18:31

1 Answer 1

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Steps:

  1. Select music
  2. Rehearse music
  3. Record music. Not unusual to have several takes of each piece.
  4. Mix. Cut and glue together best parts of takes.
  5. Master. Apply EQ, dynamics. Add metadate. Export in required format.
  6. Create visual art. Needs at least an "album front". Preferrably video today.
  7. Publish.

Equipment:

  1. Musician
  2. Piano
  3. Room
  4. Microphones and stands
  5. Sound card or recorder
  6. Computer
  7. Software in computer
  8. Listening equipment, preferrably both headphones and good studio monitors
  9. A room for the studio monitors
  10. Internet connection for publishing.

A few notes.

  • You cannot fix a bad recording in post -- make sure it is good from the beginning.
  • Often, less treatment (say dynamics) is better than more.
  • Classical music today is expected to be perfect, a single piece can have many cuts.
  • Not all software can add meta data to the output. Meta data includes name of song, composer, performer and so on. The program I use, Samplitude, can.
  • Where you publish will influence format of the sound files. Some take mp3-s, some want .wav and so on. Check with them.
  • Many internet sites add processing, example Youtube. Learn how it will effect the music and adapt.

Good luck. Sounds like you will need it.

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