Emilie Meyer
Panning is a powerful method for achieving depth in a mix, creating space and width to give the listener a broader experience. When panning a choir, it is important to keep the mix balanced and ensure that the vocals are not competing for space. While there is no right or wrong way to pan, it is generally recommended to keep the lead vocals centred, with harmony vocal tracks panned hard left and hard right. For a choir with multiple singers, one can use a single track for each singer and pan them across the stereo field or use multiple mics in front of the choir.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Panning a choir | Use one track for each singer and pan them across the stereo field |
| Use 8 or 10 mics arranged in front of the "virtual" chorus | |
| Keep the lower frequency sounds in the center | |
| Keep lead vocals in the center | |
| Experiment with panning duplicates of effected vocals to the left or right | |
| Hard pan your sounds to the left, right, or center | |
| Analyze the frequencies and pan accordingly | |
| Keep an equal amount of elements on each side | |
| Use automated panning to let certain sounds move across the stereo spectrum | |
| Keep rhythm guitars on opposite sides | |
| Keep vocals centered | |
| Use panning to diversify the sound of your song structure | |
| Keep your mix balanced |
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What You'll Learn
Keep lead vocals centred
Panning is a powerful method for achieving depth in a mix. It creates space and width, allowing the listener to have a broader listening experience. The centre of your stereo image should be the core of your mix. This means keeping lower-frequency sounds in the centre, such as kicks and basses.
When it comes to vocals, it is generally recommended to keep lead vocals centred. This is because, in most songs, the vocals and lyrics are the most important element and should therefore sit front and centre. Centring the lead vocals also ensures that they do not compete with other sounds in the mix.
However, this does not mean that all vocal tracks should be panned centre. If you have multiple harmony vocal tracks, you can pan them hard left and hard right so that they do not compete with the main vocal. This will create a wider sound, especially in the chorus, and make the chorus feel bigger.
It is important to keep your mix balanced. You can do this by ensuring that you have an equal amount of elements on each side. Additionally, make sure to check your mix on a variety of sources, such as headphones, monitors, and cellphone speakers, as listening on only one source can give an altered listening experience.
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Use panning to create space and width
Panning is a powerful method for achieving greater depth and width in a mix. It creates space and width inside your mix and allows the listener to have a broader listening experience. The centre of your stereo image needs to be your core. The best way to give your mix a solid core is to keep lower-frequency sounds in the centre. That means kicks, basses, and anything else below the 120Hz range. Lead vocals should also typically be panned centre.
However, you don't want to clutter your mix by panning everything. It's important to keep your mix balanced. A good rule of thumb is to keep an equal amount of elements on each side. Try to see your mix in pairs and balance one element with another. If you have two sounds that are fighting for space in the same frequency, then pan one to the left and one to the right. For example, if you have a synth part that is getting lost in a piano track, hard pan the synth left and the piano to the right.
If you have a lot of different harmonies, pan the strongest hard left and right and then pan the others in opposite directions from each other. If you have two of the same harmony takes, pan one 90° left and the other 90° right. You can also use panning to diversify the sound of your song structure. For example, you could keep your intro and verses very tight, and then when the chorus begins, you can open up the sound by panning certain voices and instruments out. This will create a wider sound and ultimately make it feel like a bigger chorus.
Before getting too lost in panning instruments, conjure a mental image of where things should sit in the mix. If you’re tracking a full band, think about where everyone would be in a live setting. The drummer and lead vocalist usually control centre stage while guitars, bass, and keys surround the edges.
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Balance the mix
Panning is a powerful method for achieving depth and space in a mix. It is important to balance the mix to avoid a lopsided result. A good rule of thumb is to keep an equal amount of elements on each side. Try to see your mix in pairs and balance one element with another.
When balancing the mix, it is important to consider the frequencies of the different elements. If you have two sounds that are in the same frequency range, they may end up competing for space, resulting in a muddy mix. To avoid this, you can pan one sound to the left and the other to the right. This will create space and clarity in your mix.
Additionally, it is important to keep the lead vocals and lower-frequency sounds in the centre of the mix. This includes kicks, basses, and anything else below the 120Hz range. By keeping the lower-frequency sounds in the centre, you create a solid core for your mix.
When panning, it is also helpful to consider the placement of the different instruments and vocals in a live setting. For example, in a full band, the drummer and lead vocalist usually occupy centre stage, while guitars, bass, and keys surround them. This mental image can help you decide where to place each element in the mix.
It is also important to check your mix on a variety of different sources, such as headphones, monitors, and cellphone speakers. This is because listening on only one source can give an altered listening experience. By checking on multiple sources, you can ensure that your mix sounds balanced and clear across different listening devices.
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Use a frequency analyser
When panning a choir, you can use a frequency analyser to help you make decisions about where to place the different vocal parts within the stereo field.
Firstly, you should be aware that the lowest ends of a mix are typically centred. While you are free to experiment, it is generally wise to keep the lowest frequencies in the middle of the mix. This includes bass and kick drum, as well as vocals, which should usually be front and centre.
However, elements that fall into higher frequency bands can be separated further. You don't want similar frequencies competing for the same space, as this will result in a muddy mix. You can use a frequency analyser to identify these elements and then pan them to different levels and/or opposite one another.
A frequency analyser will show you the frequency of the sounding source with a horizontal line. The intensity of the sound (loudness) is indicated by vertical lines on the left and right borders, with the highest amplitude peaks being the loudest sound partials (harmonics and overtones).
In the case of a choir, you can use a frequency analyser to EQ each voice so they sound similar. You can do this by rolling off highs and lows and thinking about how a voice sounds from 10 feet away—this will be more in the 1kHz to 5kHz range. You can then pan the tracks across the spectrum.
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Hard panning
Panning is a simple way to give your mix space and clarity. It ensures that none of your instruments are fighting for space in the same frequency and gives your sound width. Hard panning is a good place to start. It involves putting your sounds to the left, right, or center. This gives your mix instant space and room to breathe.
When hard panning a choir, it is important to first consider the arrangement of the choir. For example, if you are working with an SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) choir, you may want to pan each section to a different position in the stereo field. This could involve panning the sopranos to the left, the tenors to the center-left, the basses to the center-right, and the altos to the right. You can also adjust the spread of the voices to mimic what room mics might have captured, with the sopranos and altos spread out more to the left and right, respectively, and the tenors and basses closer to the center.
Another approach to hard panning a choir is to focus on the low and high voices. In this case, you would pan the low voices between 10 and 2 o'clock and the high voices equally across the whole field, with at least one hard left and another hard right. This ensures that the best voices are at equal volume when in mono, while the not-so-great voices are at a lower volume. Additionally, you can compress the low voices hard in one subgroup and the high voices more dynamically in another subgroup.
It is worth noting that the spatial locations of the choir sections should be indicated by the composer. If you are working with a typical SATB left-to-right choral arrangement, panning each track to the same angular position of the respective singers' positions on stage would make sense. However, it is ultimately an artistic decision.
When hard panning, it is important to keep your mix balanced. Make sure there is an equal amount of elements on each side and that there are not too many elements on one side, creating a lopsided mix. To accurately check your pans, use headphones, as any sound in an open room will leak into both ears. Get a sense of where each part is and try to see your mix as an entire sonic image.
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Frequently asked questions
Panning is the act of distributing the sound signal into a stereo or multi-channel sound field. It is used to create space and width inside a mix, allowing the listener to have a broader listening experience.
There is no right or wrong way to pan a choir, but here are some general guidelines:
- Keep the lead vocals in the centre, with the kick and bass also centred.
- If you have multiple harmony vocal tracks, pan them hard left and hard right so that they don't compete with the main vocal.
- If you have a lot of harmony vocal tracks, pan the strongest hard left and right, and then pan the others in opposite directions.
- If you have multiple takes of the same vocal part, try hard-panning two takes to the left and right, and panning another two left and right by about 30-33%.
- If you have a lot of choir members, you might want to use multiple mics in front of the choir, rather than recording individual tracks for each singer.
It's important to keep your mix balanced and ensure that it doesn't become cluttered or muddy. Make sure to check your mix on a variety of different sources, such as headphones, monitors, and cellphone speakers, to ensure that it sounds good on all systems.
