CD Recording Made Easy
If you have a Yamaha Clavinova in your studio, you can practically set up your own recording studio! (If you don’t have a Clavinova, check out this post for instructions on how to set up recording with your acoustic instrument.) I just recently found out how to connect the Clavinova into my computer so that I can record directly from the Clavinova into my computer as an audio file - not just a midi file! I’ve been recording in my studio for the past couple of weeks this way and it works incredibly well! The sound quality is wonderful, since it’s recording directly through a cable and there is no interference. And it’s so much easier than recording a midi file and then converting it to a wav file.
Here’s what you need:
1. Clavinova (I’m sure this would work with other brands as well, but the only one I currently have in my studio is a Clavinova - a CVP-301 - thanks to our wonderful music store, who is loaning me one so that my students can prepare for the upcoming Clavinova Festival!)
2. Audio Cables (this is the one I purchased from Radio Shack and it works great!)
3. Computer (within 6 feet of the Clavinova because of the cable length…a laptop is ideal, because it can be placed right on the Clavinova.)
4. Free Audacity Recording Software
That’s it! It may seem like a lot, but don’t be overwhelmed, because it’s incredibly easy to use once you get everything set up. And it is well worth it!
Follow these easy steps:
1. Plug the phono end of the cable (one white, one red plug) into the corresponding color input jacks on the underside of the Clavinova.
2. Plug the 1/8″ stereo plug into the mic input jack on your computer.
3. Open the Audacity recording software.
4. Click the record button and begin playing. (You can also pre-record onto the Clavinova, especially if you want to do some sequencing first, and then start the recording in Audacity and hit the playback button on the Clavinova.)
It will record directly through the cable (no feedback!) as an audio file. Once it’s in Audacity, you can export it as either a wav file or an mp3. The files can then either be burned to a CD or downloaded to an mp3 player - or shared on-line for that matter! In fact, if you want to hear a sample of a recording, click here to hear an mp3 of a piano accompaniment part I just recorded a couple days ago. It will give you a pretty good idea of the sound quality you can get when recording this way.
Have fun recording professional-sounding CDs right in your own studio!
April 24th, 2006 at 1:42 am
Audacity is a great free program that every piano teacher should have on their computer. Many teachers don’t realize how easy it is to make professional-sounding recordings of their students or themselves on their home computer. This post is an excellent resource for teachers. You might also want to mention that Audacity doesn’t burn CDs, but you’ll need to use a separate CD burning program. I use iTunes for burning CDs, and it really doesn’t get any simpler than that. Teachers can download it for free at: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download
Nice job on the sample recording as well!
April 24th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Great tips, Mario. Thanks for pointing out that a separate CD burning program is required. I’ve just used the basic software that came with my computer, but the free iTunes looks like a great option!
August 9th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
i’ve tried recording exactly the way you described and agree that it’s pretty easy and sounds pretty good. for soft to medium loud passages, that is. once i start going forte, i get sound distortion. has anyone out there encountered this? any tips?
August 10th, 2006 at 11:33 am
OM~
On the Audacity window, try making sure the mic level is turned all the way down when you’re recording in through the Clavinova input.
August 20th, 2006 at 1:17 am
thanks, natalie. but when i do that, i have a softer but still distorted sound. :-/ someone told me it could be poor cables. i’ll shop around for something of better quality and try again.
August 16th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Thanks Natalie…I cannot believe how easy this is! I am so psyched to start recording my students in the fall! This is fabulous! Thanks for all of your help.
August 16th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Suzanne~
I know! I was so excited when I finally learned how easy it was. I hope you and your students have a blast recording this year!
~Natalie
August 19th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Just came across your site when I was researching on how to connect my Yamaha P140 to the computer via an interface. Great site!
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Thanks, Doreen! Hope you were successful and got everything connected.
~Natalie
December 1st, 2007 at 6:23 pm
This is a great website, thanks so much! I plan to record each student playing a few Christmas carols/holiday music and send them home with a CD with a label that says “I Made This!” My first try went really smoothly, thanks for sharing all your expertise.
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:27 pm
You bet, Lorraine! Glad you’ve found the info helpful!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Hallo! what nice site is yours! I am an italian teacher (biology teacher!) fond of music and it was a lot of time that I was looking for a method to create a audio cd at home connecting my clavinova at the computer! Thank you very much for the explanation,it is quite easy, but unfortunately I could not get a very good quality of the sound, probably I have to change my sound card!
Anyway you are a great teacher of music!!
Congratulation! I would be very grateful if you come and visit my site!
Bye!
Anna ventodimusica
March 14th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I haven’t yet tried your method but I’m getting excited just reading it! I didn’t know enough about the technical side so it’s been frustrating trying to figure out a cost-effective way to record my music! Fingers crossed it works for me….
…I will be back to worship you for the advice if I’m successful with this set-up.
Many thanks for this info!
Irene
May 31st, 2008 at 7:38 am
when hitting piano keys hardly it records noise! Do you suggest any method on how to solve this? I have yamaha-clp 230
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I’ve tried all this. Nothing but distorted sound. Went and bought a mini recorder for over $200 just so I could record with better quality but still doesn’t work. I can’t believe for how expensive the Clavinova is you can’t adjust the aux out volume. Really dissapointed with the recording since it’s the reason I bought the thing.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
David~
That is a bummer! On my lower model Clavinova I record by pugging a 1/2″ connection into the headphone jack and a 1/4″ connection into my laptop mic jack. This has worked pretty well for me, so it might be worth giving a try.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Hi! I have been trying to find a way to record as well. I have print music, which records well, however upon playback it skips when it hits the measure mark, or repeats the same note. I do not know enough about the software yet to figure it out. I tried the Audacity and I am getting the same distortion no matter how low I adjust the volume on input or output devices. I have a clavinova CPL240. If you have any tips on what to do let me know! thanks