Recording rain

[MaltyM]

Hi, I'm just having fun recording ambient sounds on a Zoom H1n. I've got a furry wind thing (I'd call it a dead cat but it's a bit small... maybe a stunned mouse), but other than that, that's my full kit.

With a thunderstorm due this weekend it reminds me to ask a question - how does one improve what one records in that vein?

I've heard lovely tracks on SoundCloud or YouTube of rain falling. When I try though I get things like the rain bouncing off the roof or the window. I did try going outside in the rain and it also sounded rather "splatty" rather unlike what I might hear with my own ears.

Is there a way for me to record a more "natural" sound of rain and thunderstorm with the kit I've got? Or do I have to accept that's just a limitation of where I am with sound recording at the moment?

[Martin Walker]

I'm not sure there IS a more 'natural' sound when recording rain, because the vast majority of it is when the raindrops impact on objects or surfaces.

It's possibly more natural to hear the sound of rain bouncing off the ground, off leaves and trees, rather than off a roof or window, but they are all perfectly valid choices.

I suspect the most appropriate choice is to instaed consider where you want to listener to imagine that they are situated - outside among the elements, or safe and dry somewhere inside listening to the rain pattering down outside.

If you want to avoid 'splatty' sounds then place the microphone(s) outside under some sort of absorbent cover so that you hear the raindrops hitting very varied natural surroundings rather than basic objects with large uniform surfaces.

Hope this helps!

Martin

[Drew Stephenson]

Splatty sounds (assuming we're talking about the same thing) can be caused by rain hitting already wet ground or standing water. Putting something in front of the mics (garden furniture, a stack of branches) to break up the surface can help take the edge off this.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I suspect the recordings you like have a more distant perspective, giving a smoother sound. 'Splatty' suggests you're recording too close to the ground, picking up individual drops.

Try recording through an upstairs window, for example, and with rain landing on grass rather than concrete (and away from puddles).

[MaltyM]

Thanks all. I didn't know how to describe "splatty" sounds.

All three comments are very helpful. Martin your paragraph:

I suspect the most appropriate choice is to instaed consider where you want to listener to imagine that they are situated - outside among the elements, or safe and dry somewhere inside listening to the rain pattering down outside.

Is particularly helpful.

I want to give the lovely soft sound that I hear when I'm walking through a woodland, or sat by the sea looking out over the waves. It's a distant sound and soft rather than a hard "splat" (hence the term I used) of raindrops on the roof tiles or windows.

It's almost the difference between walking in the rain with your hood up ("splat" and what I don't want) and down (the soft rain noise that I want)

I'll try recording from higher up and sitting the recorder in a space with something like foam around to dampen (no pun intended) the close-up noises and allow the more distant ones to come through.

[tea for two]

I know this isn't what you are looking for as you would like to record rain.
Discover app has free Rain Noise with 10 sliders enables varying the sound of the rain on the app. So you could have hundreds of variations on rain noise as you slide the 10 sliders. There are other free Irish Coast, Japanese Garden each with 10 sliders.

[sebpasquet]

Did you guys know that in most movies or sound effects industry, the sound of actual rain is hard to capture so they use to record something frying on a frying pan.
It blew my mind when I first found out.

[Martin Walker]

Did you guys know that in most movies or sound effects industry, the sound of actual rain is hard to capture so they use to record something frying on a frying pan.
It blew my mind when I first found out.

Many years ago, when I first started recording ambient sounds of the sea, I was also amazed how much 'bigger' everything sounded than I expected when you're standing there with a microphone.

A typical seaside beach sounded to me more like Niagara Falls most of the time, while gentler surf still sounded ilke a toilet flushing.

To get the gentle lap of waves that I was after, to accompany a particular music track took me several days until I finally tracked down a sheltered cove with almost no visible water movement.

Martin

[zenguitar]

Is there a way for me to record a more "natural" sound of rain...

Yesterday afternoon at Downing Street, London, would have been a great place to record rain. Check the UK News reports for some examples.



Andy

[MaltyM]

Yesterday afternoon at Downing Street, London, would have been a great place to record rain. Check the UK News reports for some examples.



Andy

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Stunned mouse

As Hugh said, out the window. Gives a little shelter. Here is one I did many years ago, analogue

https://soundcloud.com/user-501900493/s ... -cork-1992

[MaltyM]

That's similar to one I've got Tomás. I'll have to upload mine to my SoundCloud account for comparison over the weekend.

[MaltyM]

I forgot to post my storm recording. I’ve just uploaded it to Soundcloud.

https://on.soundcloud.com/49gw6GHPw6H6PWaL9