<p>There are essentially two ways to go about this. You could put one or more mics relatively close to the singer and one or more relatively close to the piano, or you could use a technique like ORTF that places the microphones in a very specific relationship to one another some distance from both. The first will give you more control over balance, but less of the ambiance of the hall. The second will do the opposite and is likely to capture a more accurate representation of what you would hear were you sitting about where the mics were placed. (Note that that may be good or bad, depending on the quality of the piano and singer.)</p>
<p>You would need very different microphones in those two cases. Unless you buddy has more than three microphones to choose from, the decision may be made for you by what mics are available.</p>
<p>Another technique that is sometimes used is to set up a stereo pair to capture the ambience and then close mic both the voice and piano with additional microphones. This would take at least four and maybe five or six mics to do right. It also works best if you can record all of the tracks and experiment with different combinations in mixdown. Trying to mix this down to stereo live is not a job for a novice.</p>
<p>I think your best bet would be first to find out what type of microphones you have available and do some research to find out whether they are best used in close micing situations or at a larger distance and, if they are different, which ones would work best for the piano and which for the voice.</p>
<p>Also when working outside of a soundproofed studio, you need to be prepared for ambient noise, like the buiding HVAC system, traffic outside, airplanes, the bingo game or AA meeting in the church hall downstairs. I once had a four hour session booked in a church and the first two were useless for more than setting up gear because there was a daycare center with dozens of screaming kids playing in the church yard just outside the window.</p>
<p>Good luck and if you have more questions post them here and I will try to help.</p>
<p>One thing I find particularly helpful is to have another person on site whose job is simply to listen for anything that might have gone wrong during a take. It is very easy to get so caught up in the technical details of running the equipment that you do not have a lot of attention left over to realize that there was a minor flub made by the musicians, or that a car door slammed outside in a quiet passage. You can pick up these kind of things by listening to the recording as you go along, but with only a two hour session, you do not want to spend a lot of time reviewing prior takes when you could be doing additional takes. Having the extra set of ears around will let you know when there is definitely a problem in your current take without having to spend time listening to material already recorded while the clock is running.</p>
<p>Another piece of advice: bring a tape measure and record the EXACT positions of the microphones, singer and piano. If you decide to come back for a second session, this information will be invaluable in reducing setup time and being able to match the sound from the first session.</p>