BTEC Level 3 Music Technology

Unit 14: Listening Skills for Music Technologists.

By the end of this session you will

Recognise sonic faults within recordings and live performances.

Identify errors in production or performance

Clearly define 3 Balance, Timbre & Sonic negatives/faults.

Re-cap from last week.

We looked at faults/errors in performance and recordings, including;

Incorrect notes. Intonation Time Keeping Tempo Editing mistakes Headphone spill

Acoustics and the listening environment

In addition to the faults/errors made by the performers/producers, neglecting to consider

the Audio Spectrum, the Acoustic Environment, Monitor Choice and Position the effect of the listening environment

could create flaws in a performance or recording.

Acoustics and environment

What do you think can affect the sound of performances and recordings?

Acoustics and environment

Audio spectrum

Acoustic environments

Blend

Intelligibility

Stereo or surround field

Monitor speaker choice and positions

Volume and safety considerations

Reverb issues

EQ

Effect of the listening environment

The Acoustic Environment

Considering the venue that you are working with is very important.

Room size and shape Windows and doors An audience Shiny or soft surfaces

Acoustic Treatment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2SBmvBbIYI&feature=player_embedded

Http://www.therecordingrevolution.com

Monitor Speaker choice or positions

Monitor Speakers used in recording studios can affect how a recording is heard.

There is software dedicated to replicating different listening environments using different combinations of monitors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyeAfvCaRc

The Audio Spectrum

The Audio Spectrum is between 20 hertz and 20,000 Hertz.

EQ and The Audio Spectrum

Sonic faults with EQ

All recorded sounds contain information within frequencies that they are not recognised for.

E.g: A lead guitar solo. Is focused mainly in higher frequencies Lower frequencies can be cut to reduce the

amount of Low frequencies in the overall mix, creating a less 'muddy' sound, and a better mix.

Task

Research 3 different Acoustic environments Search for Audio/Video clips of performances in

these different environments. See if you can find any examples where the

environment is not suited to the scale of the performance.

Live Performances

As well as sonic faults with recordings, there can be sonic errors/faults in live performances.

Examples of this could be: Reverb issues – Cause the sound of the performance to

suffer, or even making the performance intelligible Volume and safety considerations – The performance

needs to be heard at a safe volume Acoustic environment/effect of the listening environment

– A live sound engineer is required to consider that a sound check will sound different to the performance as there will be an audience soaking up the sound.

Terms for audio faults.

Here are some terms you may have heard related to the subject of audio recordings, and what they mean.

Term Meaning

Pops and Clicks A thump or little explosion sound heard in a vocalist's microphone signal

Clips The type of distortion caused by gross overload

Hums

Rumble and excessive low frequencies

Feedback and Howl-round Acoustic or structure-borne vibrations that   interfere with the operation of audio equipment

Slapback and echo problems An echo following the original sound by about 50 to 200 milliseconds, sometimes with multiple repetitions.

Clicks

Terms for audio faults.

Term MeaningCrackle

Distortion An unwanted change in the audio waveform, causing a raspy or gritty sound quality

Sibilance In a speech recording, excessive frequency components in the 5 to 10 kHz range, which are heard as an overemphasis of "s" and "sh" sounds.

Wind noise

Extraneous instrument noise Irrelevant/unwanted instrument noise

Microphone and Headphone spill Spill (also known as bleed and leakage) is the occurrence in sound recording (particularly in close miking) and live sound mixing whereby sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.

Crosstalk The unwanted transfer of a signal from one channel to another.

Balance The relative volume levels of various tracks or instruments.

Signal to noise ratio The ratio in decibels between signal voltage and noise voltage. An audio component with a high S/N has little background noise accompanying the signal; a component with a low S/N is noisy.

Task

For the remainder of the session you will:

(1) Research and listen at least 3 older recordings

(2) List any sonic faults

(3) Write a short review of the recording, highlighting both the sonic errors/faults and whether they benefit or hinder the performance

(4) Add the songs you have found to your listening log