Ear Training Part II - First of all Steps of Becoming a Sound Engineer
I had stopped on the keyword 'spectral balance' a few days back, lets continue through our journey of keywords.
The first keyword, of today, that comes to my mind while thinking about ear training is: -
Dynamics: -
There should not be one track or one sound which overpowers the other sounds. One should keep the 'dynamics' as stable as possible so that all the sounds are heard and can be distinguished by the ear. Also, the sound levels of the mix should not vary too much.
Keeping in mind the dynamics of the mix, we move on to our next keyword 'distortion or clipping'
Distortion/Clipping: -
Distortion is any signal that goes over the peak of the dBs full scale. It is marked with a red light in the DAW's and digital mixing consoles.
The signal of each and every track in the mix is a part of the whole and contributes to the overall balance of the mix. Make sure that the signal is not too high causing hearing damage and of course distortion!
Extraneous Noise: -
One should be always on the lookout for extraneous noise which is an unwanted noise of a buzz or a hum which gets recorded in the mix.
An extraneous noise usually results from using bad cables or ground problems. The cables need to be checked and replaced before the recording takes place.
Space: -
We often need to hear the space before finalising on a mix. Is the reverb or echo sounding right? Or is it sounding artificial? Is it sounding wet or too dry? Is the environment right for this kind of reverb/echo and many more questions have to be asked to yourself.
Panning: -
Often, we find that some tracks have been panned to several channels deliberately to give the listener the feel of the music. But, even panning can go wildly wrong and the balance between the instruments is hampered to a large extent.
So, we have to train our ears to hear the slightest difference in the balance of the mix to get an idea if a track is wrongly or rightly panned.
Take care guys! Thats all for today, have fun till the next time!
The first keyword, of today, that comes to my mind while thinking about ear training is: -
Dynamics: -
There should not be one track or one sound which overpowers the other sounds. One should keep the 'dynamics' as stable as possible so that all the sounds are heard and can be distinguished by the ear. Also, the sound levels of the mix should not vary too much.
Keeping in mind the dynamics of the mix, we move on to our next keyword 'distortion or clipping'
Distortion/Clipping: -
Distortion is any signal that goes over the peak of the dBs full scale. It is marked with a red light in the DAW's and digital mixing consoles.
The signal of each and every track in the mix is a part of the whole and contributes to the overall balance of the mix. Make sure that the signal is not too high causing hearing damage and of course distortion!
Extraneous Noise: -
One should be always on the lookout for extraneous noise which is an unwanted noise of a buzz or a hum which gets recorded in the mix.
An extraneous noise usually results from using bad cables or ground problems. The cables need to be checked and replaced before the recording takes place.
Space: -
We often need to hear the space before finalising on a mix. Is the reverb or echo sounding right? Or is it sounding artificial? Is it sounding wet or too dry? Is the environment right for this kind of reverb/echo and many more questions have to be asked to yourself.
Panning: -
Often, we find that some tracks have been panned to several channels deliberately to give the listener the feel of the music. But, even panning can go wildly wrong and the balance between the instruments is hampered to a large extent.
So, we have to train our ears to hear the slightest difference in the balance of the mix to get an idea if a track is wrongly or rightly panned.
Take care guys! Thats all for today, have fun till the next time!
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