Soundcheck - an Introduction to Audio

WELCOME

Hi all and welcome to Soundcheck. Soundcheck is a blog/tutorial on mixing audio and recording in a live session (like at church), as well as post production mixing for the recordings. Feel free to comment and ask questions (I'll try my best to answer them).

Topic 1 - What Is "Sound"

Sound is something that we hear (obviously). Nearly everything you can see or feel can emit some type of sound, whether small or large. Through our knowledge from science, we know that sound is a mechanical wave, and needs a medium to travel along - the air, fabric, metal, wood, plastic etc. Some materials conduct sound better, some materials absorb or dampens the sound. What we do as audio engineers/sound designers/recording engineers is that we manipulate those sound into something useful. How we manipulate them is dependant on what we want to do with the "sound" - we can create a harmony of sound like an orchestra coming together, or we can build up and break down the sound to create dramatic effect and many other things. 

What we do

Since we work with a live band, our goal is to support and compliment the band, and give them that little bit of help whenever they need it. When a singer sings - we try to draw the best out of his/her voice, when a guitarist has a big solo line - we help give him a bit of the limelight, when there's a sweet, soft intro with the acoustic guitar and keys - we gently bring in the band to support them. It's also important that we know at least a little bit about music - rhythm, arrangements, how instruments work, how they should sound, melodies, structure, timing, dynamics etc. and if you don't know these things, I suggest learning an instrument to help you understand it. Having a good ear and attention to detail is also a plus, but don't worry if you don't have these things yet - they all come with experience and constant learning.

Think of your mixing desk and your workstation with all these various equipment as your "instrument", the faders and volume controls your strings, the various buttons your keys, all these different processing and effect units your guitar pedal etc. You are equally as important as the band on stage. Therefore like the musicians, we need to practice our instruments regularly so we know what we are "playing". There is plenty of chances of practising - rehearsals, volunteering at school or other events, and now in this digital age, we can play back live sessions digitally, or do mixes on our computer through software like Logic, Cubase, Protools etc. Unlike the band on stage however, we aren't seen at all. We are the people working behind the scenes, making everything work like clockwork, and, if you'd like, the ninjas of the music world. On a good day, no one will know we existed, and when something does happen, guess where 50 pair of eyes will sharply stare at.

The basics

There are three main stages that sound goes through - capture [input], manipulation [processing] and delivery [output]. This is the art of Signal Processing. Capture is the art of recording sound in the real world into electronic and/or digital form that we can manipulate them. There are three basic methods of manipulating the sound - changing it's frequency (EQ), dynamics (or volume) and timing. The output refers to the art of delivering or displaying the sound to its intended audience through speakers, headphones or other avenues. I will be expanding on these things in detail later on in the series. Another term you may have heard is "signal path", which is how the signal travels from one stage to another.

How this blog is structured

To make it easy for everyone, each topic is under a heading of Input, Processes and Output where relevant. Audio 101 is for topics that cover all three subjects, or for general knowledge and other miscellaneous items. Topics specifically relating to live/stage application (such as doing audio for a live band or event) will be under Live 101, likewise topics relating to recording/mixing/post production whether in the studio or just mixing down a song will be titled Recording101. 

. Other topics will be added as the need arise. You are free to jump between topics as they interest you (since I will try and link relevant parts to each other) but there is a rough pathway that links the current topic with the previous or next one which I will link down the bottom of the page (when I have finished writing it).

Any other questions you can comment and I will try to answer them =]