The book, “Audio Production and Critical Listening; Technical Ear Training” by Jason Corey (Focal Press/CRC Press), is a very comprehensive work and covers every conceivable approach to ear training for mix engineers.
Monday, September 14, 2020
A Question Of Aesthetics Versus Engineering
The book, “Audio Production and Critical Listening; Technical Ear Training” by Jason Corey (Focal Press/CRC Press), is a very comprehensive work and covers every conceivable approach to ear training for mix engineers.
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4 comments:
This was a really interesting article to read. Written from the perspective of sound mixers and engineers, it gives a hint about how these folks decide on the way they create music, building on the foundation of the art and influencing it with one's own aesthetic style.
The article does a great job of pointing the difference between one's own aesthetic and the basic foundation of sound mixing and engineering and how important it is to find the right balance between them in order to create the best kind of music: the foundation helps to understand what is the real scope of the kind of music that is being thought of, and the aesthetic is the one way for the mixer and the engineer to make their own kind of music, which is based on foundational knowledge but is influenced by the aesthetic sense of the mixer or the engineer.
It’s interesting to think about the concepts of this article applied to the craft of scenery construction. The line, “Do the tools influence the way we work, or does the way we work influence how we use the tools?” seems especially applicable. Do we route all our non-rectilinear plywood shapes on the CNC router because we have it, or because it works better/faster for our workflow. I’d much rather route or cut out a circle by hand because I’m more comfortable with a jigsaw than I am with MasterCAM. I think the idea of not being a hammer that looks at everything as a nail is also very applicable to scenery construction. Just because we have a CNC router, it does not mean a 6” diameter circle also needs to be routed. Constructing the scenery is the goal, and tech designers need to be flexible to get to the result that makes the most sense given the circumstances, and not get too narrowed into the way you always do things.
I really enjoy reading and discussing the intersection between art and engineering, and it what ultimately brought me to CMU to pursue this degree. I studied engineering while working at the scene shop at my undergrad, and that was one of the most eye-opening experiences when it came to fabrication and design. There were many (many) of my classmates that I wouldn't trust to cut a 2x4 on a miter saw, and there were many designers and theatremakers that couldn't grasp the engineering ramifications of design and technical choices. At the end of the day, though, there wasn't a right answer! As the article ends up point out, it really just comes down to knowing what you need to accomplish. In pursuance of these fine arts degrees, we are already becoming specialists in our respective areas. Does that mean we are prepared to be engineers? Does that mean we are prepared to be furniture makers? In the end, not really. Not that we can't become these things and may have an easier time learning those skills, but like the article says: is the lead sound engineer for a touring metal band going to know how to engineer a 4 piece string quartet? I think, in the end, we owe it to ourselves to take a step back and look at what we are doing and how to approach a problem. If that means using highly engineered solutions, then do it! If that means incorporating really fine woodworking, then have a blast! But in the end, be open to all the resources at your disposal, and be open to changing those practices.
As someone who identifies more as technician than a designer, this article really interested me as it explored the balance and process between the technical side and the more design side. In other terms it balanced the tools and skills you need with the art and vision you need as well to work in live theatre, regardless of your role in the show. This article specifically talked about sound designers in how the mixing and the engineering work together but it is very hard to figure out which one came first or should come first. I think this applies to all areas of theatre as ultimately what decides your design choices in the first place? Is it the materials you posses in your shop or is it just an idea you created in your head to then figure out how to make possible? I think that the process is different for everybody, some people need to think of the what's possible before they think of the what I want, while others do the opposite. Ultimately regardless of what you do, I think it more of a combined process where you are not only of thinking about the what but also the how as you are designing or figuring out how to make a show possible.
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