ProSoundWeb: Monitor engineers know that there are many soft skills required in their job. For example, building trusting relationships with bands and artists is vital for them to feel supported so that they can forget about monitoring and concentrate on their job of giving a great performance.
5 comments:
I have always found the concept of psychoacoustics on a whole extremely interesting, and on a broad scale psychology as a whole even more interesting. However, I have never taken the time to read much about psychoacoustics and the effects that music can have on the human body and brain. This article gave me both an overview of the benefits and issues of psychologically playing with sound and made me think about the ethical circumstances surrounding the idea. For example, I find the concept of playing certain noises to evoke different emotions and feelings very interesting. But with more studies done on it, the phenomenon could be easily weaponized or used in more unethical ways than helping an artist to send a message. For example, if someone remembers a certain song playing when they were young and they had a traumatic childhood, this song could be played to force them to open up about something in a morally-gray method. While I do find the entire concept intriguing, and think that to some extent it should be used in the performing arts, I also think that there is a fine line that cannot be crossed when you are playing with people’s emotions.
Reading about psychoacoustics is super interesting because I feel like as someone who loves music and is a musician, I’ve always known about psychoacoustics on a subliminal level but I’ve never actually read the science behind it and pinned it down to a specific concept. This makes a lot of sense though and I’m really glad I stumbled across this article because now I’m probably going to go on a deep dive into this topic to understand the different crossovers that happen in our brain and what kind of music evokes different emotions. Well, that’s probably obvious but like the science behind all of that is what I meant. This also makes a lot of sense because music theory is kind of like a sciency way to describe how to evoke different emotions. Major chords and scales are typically used for happy emotions and minor for the darker and sadder ones.
This article really dives into how we can use the principles of sound to create a sense of space and depth in a mix. By carefully adjusting frequencies, we can make certain sounds feel closer or farther away, which can completely transform the atmosphere of a performance. It reminds me of when I watched a segment of Sleep No More. The way the music filled the room made me feel totally immersed. Now, I realize they might have been using similar techniques to enhance the audience’s experience.It’s fascinating to think that how we perceive sound is all about the brain and ears working together. This mixing technique seems to focus on how we can help the brain create a more engaging experience for the audience. Since our hearing isn’t equally sensitive across all frequencies, it makes sense to focus on the midrange, where key elements like vocals and guitars usually live. By cutting unnecessary frequencies in that range, we can make the mix clearer and let the important parts really stand out. Understanding how our ears and brains work together gives us a powerful toolkit. For the audience, this can make the acoustics more immersive, drawing them deeper into the performance. And for the performers, it means they can focus on delivering their best without worrying about how they sound. It’s just like creating the perfect environment for them to shine.
This article was super interesting to read because of the new perspective that it give to audio and sound. In my own experiences, I rarely think about the psychological influences that can affect the audiences perception of the soundscape. Considering this now, I can see more how my own life experiences and biases influence what I find interesting to listen to, my music taste, and what I focus on when experiencing audio or music. This is interesting to consider for myself but also how it applies to the job a monitor engineer or sound designer. The fact that even if listening to the same song or audio does not consittiue the same reaction in two individuals means that the designer has to take into consideration the possibilities and how that changes the message of the production or audio they want to use. I think moving forward in theatre and entertainment this will be something that keep in my head as a consideration for any type of sound work that I do.
I love the science of sound and sound waves. Some of the stuff you can do with only a little bit of tweaking is incredible. A lot of what was said in the article is stuff I already do, but didn’t necessarily realize that’s why I did it. For instance, EQ’ing. I was taught about “layering” sound– having vocals in front and drums in the back– and I knew the formulas to get there, but I never realized the reason was because of masking. I think it’s really important to understand a lot of these concepts as sound techs because you can really use your medium to its full potential. You can use the math and science of sound to figure out where to position speakers and microphones. If you want a sound to reach the full extent of the audience, or want it to be quiet for some and louder for the others for a more immersive experience. Maybe you want the area mics to pick up footsteps for a more eerie feel.
I use my experience as a musician in my mixing all the time. Adding reverb to certain scenes, figuring out ways to EQ vocals so they sound fitting for the environment and setting, etc.
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