Claudia Engelhart, FOH Engineer and Tour Manager for Bill Frisell has invited up to three SoundGirls members to come shadow her for load in and sound check for the their shows in Brisbane and Adelaide. Please send an email to soundgirls@soundgirls.org
Adelaide – June 11th – Dunstan Playhouse
You then will receive confirmation with load in time.
I am on a continuous search to find out how performers can connect better with technology. As monitor engineers, we view things from our perspective. We get excited about new software and equipment. However, at the end of the day, it is the performer who needs to be happy and confident onstage.
I regularly see local singers struggle with their in-ear monitors. I decided to speak to a few local singers who I feel are using in-ear monitors correctly. This time I talked to Gabby Byrd, originally from Houston, Texas, and now living in Denton. She has been singing her whole life; she got her start singing in her church in middle school. She went to performing arts high school where she began her career performing live. Her favorite styles being R&B, Soul, and Jazz. Early influences included Anna Wise, Flying Lotus, J Dilla, Erykah Badu. While talking to Gaby, I realized you could have music that inspires you, but as a singer, you also need people who have a stage presence that drives you as an entertainer. She named Lauren Hill, Jill Scott, Ledisi as those people for her.
She has been using in-ears for about two years. She uses SE425s which are dual-driver generic in-ear. Her biggest struggle with using in-ears is getting the earbuds in and getting the ears to seal properly. As always, “right is red” is a good motto to remember. As we were talking, it came up how to properly clean or take care of in-ears. I always suggest to anyone who wears in-ears to carry audio-wipes disinfectant towelettes. You can buy them online from several mainstream sources. We also discussed that most generic in-ear providers offer several different-sized tips, which you can purchase online. These are essential items for a successful and healthy in-ear monitor experience.
Gabby is someone I would say is extremely confident on the stage and with her in-ear monitors. “Generally, I like to hear the bass, piano, and the other singers.” An interesting point she brought up is that for her sometimes the hardest part with singing with other singers is blending the vowels. That, she said, is when it is most important to be able to clearly hear the other singers.
Her advice to monitor engineers, “Patience number one and being attentive.” Having someone who has an attention to detail is a big plus. When someone is actively making efforts to make the changes, she requests it makes her feel comfortable and confident in the situation. Her advice to singers new to in-ears is to try many different things and know what you are listening for. Her advice is that achieving a good seal and an amount of physical comfort with the in-ears can be all it takes to be successful. Her preference will always be in-ears over wedges. It’s every sound person’s dream, “I’d rather hear my voice right here in my ears, and at a lower volume.”
Gabby Byrd’s blog
Gabby Byrd regularly performs with the King David Band:
Aubrey Caudill: Aubrey lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and works as a freelance audio engineer. She currently works for several area wedding bands and runs monitors at The Potter’s House North Dallas. She is also a mother of two sons under ten.
In 2017, I answered some questions for SoundGirl Kelly Kramarik, a student in the Recording Arts program at UC Denver for her thesis about versatility in the changing world of audio.
Do you consider yourself to be a master of one type of audio engineering or do you regularly practice different trades?
I would consider myself a master of post-production sound – which means I could work as a re-recording mixer, sound editor, music editor, score mixer, Foley engineer, sound designer, or dialog editor. Some jobs I’m hired to do a bit of everything and other jobs just one specific role (sound editor or score mixer, for example). Being versatile is important.
In post-production, I’d say people consider themselves masters of certain types of content (in addition to a trade). There’s mixers or editors who specialize in commercials, promos, episodic tv, reality tv, major film, indie film, etc (at least in Los Angeles).
How long did it take you to obtain your current professional status?
This is a tough question because we sometimes don’t have clear job statuses. A good analogy would be an actor who doesn’t land many gigs but still; auditions and takes classes and pursues it as a career while having another job. That person can still say he/she is an actor.
I was a mixer (by title) after three years in the field but at that time I did other audio-related gigs to make ends meet. As a “mixer” working as an employee at a studio I had other responsibilities. I remember weeks where I spent a day recording ADR or voice-over, a couple of days mixing, some time in the machine room or assisting, and sometimes selling stuff on eBay for the studio. It was probably five years into my career when I was mixing primarily and no longer doing other side gigs.
As an independent contractor, how many different companies/clients do you work with on a regular basis?
“Regular basis” is tough cause clients come and go. When I was totally freelance I’d have ten or more clients a year; now I have a stable mixing job and 2-3 additional clients. As a contractor, you don’t want to take too many clients cause if they call to book you and you aren’t available or can’t accommodate them they quit calling. You have to balance clients who hire you once a month with clients that hire you for a month straight but never hire you again.
For me, it’s more about finding clients whose schedules will work together versus having regular clients. I’ve worked for people who don’t mind if I work on other projects during my downtime. In those cases, if I’m on standby (waiting for materials to show up or waiting for client approval) I can edit or mix another project. I’m essentially billing two clients at once for my time. I also charge a four hour minimum for on-site work with my freelance clients. If it takes an hour to get to a studio and you only work an hour it’s a lot of lost time.
What have you found to be the best way to market yourself?
Make friends with other mixers and engineers and maintain relationships with past colleagues and clients. I have a couple of groups of friends/colleagues who will recommend each other for work when they aren’t available or need help. I hire them when I need help or have a cool project and they do the same for me.
Do you find yourself needing to learn new skill sets to stay afloat financially?
Not now – but the first few years of my career I had to diversify to make ends meet. I relied on other skills – such as classical music recording and quality assurance testing for audio products – to fill in the gaps and help pay the bills. Over time I had more mixing work and needed less of those other gigs.
For someone coming into the field today, it’s absolutely necessary to have different revenue streams to sustain, though.
How did you move up in your career?
In a lot of ways career success and “moving up” has not happened how I thought it would when I was in school. For years I looked for opportunities that would advance my career and then I hit the point where the next step up looked to be overly demanding, political, or self-sacrificing. Now I don’t want to sacrifice my health or my relationships overwork. If my kid is sick I can take the day off work without concern and I couldn’t do that in a lot of my old jobs. This job probably wouldn’t have been my idea of “success” until my priorities shifted.
The people I find the most discouraged in the industry are the ones with specific expectations of what they want their career to be (versus going where the work takes them). I never planned to get into post-production or to be a mixer but it’s turned out to be a great fit. I thought I’d be a sound editor because I wanted to work alone. Watching other mixers looked stressful! But, I was always open to an opportunity to learn something new. When I was in the mixer chair to learn I really enjoyed it and had the skill set to thrive. You never know where things will take you.
Brinda Sreenivas is a Freelance Sound Engineer from India. Born in Bangalore – India, her early life was filled with music, teaching herself to play piano by ear but this fell off when her parents were unable to send her to piano lessons. Her passion for the music industry never died even though she knew she was never going be a musician.
Raised to be a strong woman her parents were very supportive in whatever she wanted to do with her life, which is different to the traditional ways of India. Her mother in particular never told her that she couldn’t do the same stuff that guys could do, and encouraged her. She understood that Brinda might not get the same opportunities, but explained to her that she should never give up – always aim for whatever she wanted to do. Growing up, she watched plenty of music videos, and parts of these videos showed the engineer at work while the artist was recording in the studio. Brinda decided that this was her path, she wanted to be the one using the large mixers she saw in the videos – she thought they were just so cool.
When she turned 18 she decided to follow her dream and enrolled in Audiolife, where she gained a diploma in Sound Audio Engineering. Brinda was the only woman in that class and after she graduated, she soon found an opportunity to work as a studio engineer. Reality set in and after a while she realised that sitting in a room for more than twenty minutes was just not her. She had a friend who ran a theatre production company and luckily for her, they needed an engineer. Her friend asked her to do sound for the show that night and when it was finished, she realized that she felt happier doing sound for a live show rather than being at the studio. She immediately resigned from the studio work and applied for an internship at a few local venues.
Brinda got her start in live sound by interning at the venue where she ended up becoming the in-house engineer. In this role she would set up the stage, patch channels and pack up everything at the end of the night. Occasionally she was left to handle the console on nights a DJ played before she was gradually able to move on to open mic nights where she learned a great deal about live sound mixing.
Brinda has now been doing live sound for three years – mostly as the in-house engineer at an independent music venue – The Humming Tree. Her specialty is FOH although most of the gigs she also runs the monitors from FOH. She is in charge of all the sound production at the venue – handling inventory, stage setup, maintaining the equipment, and running sound.
She has done some small tours as FOH engineer. Brinda likes touring saying “it’s always fun to go work at different venues, in different cities”. While touring the band doesn’t carry any gear except instruments and there is no crew, it’s only her and the band flying from one city to another so Brinda also takes care of the advance work. She usually gives the engineer/vendor a call for each venue, and organizes the gig and requirements with them. They need to be prepared for anything as things like the backline are substituted based on the venue’s or the promoter’s budgets. Most of the gigs are in venues where the venue’s engineer has the stage setup and ready to go and all the band had to do was plug in their instruments. She is eager to learn and touring satisfies this need in many ways as she is able to work with different consoles and crew saying “It’s all a challenge, but that’s the most fun part of it”. Her least favourite part of touring – lack of sleep!
Being a female working in this industry in India I asked Brinda how her family felt about her job. Brinda says “My family is okay with me working, they’re a bit proud of it too. But they still don’t understand what exactly it is that I do, they pretend to though, my mum just tells everyone I’m a DJ” They are not really concerned about her touring – as long as it’s with people she knows.
Recently Brinda has stepped out on her own to work as a freelance FOH engineer. Right now, in India there is huge growth in the independent music industry. There aren’t a lot of women (artists or crew members), but there is serious potential for women to grow in this field. Brinda feels this is the right time for her to become an independent operator while there is a growing acceptance of women who do sound.
While the acceptance of women in the field is growing, and the majority of work is small tours with only bands and sound engineers traveling, she is finding the bookers can get kind of awkward about touring with a woman. Brinda has experienced her share of obstacles and barriers saying “I’ve never been taken seriously. I feel like some men here still can’t deal with the fact that a woman might know what she’s talking about it. I’ve been asked if the there’s another FOH engineer at the venue. Normally, a woman has to prove herself twice to be taken seriously, but here it’s ‘prove yourself ten times, and then we’ll talk kind of a situation. But I’ve been a bit lucky because the people I work with now are not those who’d care if it were a woman or a man mixing”. Since she started freelancing, there have been times when she has been booked for a few dates and then they back out immediately when they find a male sound engineer available for those same dates. She has figured out now which bookings she can take seriously, and which ones might be a bit dodgy. There is no way for Brinda to check if she is getting paid the same rate for the same job as a guy, but if she is unsure, she check’s with her mentor, Rahul Ranganath, for advice.
In India there is a culture of mixing very, very loud. Brinda has spoken to a few other engineers about this trend but has found that they either don’t realise or don’t care about how loud it gets. The potential damage to the audience’s hearing doesn’t seem to concern them either. In her travels, Brinda hasn’t come across an engineer or venue where they display SPL meters, and states that she didn’t do this herself until recently. She is hopeful that other engineers will start doing this and become more aware of when it is getting too loud. Whenever she is not at the desk mixing, she wears her own earplugs.
Brinda has found that there can be a lack of knowledge concerning production, such as large shows with no delay stacks or fills resulting in people at the back not being able to hear and the organiser asking her to push the PA levels up. Not one for confrontation, Brinda has developed strategies on how to handle artists and organisers who just don’t get it. She will usually listen to what they have to say and reassure them that she will keep in mind whatever they have suggested and then do the best she can in any given situation.
Long term Brinda would like to continue doing FOH and eventually would like to build her own sound systems, mixers, mics, and synths etc., and continue doing FOH. Her favourite gear is the Sennheiser HD215 ii and any Soundcraft mixer.
Brinda has great advice for other women and young women who wish to enter the field saying “Do it, don’t let anyone stop you, and there are always people who will help you out. Just make sure that this is actually what you want to do”. She finds that apart from technical skills, some of the other must have skills are networking. It took her a while to learn the art of networking, and says she is still learning.
Her best tip? Develop the ability to stay calm when things go wrong – this will take you a long way in the industry.
Brinda’s final words of advice are: “There will be times when it gets frustrating when people will not listen to what you say, even though you may have the knowledge and the abilities. You’ll meet artists who come in thinking that there will be a man doing your job; it might be a huge shock for them to see a woman. You need to be able to do a good job with artists and crew that do not want to listen to you. Just pull through it, and if you do a good job I swear, the artist or crew will never doubt your abilities again. Don’t get offended by any of these things; it just shows that there is going to be more acceptance for women in this field.
Profile by: Toni VendittiToni Venditti is the director of G.V. Productions that provides PA and Lighting equipment and is based in Sydney, Australia. She also is a senior industry writer for the CX Network and a contributor to SoundGirls.Org. Toni has worked in audio and lighting for over 25 years.
Rational Acoustics has generously donated two scholarships for Smaart Training available to SoundGirls members.
The three-day training is valued at $750. You can use the scholarship to attend a Smaart Training on the West Coast or East Coast, in the United States. The scholarship does not include travel expenses. Please view the current Smaart Training for 2019 here
Remember All SoundGirls members are eligible for a 15% discount in the Rational Acoustics online store. email us for a coupon code at soundgirls@soundgirls.org
The 3-day Smaart Operator Fundamentals class is geared towards providing attendees a full functional knowledge of how Smaart operates as a tool and the application of Smaart to real-world system engineering and alignment. This class covers all functionality within the program (RTA, Spectrograph, Transfer Function and Impulse Response).
Although all classes follow a set curriculum, given the wide variety of measurement applications within professional sound engineering and the broad spectrum of experience levels and skill sets of class attendees, every course session will be unique depending on the specific interests and user level of the class.
Class includes class materials, breakfast & lunch on all class days, class t-shirt and a Certificate of Attendance upon completion of the class. Class attendees are eligible for discounts on licenses of Smaart v8 or Smaart Di v2. Details are available during the online registration process. The measurement signals used in the instruction of the Operator Fundamentals class will be distributed using a Dante audio network. Class attendees must bring a laptop computer with both the latest version of Smaart v8 measurement software and Dante Virtual Sound Card (VSC) installed. A 30 day demo version of Smaart v8 is available online at www.rationalacoustics.com/demo-smaart. Dante VSC can be obtained from the Audinate (Dante VSC’s manufacturer) web site at www.audinate.com either by purchase or via a temporary trial installation.
Making an album in today’s music industry
By Betty Moon
When I first started playing music in Toronto’s music scene, it was during an era where CDs were still dominating industry sales and the digital scene was not how we see things today. Gatekeepers on all levels from retail to record labels only allowed so many artists through, and it was at a high cost. The idea of having a record deal or even getting your music heard on a mass level was intimidating and for most simply wishful thinking. Sure, part of my success was about the timing but it was really about the hard work, networking and ensuring I would be the best songwriter possible.
As my career in music evolved, I formed my own label, music publisher, and video production company, and am asked almost daily from friends and fans on how to release music and make a splash doing so. Though today it almost seems too easy, I find that many ambitious musicians still don’t understand the critical steps to simply reaching the finish line. Here is an action list I put together to adhere by next time any of you get the spark to write and record an album:
Write and document all your ideas:
One of the best ways to stay on track when bringing your songs to life is to keep a record of them. Whether you’re playing acoustic and recording via a voice memo app or using a free program like Garage Band on the computer, it’s easy to scratch demo all your great ideas. Keeping documentation on your ideas gives you a sense of progress, and allows you to easily share songs with other collaborators within your project.
Give yourself a deadline:
We all have a musician friend who has the story “I’m working on this great album”, yet it’s already been two years and there seems to be no end in sight. It’s very easy to lean on perfectionism and as time goes on you can second guess your work, which leads to potentially endless delays and many albums never being finished. When you give yourself a realistic deadline, you will be surprised on how you figure things out and make incredible progress along the way. Think of how deadlines work in the business world, yes it works for musicians as well!
Pick a producer-engineer or choose best recording options:
Deciding on how you will record your album is a monumental moment in your steps to finishing your upcoming music. There are endless producer-engineers out there with years of experience, and at different rates to meet your budgetary needs. For those with the experience or willingness to learn, there are multiple recording suites available for PC/Mac that are relatively easy to master within a reasonable amount of time. Though being a music producer requires lifelong learning, today’s programs do much of the heavy lifting. Regardless of which route you take, making the commitment with how you will record your album shows there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Ensure your mix and mastering are of quality:
Your music can be the best work of art in 2017, but without a quality mix and professional mastering, you may have more work to prove your worth. A great mix not only helps your music sound it’s best, but it also provides an extra set of ears that has your best interest in mind. The mastering process can be equally as important and helps your music sonically be on par with other music being listened to by fans on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and every other platform you can think of.
Register your music with a performing rights organization:
Many musicians don’t fully understand the world of music licensing, copyright and overall accountability for royalties when your music is used in film, television and other public locations. Make sure you register yourself and your music with your choice of a performing rights organization (PRO). In the United States, the three major players are ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. These organizations help ensure music usage is accounted for, and that you are rightly paid for its use.
Select your digital distribution option:
Putting your music on Soundcloud and Youtube is great, but those are obviously not the only platforms that music fans use for new artist discovery. Using low-cost digital distribution sources like Tunecore or CD Baby will help push your music to top engaged platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
Market your music:
Let’s not forget the most critical step in all of this. What good is making the music with the goal of being recognized, if you don’t market it properly? So many musicians forget to allocate even a nominal budget towards marketing, and this can lead to major disappointment. Have no fear though, today you can market your music for substantially less money than artists of any other decade have. When planning for a record release, always keep in mind how you will market the efforts and how much money will you need to allocate.
Putting out an album can be a very overwhelming process, but can be easily simplified by creating your own checklist and holding yourself accountable along the way. Believe me, nothing feels more fulfilling than getting those new CDs in the mail or seeing the amazing feedback in the press about your latest music. Once you go through the steps of making an album, I promise it gets easier and your album checklist will be committed to memory.
Betty Moon is a Toronto-born singer, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker. She has recorded six albums, including the 2014 release “Amourphous”, which Moon produced and which features the single, “Valentine,” mixed by Grammy Award-winner Chris Lord-Alge. Moon’s music has been featured in a variety of television shows and films including Californication, Dexter, Bounty Hunters, Walking the Dead directed by Melanie Ansley, and Last Gasp starring Robert Patrick.
Betty Moon was signed to A&M Records in 1990, and she released her self-titled debut LP in Canada in 1991. She has been nominated for four CASBY Awards including Best Album of the Year, Best Single of the Year, Best Video of the Year, and Best Artist of the Year. Moon released three records after her self-titled debut, including Doll Machine on EMI, STIR, and Demon Flowers.
In 2010, Moon relocated to Los Angeles and released “Rollin’ Revolution,” which garnered airplay on famed L.A. rock radio station KROQ. In 2013, Moon was a featured artist at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, sharing the stage with Marilyn Manson, Quiet Riot, Black Label Society, and The Offspring. She continues to be a regular performer at iconic venues such as The Roxy, Whisky a Go Go, and The Viper Room in Hollywood, California. Her collaboration with top music industry professionals includes Kenny Aronoff, Randy Cooke, Wes Scantlin, John Christ, Jason Sutter, Glenn Milchem, Gavin Brown and Chris Lord-Alge
SoundGirls Members can apply to intern with SoundGirl Samantha Potter
Get some real-world experience in the Kansas City area. Different kinds of experience available from Houses of Worship, to a local 8-piece R&B Band. Some events are weekly and some events are on random weekends. Anything to fit your schedule!
The right intern can be as green as spring grass, or a more experienced individual trying to get more board time. The right attitude is an attitude of learning. Don’t come into the internship thinking you have nothing to learn. I cannot teach someone who refuses to have an open mind. This internship is a real hands-on work experience, including some load-ins and load-outs.
The position is unpaid, although food is often provided.
I prefer to be a mentor to my interns and help them learn and grow and develop a friendship. This is a field all about networking and relationships, and it starts with internships. I’m interested in helping my interns find their path and get started in their careers here in KC. I’ve been professionally working in KC for five years now with experience in studio work and live sound, so I am happy to teach in either.
Preference to 21+, but 16+ accepted.
Send name, contact info, SoundGirls Member ID, cover letter and resume to soundgirls@soundgirls.org
Soundgirls.org European Chapter Event Linkup with Association of Sound Designers: Pin the Mic on the Actor
Date: Wednesday, June 28
Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm BST (British Summer Time)
Location: Governors Room, National Theatre Rehearsal Studio, 83-101 The Cut, Lambeth, London SE1 8LL
Soundgirls.org is pleased to offer this event with the Association of Sound Designers.
Join Zoe Milton as she discusses some of the ways to hide radio mics on performers.
Zoe will talk you through the various ways to make a microphone stay on a performer for the length of the show, which tape to use and touch upon how positioning can effect audio quality.
The seminar will be useful for anyone who has had to fit or may need to fit radio mics on actors, musicians or performers, whether for live music, theatre, film or broadcasting.
This event is free for Soundgirls.org members and is limited to 25 spaces. Please register through for this event and enter the code Sound Girls.
You may also be interested in the Foley Workshop immediately following. Details here
About Zoe Milton: Zoe is a freelance sound engineer with extensive experience in hiding radio mics for broadcast. As well as working on a broad range of projects, including broadcast theatrical events, Zoe is also the administrator for the Association of Sound Designers.
SoundGirls.org European Chapter Event:
Association of Sound Designers presents Foley Workshop with Tom Espinar
Date: Wednesday, June 28
Time: 2:30 pm BST (British Summer Time)
Location: Governors Room, National Theatre Rehearsal Studio, 83-101 The Cut, Lambeth, London SE1 8LL
The Association of Sound Designers invites Soundgirls.org members to join them for an afternoon of exploration and experimentation within the wonderful art of Foley sound creation, with Tom Espinar.
This seminar aims to introduce the participants to the tricks employed by Foley artists. It hopes to help them to develop their listening skills so that they can begin to understand the layers of sounds used to create the soundscapes we take for granted in some of our favourite moments in film, theatre, and TV.
Participants will get the opportunity to be hands on and so are encouraged to bring an item to make sounds. Such as different kinds of fabrics (from silk, leather, to cotton fabrics of different sizes) or things that creak and squeak (metal hinges, bolts, rusty/unoiled bits of moving metal – not too big)
Maybe some fruit and veg or different sized receptacles – glasses, cutlery, teacups.
Choose an object that you’d like to investigate further.
There is the possibility that the afternoon may get a little messy, so remember this when choosing your attire.
The seminar will be held in the Governors Room at the NT studios. The Studios are not part of the main building of the National theatre but are on the Cut.
Tom Espiner is an actor, puppeteer, Foley artist and theatre practitioner. He co-founded Sound&Fury and has worked as a puppeteer for Blind Summit and as a puppeteer and Foley artist for Complicite. Previous productions include the ENO’s Madam Butterfly and the London Olympics 2012.
This event is free for SoundGirls.org members and is limited to 25 spaces in total (including ASD members). Please register for this event and enter the code Sound Girls
If you have registered for the Pin the Mic on the Actor workshop on Wednesday, June 28 and wish to attend the Foley workshop as well, you will need to register for the Foley workshop separately.