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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Samantha Potter – Audio Empress

Samantha Potter has forged a path in audio by being versatile, having a great attitude, continuously learning, and having a willingness to share her expertise. She has been able to achieve a career working both as a freelance audio engineer and on staff at pro audio companies. In just seven years, Samantha has gone from a freelance tech to a well-respected audio engineer working for ProSoundWeb as a senior contributing editor and co-directing Church Sound University, as well as a podcast host for the Church Sound Podcast. Additionally, she’s part of Allen & Heath USA, as the manager for Commercial and Install Audio, better known as Install Empress. By forging a hybrid career, Samantha has the stability and reach working for a company provides as well as the creative expression and autonomy freelancing provides. She says  “It’s the best of both worlds.”

Growing Up

Samantha’s roots are in classical music. “I grew up playing classical music and jazz. I started on violin but picked up upright bass, cello, and guitar along the way. After seven years of formal training, I decided that while music was fun it was in no way going to give me the future for which I aspired.”

In her teens, she discovered computer and technology programs and sought to blend these two passions as a career path. In high school, she did what any young individual does when looking for the next path: she Googled careers. She soon discovered audio engineering combined her two passions and started studying recording and studio arts. After about two years immersed in audio, she discovered live sound and fell in love, never to look back.  Samantha enrolled in local college programs and has obtained several associate degrees with an emphasis in mathematics but she says, “Those were really just for completion’s sake. I already had an established career in audio by the time I applied for graduation. I have an emphasis in math with the idea that perhaps someday I will return to get a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Currently, though, it’s not worth the price nor the time.”

Career Start

“A metal band I played in at [17] toured a studio and I noticed a book on the owner’s desk. I asked about it, we began talking, and he eventually took me under his wing. I eventually drifted away from studio work to pursue a more adrenaline-pumped path. Soon after leaving the studio that helped launch my education and career, I fell into a position at a large church. This church leased part of its campus to a graduate school. The hiring individual and I had a professor in common so when the job opened up, my name was thrown in. Eventually, that job transformed into the oversight of technology for multi-campus synchronous online classes and producing chapel services and special events. My actual duties in this job ranged from troubleshooting computers to video editing to event producer. I actually stayed at that job for nearly seven years, leaving only after I could no longer expand the position to meet my growing thirst and expertise.”

The Importance of Internships/Mentorship

“My time at the studio really helped me learn some fundamentals. Putting those fundamentals to work didn’t actually ‘click’ until my first few jobs. One of the first internship-style positions I held was as a volunteer broadcast engineer at a megachurch. I got to cut my teeth on a DiGiCo SD9! I learned so much doing that job. I met a ton of people I’m still friends with, and it was a fantastic transition between studio work and live work. If I hadn’t gone to that studio that day, or I hadn’t taken the early jobs that I did, I would not be where I am. They all compounded together to create my career trajectory and my experience. The jobs I hated taught me something, the jobs I loved taught me something. My early internships, the free work I did, and the work that paid me in food all equally pushed me to design my career so that it was Samantha-shaped, hit all my wants and needs, and built on my strengths. Some people go their whole lives without getting that.”

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

“Wow, how much time do we have? Haha. Sometimes functioning is better than beautiful. Or, in other words, don’t let good be the enemy of perfection. Sometimes, no matter how much prep we have, things still go wrong. If we are at the very least completing the foundation of our jobs (to amplify and balance audio) then we can call it a win.

“Fake it ‘til you make it. The audacity that some people out there have — it’s unreal. Get used to asking questions, but force yourself to believe that you deserve to be there and are enough. You must believe that, if only for a few minutes at a time. Other people wake up every morning and think about how great they are and that the world owes them something and they’re the second coming of Jesus. Do yourself a favor and take a page from their book. If you work hard and have a good attitude, you will be just fine. Even the people you think are great are not as great as you think. I say this with love in my heart, but there are some real dummies out here making a great living being mediocre. There’s room for all of us.

“Not everything needs to be touched. Have a purpose for everything you do unless you are explicitly experimenting. Touching every single knob or button just to put your magic on a console just because can seem insecure. The proof is in the pudding.

“Network, network, network, network. Knowing the right people is at least 50% of the job. The more people you know, the more people that know you, the better. Reputation and word of mouth are how we function here. Get a leg up. Make meaningful connections with people whose work you enjoy or whose careers you’re interested in or would like to emulate. Conventions, conferences, meetups, and yes, Facebook groups, are all ways we can meet new people and try to make those meaningful connections.”

Did you have a mentor or someone that really helped you?

“So many. Elana Goldberg taught me the value of tough love and accepting constructive criticism. Ted Avara showed me creativity. Rob Guy taught me how to over-under. Roger Bevz taught me proper gaffing. And that’s just to name a few from so early on. So many people have poured into me. Literally hundreds. I do my best to thank them and show my appreciation for them any chance I get, but also to pass it on. They didn’t have to show me anything. They chose to. And I am standing on the shoulders of all those people and their own lifetime of achievements. Thank you all, named and unnamed, for the immense value you shared with me in your own ways.”

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

“Which day of which month? haha. It varies quite a bit, but I will try to combine it all into a single day:

“I get up around 6:30 am and go for a 30-minute run. I shower, stretch, make breakfast, start a cup of coffee, and read. I start my workday at about 8 am depending on the workload for the day.

“I walk down to my office and start turning on a lot of equipment. Almost none of my work is local these days, so my office is decked out in an array of different equipment to help me do that. As with most jobs, I first check my email and line up what I need to get done that day. This often includes preparing for and presenting a multitude of different webinars, webcasts, videos, and console demos. At this point, I have a whole studio set up so all I have to do in the way of video equipment is turn lights and cameras on.

“Much of my work also revolves around experimenting with audio techniques, and designing/programming install jobs involving Allen & Heath gear. Additionally, I give tech support to those experiencing very particular errors with some of our gear, like misprogramming their matrix or advanced system configurations. Luckily, we have an amazing tech support team to take care of some of the more common issues (like someone not remembering what their IP address is or helping with a firmware update [Bless you guys, you’re the real MVPs.])

“I also compile feature requests from our users, any bugs we may discover, and help influence the designs, iterations, and updates to our gear. I’m thankful to the Allen & Heath UK crew that allows me to have some ‘ownership’ of the matrices, consoles, peripherals, and other gear. It goes a very long way.

“Some months I pursue interesting projects for press releases. I get to talk nerdy with the project managers and installers and find out what sort of stuff they’re working on and gather info for press.

“Once I take care of my administrative duties, I may write an article for a future issue of Live Sound International or Church Sound Magazine. There’s also quite a bit that goes into editing an entire magazine. Working with contributors, authors, technicians, and engineers to get the best information out to the masses is a labor of love. My work with ProSoundWeb allows for plenty of flexibility which I greatly appreciate since my work is sort of weird, period. Remember how I said my career is Samantha-shaped? Yeah, this is part of that. Editing and writing take two very different parts of one’s brain and requires balance between using my voice and allowing an author to use theirs. It takes a few weeks to get an issue together starting from finding/obtaining writings or asking an author to contribute. We go through several editing processes, a design phase, and a proof phase. Then poof —  printed word. I’m over-simplifying, but trust me, that’s best.

“Part of my daily work also involves booking or preparing for an episode of my podcast which comes out biweekly. I try to always have a backlog of episodes so that I don’t need to be rushing through anything. I write outlines, do research, and prepare myself to have an involved and informed discussion over a given topic.

“I work a lot and it’s a bunch of different kinds of work so making things like recording, slideshows, or press releases as effortless as possible is a must. Preparation is everything!

“I try my darndest to end my workday at 5 pm. On occasion, I have to work late because of a time zone difference or because a project just needs to get finished. I’ve most definitely sat in bed editing a podcast episode at 9 pm before. I don’t love it, but things need to get done. I want my family time, though. If I don’t get brain and body rest I’d inevitably burn out. I love what I do and I do not want burnout to happen.

“My days vary a lot and include quite a bit of travel to help commission systems, teach courses, give training, and things like conventions and conferences. Those days are completely different from everything I just described. It all depends! I love my days varying about 70% with about 30% staying consistent. I’m a particular lady.”

How do you stay organized and focused?

“I’m always having to work towards better organization and better focus. I’m a work in progress, as we all are. I live and die by my calendar(s). I keep them up to date at all times and reference them frequently. My random thoughts and things I need to check in on live on sticky notes sprinkled at the base of my computer monitor. My desk looks like my brain: a scattering of projects and topics that interest me. A sort of organized chaos, if you will. Every couple of weeks I do a sticky note binge and make sure I’ve taken care of the things I need to. Is it best? God, no. But it makes a lot of sense to my brain.

“When it comes to focus, I try not to focus on any particular project or task for more than 2-3 hours at a time. I take frequent breaks to walk around the house or around the neighborhood, drink plenty of water, and listen to music as much as possible. Sometimes I just need silence, but mostly I like to put on my wireless headphones and laser focus.”

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

“Helping to further the industry. In my own way, I get to teach other engineers and techs how to be better and I get to have a say in how technology is adopted and changed. It’s quite magical, actually. Educating others and sharing knowledge help make all this work worth it.”

What do you like least?

“I must say, I do occasionally tire of having to show someone the bare minimum of something because they couldn’t be bothered with reading or trying it out for themselves. I don’t always dislike it, but I have my days where I really wish someone would’ve simply poked around, or watched one of the 500 videos available, or done a Google search. I don’t mind helping people and walking them through things. I love it, in fact. But you can tell when someone only opened their computer long enough to write an email.”

What is your favorite day off activity? 

“Relaxing, playing my Nintendo Switch, or visiting family. I limit my interaction with technology on my days off because so much of my life is dripping in tech. If I had to pick one activity, I would pick visiting the lake. There’s something about boating around to different restaurants and bars, swimming for hours, grilling, and just forgetting normal life for a little while that creates a sense of serenity.”

What are your long-term goals?

“My long-term goal is to grow my reach, my personal brand, and the brands of the two companies I have dedicated so much to. If I want to help as many people as possible, I have to keep moving. Between ProSoundWeb and Allen & Heath, I can create real change in the industry. I suppose my other long-term goal would be to always continue growing and learning. I never want to stop.”

What, if any, obstacles or barriers have you faced?

“My age still gets in the way periodically. Luckily, it gets a tiny bit easier every year. I’ve had a few run-ins having to do with being a woman, but almost always the age ‘thing’ is the overwhelming contributing factor; so much so that it dwarfs or at least gives explanation to the female prejudice.

“The other obstacle is myself. Imposter Syndrome really hits sometimes. No matter what ‘accomplishments’ I may achieve, some days just feel like it’s all a lie and someone will find out I’m a fake and I actually know nothing. That can be a whole battle on its own.”

How have you dealt with them?

“By working hard, always learning, and trying thrice as hard as the men. I’ve met quite a bit of under-performance in my time as an audio engineer, and they are often quite higher in their career than one would think. I use it as a motivating factor: if the likes of them can make it this far, what’s stopping me from going further? The bar is lower than you think it is.

“My imposter syndrome… I’m still working on it. I have an excellent group of friends that also work in this field who can help ground me when I start spiraling. I have a wonderful wife who’s always willing to support me when I need a hand. Also, therapy. We could all do with some therapy.”

Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

“It’s going to suck at times, but you have to keep dreaming big. So big it scares you. We all have to do things we don’t like, but we get to pick what things we want to put up with. It’s easy to want a glamorous lifestyle, but not everyone can make it through what it takes to have a career in pro audio. There’s also plenty of jobs in this field that you don’t even know exist. Think wide, try out everything, find what you like and what you’re good at.

“Part of paying your dues in the industry is doing grunt work or putting up with attitude or boring tasks. You will also need to do this, but there’s a big difference between paying dues and being abused. You have the right to your own space, your safety, your peace of mind, and your body. Do not let anyone try to convince you otherwise. And don’t try to make yourself smaller to please someone else. It took me far too long to realize I was even doing it.”

Must-have skills?

“Patience, good communication, a willingness to learn, a problem-solving mindset, and people skills. You must have all of these if you want to be really successful.”

Favorite gear?

“Hmm… tough. It’s always changing.

“A hard drive full of various multitrack, a roll of artist’s tape, and an iPad. Tried and true gear to always have with me.

“Other misc. gear I love Rational Acoustics Smaart, the AHM-64, Scarlett interface, Sony WH-XB900N wireless noise-canceling headphones.”

More On Samantha

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent

Profiles of Women in Audio

 

SoundGirls Seeks Presenters for Virtual Conference

SoundGirls Virtual Conference – December 4-5, 2021

SoundGirls is seeking presenters for our first annual virtual conference to be held on December 4-5, 2021. The conference will feature tracks in all audio disciplines, career development, manufacturer demos, as well as mentoring and networking.

What we are looking for

Our goal is to provide longer in-depth sessions that you typically would not receive at conferences.  Sessions will be longer 90 minutes to 2 hours, with Q&A afterward. We will host some panel discussions, but wish for our content to be focused on a topic or training.

With presentations from subject matter experts that reflect the challenges, successes, and innovations around the professions in audio, the conference will bring together engineers, industry leaders, students, and others for two full days of professional development and networking.

Presenters

Open to all humans working in audio.

Presenters should be well versed and working in the field they are presenting.

Presenters can adapt programs they currently teach or run.

Presenters will be allowed to offer their services and educational programs, as well as provide further information on the topic.

Compensation

SoundGirls will be paying presenters a small fee TBD based on profit.

Presenters also have the option of donating their fees to our 2022 Scholarship program.

Presenters will receive All Access passes to the conference and the video archive of all the tracks and sessions.

Tracks

We are hosting tracks that do not overlap through the day, All sessions will be recorded and available for presenters. Tracks we will be running currently Post-Production Audio, Film & TV Sound (including Production Sound), Live Sound, Broadcast Sound, Recording Arts, Theatre Sound Design, Career Development, Sessions in Spanish, and Misc. If you do not see a track for your audio discipline that’s okay, submit a proposal and we will add the track or find a place for it.

Submit Proposals Here

The deadline to submit proposals is September 1, 2021

Questions

Email us at soundgirls@soundgirls.org with your questions

L&L: Less is More: A Lesson in Avoiding Over-Cutting

Over-cutting in your SFX editorial is a really easy mistake to make, and one that can be a real headache for your mixer. Today we’ll go over a quick tip to help you avoid adding too much to your FX builds.

When searching your library for interesting layers to add to a build, it’s very tempting to add every sound you hear that you think is appropriate and cool. But this can lead to bloated builds that make mixing pretty tricky. This is especially true if this build continues in a scene for a while, or dare I mention needs to be cut to perspective.

If you find yourself doing this, try out this tip to help thin out your sound without taking away from the quality. Once you’ve cut in all of the elements you want for your build, mute each layer. Then, one by one, unmute a layer and listen through. If any of the sounds don’t add something significant to your build, get rid of it! If it’s not cutting through in your editorial session, it certainly won’t cut through the mix once dialogue and music are added.

 

Here’s an example of over-cutting leading to cluttered layers that are counterintuitive to mix.

Here’s an example of over-cutting leading to cluttered layers that are counterintuitive to mix.

Additionally, it helps to keep frequency and texture in mind when creating your builds. Try and choose layers that are distinct from one another and serve a purpose within those categories. For instance, if you’re building an explosion, you’ll want to fill out the frequency spectrum with an LFE element, a mid-range boom, and maybe something like a firework whistle to round out the high-end. Then for texture, maybe you’ll want some rock debris or a big wooden crack at the beginning. It doesn’t make sense to just add layer upon layer of mid-range booming explosions because you can get a similar sound by just raising the gain on one well-selected mid-range file. Thinking about frequency and texture in your builds will help avoid adding unnecessary layers and also make your editorial a bit more interesting.

Eating Healthy on Tour

A few years ago when I started working out more seriously (more than a run for the bus type thing), I started looking at what I ate and how it affected me. I was vegetarian and vegan on and off for a few years and can now say I am fully plant-based. Yes, it’s the buzzword of the moment, but if that means there will be wider access to plant-based foods around the world, then I’ll take it!

Don’t get me wrong, there was a time when I would have two steaks a week at home and my favourite thing to do on tour was finding the best steak restaurant and order a fillet with an expensive glass of red wine (I thank the Raveonettes for introducing me to the finer side of wining and dining.. oh I miss those days!) I digress. These days it’s coffee and avocado toast. No animals were harmed and it fuels me after my workouts.

I find the hardest thing on tour is eating well. There will no doubt be pizza after the show on the bus. There will be wine flowing. There will be late nights. Trying to abstain from these indulgences is one of the hardest things for me. You want to be social, but if you stay up, you want to eat that pizza! I can tell myself I’m not doing my body any favours by eating it but the devil on the shoulder shouts louder. I think this is where moderation comes into play and setting yourself up for success by taking yourself out of the situation where you might succumb. If you’re serious about eating well and performing at your absolute best (clean foods, very limited alcohol, and good sleep) then you need to prioritise these things and send yourself off to bed after maybe making a nighttime tea, or having a bowl of oatmeal or a banana and nut butter. Doesn’t sound as exciting as a pepperoni pizza does it? Trust me, I know. but I also know how much better I feel when I don’t eat processed, salty food. It really all comes down to how you want to treat your body. You only have one, you need to look after it.

If you’re in your twenties, I’m not going to tell you to not go and party, but I can’t even imagine where I would be if I was living like I am now back when I was 23!

Give some healthy eating a go, you might like it and you might be surprised how good you feel!

Here is a good list of healthy foods to add to the bus stock list that will get you through breakfast, lunch, or nighttime snacks:

5 Important Things a Sound Engineer Must Keep in Mind

Being a sound engineer is difficult sometimes. You have a lot of things to consider when you are planning a live event and you will be the one that takes all the blame if the event is not a success. Sound mixing can be an enjoyable experience, but only if you are prepared to take care of all of the tasks that are required of you during a live event.

There are many skills that a sound engineer must have in their toolbox and you need to have all of them if you want to be a successful sound engineer during a live event. There are some important things that you will need to know how to do if you want to be a big success when you are the sound engineer at a live event.

If you are ready to learn the things a sound engineer must know and keep in mind, you should read on!

Important Things a Sound Engineer Must Keep in Mind

Know the Plan

The plan of a live event is an important part of the things that you need to know to make sure that you are able to mix the sound perfectly for the entire event. You have to know which kinds of sound will be going on during which parts of the event to be sure that you are ready to mix the sound correctly.

If there are going to be talking portions of the event as well as musical portions, you need to know this when you start planning how to mix sound. This is just as important as controlling the lights for the event. You have to know what the plan is to be able to generate the best sound mixing possible after the fact.

Know the Acoustics

Acoustics can impact your jobs as a sound engineer greatly. You will need to be aware of the acoustics of the venue in question so that you can make sure that your sound mixing is correct. You can make broad assumptions about the kind of space that you are mixing sound in, but without sound checks and knowledge about the acoustics of the venue, you will have a hard time making sure that the sound is great.

Acoustics can make a huge difference in the overall sound mixing that is needed for each location that you need to be the sound engineer at. You will need to know this information to do the best job possible mixing sound in these locations.

Work With the Event Team

When working on live events, you really must work with the event team to make sure that you know what the highs and lows of the live event need to be. You will need to understand the theatrics of the proposed events on stage so that you can make sure that sound mixes correctly for these expectations.

Working with the event team closely will allow you to be sure that all the right moments are emphasized throughout the event. The crescendos of a live event are often the most important portions of the action to highlight, but you need to be sure that you are aware of when these moments are supposed to take place.

Know Your Equipment

You might be aware of how all of the necessary equipment works, but the combination of unique technology that you are working with for a live show can cause issues you did not foresee. If you have been working with the same show for a long time, this might not be a big issue, but locations can still add challenges to your overall sound mixing plans.

Make sure that you check all of the acoustics related to each of your amps as well as the arrangement of singers and other performers on stage. You want to be sure that you know how to balance the sounds that are going on during the performance with reliability to be able to mix the sound correctly when the event is live.

 

Use Quality Mics

You need to make sure that you have quality mics on every one that is onstage. This might include the instruments as well as the singers. You should know how each mic style works and how to best mix and manage the sound from each of these mic types. Cheap mics will never sound as good as quality mics and you will find that you will have the best luck with a good quality mic.

While you may not be in charge of the decisions that are made with regards to the mics that are used for the production in question, you should make it clear that low-quality mics will affect the overall quality of your mix. You need to be sure that you have access to the technology that you need to ensure a good mix at the end of the event. Cheating yourself on good mics and equipment can lead to frustrations over the mix quality later.

Sound Engineers Need to Know a Vast Array of Information

There are many things that a sound engineer needs to know. From the complexities of mixing sound during and after a live event, to the process of sound checking and balancing the sound in unique event locations, this is a complicated job that requires a lot of skill.

Always make sure that you are working with the right equipment that will generate the best sound and be sure that you are aware of the acoustics of your location. Know the plan for the event and be sure that you are in the loop about any changes that have been made to the scheduling of the events on stage.

Sound engineers have a lot of skills and tricks of the trade but the most essential tools come from planning ahead and being connected to the plans that are governing the event you are mixing for.

Mixing a New Musical

 

Getting any show up and running is hard. Layers upon layers of new information are being added to the piece once the actors move from the rehearsal space to the performance venue, and it’s all happening very quickly. As a show’s A1, I am hard at work preparing my script, generating paperwork, programming the console, and in some cases also working as a hand on the shop build and/or load-in. Design elements are coming together throughout the tech process. Ideas are tried, then retooled, and tried again. However, one thing that usually isn’t changing is the actual script of the show. Not so on new work!

New pieces, and especially new musicals, come with their own set of unique challenges. Sometimes members of the writing team are present throughout the rehearsal process, making rewrites and changes to the piece as it gets staged. Rehearsal reports sent out by the stage manager will include new script pages and/or change logs, all of which can make it harder to get familiar with a show in advance of tech and previews. Songs may be moved around in the script, new scenes or characters might be added, entire sections may get cut. The entire product is constantly evolving!

Personally, new musicals are my favorite kind of shows to work on, despite all these added challenges. In fact, part of why I love them so much is precisely because of these added challenges! It’s really special to be part of a work that is being shown in its full form for the first time, and it really does keep me extra engaged when I’m in the tech and preview process. The audience has no preconceived notions of what the show is going to look or sound like, and as the mixer, my role in facilitating the storytelling is even more crucial, because no one has ever heard it before!

So, how should one approach the preparation process when mixing a new musical? In general, the process is the same as with existing work, just with a few added hurdles.

Do your homework as per usual

Familiarize yourself with the material in advance as best you can, whether it’s through demo recordings or by watching run-throughs in the rehearsal hall. The new musical I am currently mixing was meant to be produced in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it was adapted into a radio play and released on audible, with the fully staged production postponed to this summer. So, since a new musical likely won’t have a cast album yet, I was able to use that audible recording to do my “homework” of getting to know the general feel of the scenes and songs, even though I knew that the show would likely change a lot in the year that passed between when the radio play was recorded and this summer when we would finally get to do the show for an audience.

Prepare for new pages

This is probably the most labor-intensive part of the prep process on a new musical. As the script changes, whoever is tracking those changes (usually someone from the writing team or stage management) will bring you new replacement pages to insert into your book, or a change sheet with lines that you should write in on your own (some shows do one or the other, on my current show, Row, they do both). This means you’ll be doing quite a bit of transferring your notes from old pages to new ones. For that reason, it’s all the more important to develop a shorthand for yourself that you like, so that you can do all this rewriting as quickly as possible. For example, I will abbreviate my Band Master fader as “B” and my Vocal reverb fader as “V”, then I use musical crescendo/decrescendo markings for my dynamic moves. Writing “B < -5” is a lot faster than having to transfer the full words over and over again every time a new page comes in! Other little symbols I like to use are up and down arrows for pickups, slashes for when characters’ lines overlap, and my favorite, a little glasses symbol for when you should look at something specific for a cue (this is a common practice among musicians to remind themselves when they should watch the conductor).

Don’t get rid of your old pages!

As Gibbs’ Rule #11 teaches us, “Everything is subject to un-change.” A new scene might not work, and you might go back to the old scene. Keep all your change logs and cut pages handy in case you need to re-insert them or reference them for any reason. Fun fact: I once did a new musical whereby the end of the run, my stack of cut pages was basically the size of the finished script!

My current stack of old pages for Row.

 

Practice but don’t memorize yet

As you mix a show more and more times, you will naturally begin to develop muscle memory for making your pickups and fader moves. However, on new work, it’s important to not let habits set in too soon in case things keep changing. I have on occasion caught myself making errors because my hands got too used to doing a scene a certain way and then the scene was re-written. Pay extra attention to any lines that you use as cues for yourself in case they change!

Consult all your sources

Since we’re talking specifically about musicals, it is likely that songs will change in addition to book scenes as the show develops. Make sure that you are getting updates from the music department in addition to the ones you get from writing/stage management. Sometimes the piano/vocal will have more current information than the libretto! Also, even if you don’t read music, it can be super helpful to have access to the piano/vocal score to consult as you figure out the timings of band moves and console scenes.

Try to program flexibly

As a general rule, it’s good to leave yourself “buffer” console scenes/snapshots as you program in case you decide you need to add things or adjust DCA assignments. This is even more true on a new musical. For example, the console on Row is a Yamaha CL5, which can accommodate up to 300 console scenes. When I laid out my DCA tracking prior to programming the show, it looked like I would need about 60 scenes to do the whole show. So rather than start at Scene #1 and go sequentially, the first song is scene #10, the second song is scene #15, etc. That way I have room to add more scenes internally without having to renumber every subsequent scene. To save time and hassle, also try to program in a more minimalist way than you might on an existing show so that you can adapt to changes more easily. Inevitably you will find yourself having to go through 10 separate console scenes to make a single change to all of them because of a script/song change, but the fewer times you have to do this the better. ☺

My console scene tracking sheet for Row. Notice the skips between numbers!

 

The thing to remember most of all on a new musical is that while rolling with the punches as things change can be stressful, it’s all in service of the art. I once worked with a choreographer who when he needed to adjust something would say on his god mic “I’m making a change” and the whole company would reply “Change is GOOD!” I’ve made that quote my new musical motto. The reward of knowing that all of the work that the creatives are putting in (and you alongside them) is truly helping to tell the story better will make it worth it when the show finally gets “frozen” (this means no more changes are allowed) and makes its world premiere in front of its first-ever audience!

Channel Lists, Cleaning lists and Other Noise

Recently I came across an article that mentioned that list-making is a sign of someone with anxiety. So in order to try and find any research that would agree with it, I came across Psychology Today’s article “How Making Lists Can Quell Anxiety and Breed Creativity”. Which in turn contradicts the first article. Because if you ask, you shall find. Online! Sources are more important than ever with all of the fake news and information that is readily handed out to us for clicks and likes. Social media spreads it without consequence in most cases, making it hard to know what to trust.

So I love making lists. Even as I plug cables into my multicore, snake, stage box, or whatever you like to call it, I make a list in my head. Kick, snare, toms and if needed, overheads. Then comes bass, guitars, acoustics, keys, BVs, and finally lead vocals. There are colours, and they follow what my first studio teacher in Sweden, Bengt, used. Our personal workflow and ways of doing things ripple down to those who we teach. I’m getting ready to have another young woman shadowing me and I really want to do it right this time. It’s hard doing your job and passing on the knowledge you’ve gathered for 15 years at the same time. All my experiences and those I’ve learnt from have made impressions that I will pass on, and that’s the kind of knowledge you won’t find in any book. Just small things like that I like my drums red.

I tend to not get stage plots and channel lists emailed to me. Maybe the band makes it, forgets it or it just doesn’t make it from the booking agent to me. So they tell me and I continue to make lists in my head. If someone sends me a list in advance, it’s also very often wrong by the time you meet the band or act, so I always ask. I try to learn their names, have a chat and ask how far they’ve traveled. Small talk is as important as my list. It’s kind of my signature move. If someone is skeptical of working with a woman I will talk small until they like me. It’s an attempt to be accepted and liked but likewise to be respected for my work. Not for just being a nice engineer but an engineer who cares and is brilliant, who gets you and wants to make you as comfortable as possible. Because I’ve been on the other side, on stage, singing since I was four years old. I know that the people looking after you and how they behave affect your performance.

Today I had a day off and I got to make a giant list of cleaning for my flat and like naming my channels, there’s real satisfaction in crossing off one thing after the other. I suffer from anxiety and lists make sense of the jumble that’s inside my head. I once lost an artist’s in-ears because another engineer stressed me and “helped” me packing up. So my words of caution and care to myself and you today are to take your time and clear your head, don’t let anyone stress you. If things get messy in your head, take three deep breaths and you will find the solution and tune out that noise. Basically, be the boss of the noise on your inside as well as outside.

The Worst Kind of Fear for Music Makers

After thousands of conversations with artists, musicians, and singers, I’ve come to realize that the greatest enemy we all face as we pursue this career path in music is fear. Duh, you say. Yes, we all know this. Every self-help book or psychoanalyzing article will boast about how overcoming our fears will free us to become all we can become. There is the fear of failure. I get this one. Sometimes it’s easier to not try at all than to try and fall flat on our noses. There must be millions of memes floating about the internet about how many times so and so failed before becoming a mogul of some sort. We must like those memes because we all feel crippled by this fear of failure.

Then there is the fear of success. What? I do not get this one. But, to some, it is really the fear of a different type of lifestyle, or perhaps the fear of new opportunities (which equates to new opportunities to fail), or just the fear of new expectations placed on you because of your success.

But just recently I pinpointed the most dangerous fear…the worst kind of fear that is inside our musical minds but disguises itself as other things. It is the fear of what others think about us.

Here are some example phrases that I hear:

“I don’t want people to think I’m like…oh, watch me. I’m so amazing.”

“No, that’s dumb. I’ve never seen another singer do that.”

“I don’t really care what people think….(while saying, practically in the same breath,) I don’t want to be like that girl that acts like she’s better than everyone else”

“I don’t want people to think….”

“I don’t want to be like….”

“I don’t want to sound like…”

Get the picture?

What is it about music that makes it the universal language? Why does it impact humankind the way that it undeniably does? What do the timeless songs and iconic artists we love have in common? Music needs to come from a place of honesty, vulnerability, and love. I don’t care what your genre, your style, your message. If you are not coming from the heart, then no one will connect with you. Except maybe your mom.

Therefore, this fear of how people see you is completely devastating to our honest hearts. It’s as if you have this mean dude in your head, standing over you with a hammer. Any move you make or think of making, he hits you over the head and shouts, “No! That’s dumb!” “No! That’s ugly!” “No! That’s too pretty!” “No! That’s too girly!” “No! That’s not girly enough!” “No! That’s too edgy!” And on and on it goes. Do you see why this fear of other’s perception of us is the most dangerous of all? It blocks off who YOU REALLY ARE!!

It’s time to shut that mean dude up. Stop listening to him. Eventually, if you stop listening to him, then you will no longer hear him. I promise, if you come from the most honest, vulnerable spot in your heart, your music will “speak” to people. You will connect with people who need your music. You will succeed. The best part of all is that you can decide right now, this very moment to stop listening to that dude and pay attention to your own heart and voice. Do it now!

 

Live Chat with Dr. Susan Rogers

Dr. Susan Rogers is a legendary professor, sound engineer, and record producer best known for her work with Prince (Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, Parade, Sign o the Times), Barenaked Ladies, David Byrne, Tricky, and more. She is a professor at Berklee College of Music in the Music Production Department. Susan caught up with Women & Audio to talk about her life and work.

My friend Crash and I were honored to speak with Dr. Rogers about her life and work in audio, her experience going on the road and recording Price, and her latest research on psychoacoustics! She graciously took the time to answer questions and get in-depth about working as a woman in the field.

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