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Maya Finlay – Feet in Two Worlds

Monitors for Rosanne Cash tour, 2019, credit: C. Elliott Photography

Maya Finlay is a sound engineer that works in live sound, as well as in the studio recording, editing, mixing and producing. Maya freelances and works for the SFJAZZ Center as well as Dolby Laboratories and recently has started touring with Rosanne Cash as her Monitor Engineer. She has been working in professional audio for the past 11 years.

Maya has a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese, Language and Culture, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Certificates in Sound Recording and Sound Design from City College of San Francisco. She also has completed workshops offered by Women’s Audio Mission and assisted in the build of their first studio.

Maya would start her audio career at City College of San Fransisco and fortunate to study under both Terri Winston, Founder of Women’s Audio Mission, and Dana Jae Labrecque, Co-Director of SoundGirls. After that Maya would start interning at Talking House Studios, which led to an engineering position for VO talent/composer, Mark Keller, at Keller Studios in Sausalito, CA.  Shortly after she also started working at Sound Arts Studio in San Francisco. Her introduction to Live Sound would take place working with local Bay Area promoter Bay Vibes, that produced three shows per week at Yoshi’s Lounge. It was a restaurant recalls Maya,  “so I had to pull all the gear out of a closet and wire everything up from scratch each time.  That was a great learning experience and created a solid foundation. At first, after each show, I would make a note of anything that went wrong. Then the next time before I’d go to work, I’d review my notes to avoid making the same mistake twice. That was a useful method, and it didn’t take long before I stopped needing the notes and things just became second nature.”

WAM studio, 2013

With a combination of referrals and reaching out to larger venues like Boom Boom Room, Elbo Room, and The Independent Maya would have more work than she could handle. Women’s Audio Mission would refer Maya to both SFJAZZ Center and Dolby. She has been at SFJAZZ Center for six years as an Audio Mix Engineer and Dolby for three years working as a Critical Listener.

 

What’s the environment, gear, and typical day at SFJAZZ Center?

SFJAZZ Center has two concert halls: One is Miner Auditorium, which holds 700 seats, and the other is the Joe Henderson Lab (JHL), which holds 100 seats.  We have Meyer Mains (going through Galileo hardware, controlled by Compass software) and L’Acoustic (108p and 112p) Monitors for both rooms.  In Miner Auditorium, we have a 16-speaker Minna line array system for each Main L/R (divided into 4 zones with separate delay times), 5 HP500 cardioid flown Subs, JM1P Side Fills, M1D Front Fills, and UPJ Rear Fills.  We have a VENUE Profile at FOH and an SC48 at “Monitor Beach.”  In JHL we do FOH and Monitors from a Soundcraft Si Impact, and we have 2 UPJ Mains and 1 HP500 flown Sub.  We have an 8-rack patch bay (6 for Audio, 2 for Video) backstage that allows us to route signal all over the building.  We have a 4-way split that, in addition to feeding FOH and Monitors, also sends to the Truck Dock, and a ProTools Suite on the third floor, where we have a Digidesign D-Command and can capture multi-track recordings of our shows into ProTools.  We have a ton of in-house backline – various drum kits, amps, keyboards, percussion, and the stage in Miner can be various sizes/shapes depending on the event needs.  The building is only six years old, so things are still in very good condition and well-organized. 

I’ve been fortunate to work with many fantastic artists there including Esperanza Spalding, Booker T, Robert Townsend, Snarky Puppy, Ravi Coltrane, Anoushka Shankar, Chick Corea, Hermeto Pascoal, and facilitated the touring crews of Van Morrison, Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, En Vogue, Kid Koala, Taj Mahal, among many others.  That’s how I met Rosanne Cash.  She was an SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director the past two years, and I did Monitors for her weekends there, which were collaborations with Emmy Lou Harris and Lucinda Williams the first year, and Ry Cooder the second.

A typical day at SFJAZZ Center is a call time in the early afternoon, set up the backline, patch ins/outs, and do a line check.  Then the band comes in, we set up and soundcheck for an hour or two, then dinner, show, and strike.  Shows range from 60-120 minutes, and in JHL we have two shows per night.  We rarely have openers, and we often do 4-night runs of the same artist.  We also have a fair amount of rental companies, individuals, or organizations renting out space for private events, which involve a lot more wireless, and we have two “off-site” rigs (Soundcraft Si Impact consoles and QSC speakers).  We use these for our free outdoor concerts and for our middle school program in which we’re working with local musicians to bring concerts to all middle schools in San Francisco and Oakland, thanks to our awesome Education department.  So a “typical day” there can have a lot of variety in the audio department.

What is a Critical Listener?

As a Critical Listener, I participate in various audio tests that provide feedback to Dolby on current and developing audio technology.  Often the tests involve listening to multiple versions of the same audio and either choosing a preferred version or finding a hidden reference.  We go into acoustically tuned listening labs and listen to audio on headphones or over loudspeakers, sometimes with video too, and complete whatever test we have that day.  Basically, they want to know if people with critical hearing and listening skills can distinguish a perceptible difference between raw, uncompressed audio, and audio that has been digitally compressed using specific algorithms.  It’s only a few hours a month, more or less, and it’s very flexible.

What is your set up for Roseanne? Gear, Work Flow: Are you touring with production.  Challenges? How are you dealing with them?

There are two different setups for Rosanne: the Duo with her husband, Guitarist/Producer John Leventhal, and the Band setup, which adds Drum Kit, Bass, Guitar, and Keys to the Duo.  John sets up Downstage Right and gets a single wedge.  Rosanne is always Downstage Center with a mono pair of wedges and wireless IEM.  In the Duo configuration, she has another wedge on her left side, almost a side fill, for just John’s channels.  They both need healthy amounts of their vocals in their wedges, so the first thing I do is ring out their wedges and make the vocals sound as clear as possible with enough headroom before feedback.  After a couple shows on the road, I started doubling Rosanne’s vocal channel so that I could have completely separate control over her vocal channel going to her wedges vs. in-ear.  That’s been helpful.  We carry the wireless IEM unit and a couple of Beta58s for vocals.  In addition to Monitors, I also take care of the tour merchandise.  David Mann is the Tour Manager and FOH Engineer, and there are a couple of other Monitor Engineers they work with based in New York. 

As for challenges, a couple of times, the IEM audio was cutting in and out or sounded “underwater.”  I dealt with it by replacing some parts of the kit like the cable that goes between the earpiece and the belt pack and the desiccant pod that absorbs moisture.  I also started storing her earpiece differently to reduce strain on the connector since doing that it’s been working great.  Once, the earpiece filter got loose and was making clicking sounds only Rosanne could hear.  I now prevent that by making sure it’s tightly pushed in before each soundcheck and show. Another challenge is working on unfamiliar consoles. When I know, that’s the case; I do some prep work before I get to the venue, like watching tutorials and reading manuals, to head off any potential questions or obstacles I anticipate.

In between all of this, Maya still works in the studio and in 2017 released an EP with her band, Gringa called “Letters From A. Broad.”  Maya produced the album and engineered most of it, as well as playing several instruments and writing three of the songs. Maya says it reflects her “style as a Producer, blending organic recordings with sound effects and pop and dub mixing techniques.  It was a labor of love that took several years and involved many different musicians in various studio spaces. It was a challenge making it all come together, and at times, I thought it would never be finished, so it felt great to finally release it.” She is looking forward to putting out more records in 2019.

Bedulu, Bali during the International Body Music Festival, 2015

Give us a little background on what other tours you’ve done and what your position was on them

In July 2016, I spent two weeks in Bali as part of the International Body Music Festival, doing both FOH and Monitors. The annual Festival, led by master body percussionist Keith Terry, takes place in a different country each year and invites participants and artists from all over the world to come together for body percussion workshops and performances in collaboration with local communities.  We stayed in Ubud as our home base and traveled to different places each show day.  The first show was in a theater in Denpasar, but the rest of the time we rented gear from a local sound company and worked with their crew to load in and set up in different villages.  The gear was very basic; a 32-channel Yamaha analog console, a rack of graphic EQs, and passive mains and monitors. Most of the stages were outside, open-air but covered community spaces, and I used a combination of a shotgun, PZM, and overhead mics to get subtle body percussion sounds over motorcycles and other loud street noise.  It was challenging, but I had a blast and got to meet so many wonderful people.

What do you like best about touring?

I love seeing different places and meeting/working with different people. I’m used to being a House Engineer, so it’s been fun to do the opposite and be the Guest Engineer, with all the different challenges and perks that come with it.  I feel more like an asset, not just an expense. I’m also really liking the simplicity of living out of a suitcase.

What do you like least?

Flying and spending time in airports.  Not being able to cook my own meals.

What is your favorite day off activity?

On tour – Sleeping in.

At home – Writing, playing, and producing music.

What do you like best about the Studio?

I love the creative possibilities in the studio.  There’s more time to play around and come up with unique sounds and effects and to use panning and mic positioning that I can’t necessarily do in live sound.  I’m fortunate that live sound is my bread-and-butter, so any studio stuff I do is on my terms and for pleasure. 

What do you like better Live or Studio?

That’s a really tough question and probably changes from day-to-day.  I enjoy the immediacy and social aspects of Live, as well as being part of an event that brings joy or release for others.  However, I also love being able to experiment in the Studio and being part of the magic that will be immortalized on a record.  In the long run, I’d like to get back to doing more Studio work, and in particular trading, out some of the grunt work, I do in live sound for more creative studio work.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

Although initially, I loved the lack of routine, over the years, I’ve experienced how hard it is on the body to work inconsistent hours and to eat and sleep at irregular times.  My circadian rhythm is all off, and my health and social life have suffered for it.

Also, I wanna be real about the fact that the industry is still primarily a (White) Boys Club. As a woman, I’ve experienced microaggressions, objectification, and everyday sexism all throughout my career (such as being told to smile while I work, getting patted on the head for doing a good job, being asked to wear a skirt at a job interview, overhearing musicians ask “Where’s the Sound Guy?” while I’m on stage doing my job…I could go on).  I hesitate to call it an obstacle because it never really held me back. In fact, it probably propelled me forward in some ways. But it’s annoying at best, and exhausting over time. I do see that women, non-binary folks, and people of color have to work much harder for the same recognition and advancement opportunities as white men.

How have you dealt with them?

In terms of my health, I started prioritizing jobs that didn’t end so late, in an attempt to sleep regular hours each night.  I still don’t, but it’s less erratic than before. I also started cooking more on my days off and meal planning, so I could bring healthier food to work and not skip meals.  I’ve had to develop a discipline around resisting free booze and junk food, which is a work-in-progress.

As for the Boys Club, I’ve had to just ignore a lot of shit, figure out who my true allies are and which battles are worth fighting, and ultimately prove myself in my work.  I have learned to find the joy in smashing stereotypes and the humor in witnessing that my existence cause squirming or heads exploding. I enjoy poking holes in the patriarchy every time I go to work, and I try to stay involved in networks like WAM and SoundGirls, where we can share experiences, knowledge, and resources.

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

Don’t let your insecurities limit you.  Take as many opportunities to learn and gain experience as you can.  If you’re unsure of the equipment, you’re using or the type of gig you’re doing, do some homework.  Read some manuals, watch some tutorials, get yourself prepared, and then jump in.

Don’t let others intimidate you out of it.  It may seem like there’s a way you’re supposed to look and act, but that’s because the job has been portrayed a certain way for so long.

Embrace your skills and what makes you unique.

Have a sense of humor, drop the ego, be professional, humble, and kind.  There’s nothing more refreshing than a friendly engineer and a crew that’s having fun.  There are plenty of grumpy sound people out there…don’t be one of them!

Must have skills?

I think the best sound engineers have a trifecta of interpersonal, technical, and musical skills: I treat it like a customer service job.  I’m there to serve the needs of the Artist, the audience, and the venue, not my ego. I do my best to communicate well and try to make everyone happy.  It’s important to be able to adapt quickly to new technology and have strong attention-to-detail. It helps to have a musical background, to be able to relate to musicians and know musical terms and genres and to have an ear for music.

Favorite gear?

To be honest, I’m not really a “gear head.”  On tour, I request an Avid SC48 or Profile console, because I’m quickest on those.  I love my vintage Telefunken 421 and UA 710 Twinfinity preamp that I have in my home studio.  But ultimately I’d say my ears are my favorite gear. They’re more important than anything I could buy, and it’s been a process learning to trust them and understand them better.

Visit Maya’s website

 

Shadowing Opportunity w/ FOH Engineer Kevin Madigan

SoundGirls Members who are actively pursuing a career in Live Sound or Concert Production are invited to shadow FOH Engineer Kevin Madigan.

The experience will focus on FOH Mixing. This is open to SoundGirls members ages 18 and over. There is one spot available for each show. Call times are TBD, and members will most likely be invited to stay for the show (TBD).

Kevin is currently on tour Santana.

Dates Available:

 

Choose a Different Route

 

The other day I was on my way to work, and I always take the same route unless there are some disruptions on my tube line. There were, in fact, some disruptions this particular day so I had to take different trains, but luckily that route takes about the same amount of time for me to take me from my home to work.

I thought that I almost prefer this other route, it is mostly overground and you know, it is nice to change up your habits a bit. We tend to get stuck in the same routines. Mix a show in the same way you’ve always done, mic up a drum kit the same way as you always do, EQ monitors precisely the way you did yesterday. Sure it is tried and tested, but it gets a bit repetitive after a while.

Playing it safe:

In the live industry, you sort of have to play it safe most of the time, simply because there is no time to be adventurous. You got to make it sound good, and you have to do it fast.

However, if you are a venue engineer, you can easily get set in the same ways. But if you don’t challenge yourself, you’re not going to improve nor learn something new. It is like working out in the gym, if you work out a muscle the same way and not adding weight or variety to it you will not become stronger. You will simply just plateau.

The upside of being a venue engineer is that it is a safe environment. If you have been in a place for a little while, you probably feel relatively comfortable and will hopefully have a small bit of extra time to play around with things. This is a perfect environment to try and do things differently if you’ve got something that is tried and tested, you’ve always got that to fall back onto.

The ‘One-way’ route:

I work in a venue where the speakers are all hidden away and scattered around the building, surrounded by loads of marble. Not ideal for creating ‘the perfect sound.’ You just have to make it sound good with what you’ve got, and honestly, it is not that bad. However, anytime there is a visiting engineer they get entirely thrown off; because they are so set in the way they usually do things they can’t figure out a different route to get where they want to go..

The live sound industry is not a ‘one-way’ route. There are tons of roundabouts, disruptions, left turns, stops, and traffic lights. Some people work at 100mph and others are lingering around about 30mph. You have to adapt and treat every situation differently.

Very often you just have to work around it. With amazing gear nowadays, it is easy to forget the room and how critical it is for the overall sound of the show. Halls, venues, arenas, stadiums all sound different, there is not a ‘one-way route’ to mix a performance.

Challenge yourself:

We need to be thrown off in able to learn new things. Adapt the way you set up and tune to each venue, each artist. Work off the basics but work with space you are in vs. fighting it.  Ask engineers that work in that venue regularly, how they go about tuning the room. Always be willing to adapt, change, and learn new things.

So whenever you have any disruptions on your line, embrace it. Approach it with the right attitude, and you will see that it will not set you back as much as you might have thought it would. See it as a new learning experience, and hey, you might even find yourself enjoying the alternative route!

 

 

How to Learn Any Digital Console Quickly

Many times I have accepted an event, asked about the equipment, and received a super vague response. Or, even better, requested a specific console and then received something completely different! Cool, I guess we’ll figure it out as we go?

Locate your most important things:

Interface – how do you navigate? Is there a computer/mouse situation, or is it a touch screen? If you’re on a console, some are touch screens, and some aren’t. Do you need to make your faders, is there a blank session you can load for the venue that gives you a starting point? Figure it out.

Console layout – Take a minute or two to see how the console is set up. Where is the EQ/effects section, does it have its own section or is it variable on the scribble strip? How many layers, and can you change the layers with a flip to faders function (those can screw you up if you don’t realize it’s turned on!) Locate the headphone port and how to adjust your own monitors. This sounds silly, but I had a conversation last week with Beckie Campbell where she just couldn’t find it on a Midas console, and she’s a damn legend.

Patching – Usually when I start to get annoyed or confused on a new console, it’s because of the patching. Patching can be super simple (like on the Avid consoles) which is a click-and-drag situation. Calrec Summa is a multi-step process where you click back and forth between Source and Destination points. It’s a good system (in my opinion) but takes extra consideration.

Bus assignments – How do you assign your channels? Are there buttons, can you select them all and do it all in one go? I teach audio students, and this is one of the biggest things that gets overlooked. It’s one of the very first things that I do, but students seem to forget until they don’t get audio as expected.

Now figure out what you will need for the show

Aux Sends & Effects – Are there dedicated effect returns, or do you need to make some from stereo channels? In some interfaces, it might be easier to add the effect first and then route it. Other consoles will demand you have the aux and returns and then add the effect to the channel.

Compression/EQ onboard vs. plugins – All digital consoles will have some onboard effects. Calrec Summa – a broadcast console – has two dynamic effects per channel. It does not have any time-based (other than time delay) effects onboard whatsoever. FOH digital will have a large selection of brand-based or fancier licensed plugins, with the option to load more from your personal key (such as Waves). This can be frustrating and may require phone calls to get your license functioning on a new console. It’s up to you and your client, but for any smaller shows or corporate events, I just keep it simple.

Snapshots – You can select which parameters will save in your snapshots, so I suggest you take a few minutes to set this up. It has screwed me up when I changed snapshots and then my patch changed, for example.

Other Notes

Download the manual (not a link!) and read it if you can on your commute.

Download software if available and start building your show file.

Try to give yourself time for a break so you can walk away. It’s fun to learn new things, but it can be frustrating when it isn’t working the way you expect.

Use your network – Do you have any friends you can call or text to get a tip? We have dozens of digital consoles where I work, so I am lucky enough to be able to access almost anything to build a show file or learn the layout ahead of time. Most people aren’t privileged in this way, try to see if a friend of a friend has the console you need or will be using one locally! SoundGirls on Facebook is also an excellent resource; there are literally hundreds (thousands?) Of people online who are willing to help. We’ve had FaceTime sessions, chats, phone calls, text marathons, etc. to help when needed! Once I phoned a friend just to see if I could plug my phone USB into the console to charge it (I couldn’t), so don’t be afraid to ask the dumb or seemingly obvious questions.

 

The Ethel Gabriel Scholarship

Applications for 2021 will open on June 1, 2021.

We are proud to recognize Ethel’s contributions to the music industry and for paving the way for future generations of women working in music production.

In honor of Ethel Gabriel, SoundGirls will be awarding two $500 scholarships to members pursuing a career in the recording arts. These scholarships will be awarded in August 2021 and can be used for educational training and university programs. The scholarships are open to all members of SoundGirls.

SoundGirls is currently in production on a new documentary about Ethel Gabriel’s career and impact. For more info visit EthelGabrieldoc.com

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Any member of SoundGirls that is attending or plans to attend educational programs in Professional Audio. There is no age requirement and includes college programs, trade schools, seminars, and workshops. Applications are open to all genders and non-conforming genders.

HOW TO APPLY

The application includes two short essay questions:

  1. Why you are applying for this scholarship;
  2. How has Ethel Gabriel inspired you? (400-600 words, please.)
  3. Application opens June 1, 2021 – Apply Here

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

The essay submission deadline is 12:00 midnight EDT July 30, 2021. The scholarships will be awarded in August 2021, and paid to scholarship winners. Scholarship winners will be required to send proof of enrollment in the educational program to SoundGirls or scholarship money must be returned.

SELECTION PROCESS & NOTIFICATION

The SoundGirls Board will review essays and will notify the winners via email.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

The scholarship funds awarded can be used for educational programs related to professional audio. Scholarships are non-renewable. You will need to submit proof of enrollment in a program.

QUESTIONS?

Any questions on the scholarship essay can be directed to soundgirls@soundgirls.org.

About Ethel Gabriel

Photo: Democrat & Chronicle Dec. 13, 2013

Photo: Democrat & Chronicle Dec. 13, 2013

Ethel Gabriel may be one of the most prolific music producers you’ve never heard of. Ethel had a 4-decade career at RCA starting with an entry-level job and rising up to become the first female record producer for a major record label and an executive role in A&R.

During her career, Ethel produced over 5,000 records and worked with a wide variety of artists on RCA’s roster including Elvis Presley. Ethel was willing to take risks – such as producing the first digitally-remastered album or working with artists who brought new types of music to the mainstream. Her credits include everything from mambo to easy listening to rap.

Ethel’s Background

Ethel was born in 1921 in Pennsylvania. She started her own dance band at age 13 (called “En and Her Royal Men”) where Ethel played trombone. She originally wanted to go to college for forestry (at the encouragement of her father) but women were not allowed into the program. She decided to attend Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) and study music education.

A relative helped Ethel get a job at RCA’s record plant (in Camden, New Jersey) to help pay for tuition and expenses. Ethel’s first job included tasks like putting labels on records. She was promoted to record tester where she had to listen to one out of every 500 records pressed for quality. She learned every note of the big hits since Ethel had to listen to them over and over.

Ethel would hang out at the nearby RCA recording studios (and brought her trombone with her to play between sessions). She got to play with some major artists for fun and also learn how the engineers and producers worked. She also spent a lot of time in the studio as secretary to the manager of A&R at the time, Herman Diaz, Jr. Ethel got to produce her first session (with bandleader Elliot Laurence) when Diaz called in sick and asked her to do it.

In 1955, Ethel convinced her boss, Manie Sacks, to sign Perez Prado to RCA’s label. She produced his record, Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, which became a worldwide hit and helped bring the mambo craze to the US.

She was with RCA during the creation of their Nashville studios, the signing of Elvis, and their transition from mono to stereo.

Through Ethel’s career, she was willing to take risks and experiment with new technology or music. In 1959, Ethel launched Living Strings, a series on RCA Camden’s label that ran for 22 years.

In 1961, she produced Ray Martin and his Orchestra Dynamica, the first release using RCA’s “Stereo Action.” In 1976, she was executive producer of Caruso,’s A Legendary Performer, the first digitally-remastered album. The technology used by Soundstream Inc (lead by Thomas Stockham) has gone on to be widely used in audio and photography restoration and Stockham’s work on the Caruso album was the basis for a 1975 scientific paper. In 1975, Ethel gave a chance to then-unknown producer Warren Schatz, who produced RCA’s first disco album, Disco-Soul by The Brothers.

Ethel also helmed RCA’s Camden label (designed for budget records). Camden was struggling when she took over in 1961 and had a sales volume increase of 100% over two years. Camden went on to become a multi-million dollar label under Ethel’s watch. Some of RCA’s major artists even asked to be released on the Camden line over the flagship RCA label because of Camden’s success.

During her career, Ethel received two RIAA Platinum records and 15 Gold records (over 10 million record sales) and her albums continue to sell. Many of these were repackages or re-releases where Ethel put her expert eyes (and ears) on song selection and label redesign. One album she re-packaged, Elvis’ Christmas Album, was the first Elvis record to reach Diamond (10 million sales). Ethel said of creating special packages (in Billboard Magazine Sept 5, 1981), “It’s like second nature to me. The secret is that you know the market you’re trying to reach. You can’t contrive a special record. It has to be genuine and full of integrity because people know the difference.” Ethel re-issued albums for nearly every RCA artist (including the Legendary Performer series, RCA Pure Gold economy line, and the Bluebird Complete series).

Towards the end of her time at RCA, Ethel asked the company to fund a women’s group for lectures and seminars. She wanted to help women learn to become executives. Ethel said she felt like a mother to some of the women she mentored (Ethel was married but did not have children). She wanted to teach skills like how to network, how to dress or behave. Ethel also became involved with Women in Music, one of very few groups available to women in the music industry at the time. In 1990, Ethel publicly spoke out against the “boys club” in a Letter to the Editor of Billboard Magazine (Oct 6). She said, “Yes, there are ‘record women’ in the industry – and they have ears, too!”

Ethel also worked with many artists and ensembles in the studio during her career including Chet Atkins, Caterina Valenti, Marty Gold, Los Indios Tabajaras, Teresa Brewer and the entire Living series recordings. She said of working with artists, “There are times to ‘harness’ artists and times to ‘push.’” Ethel said her most helpful qualifications to do the job were “her knowledge and love of music and her ability to make difficult decisions and hold to them.” (Cincinnati Enquirer August 18, 1983)

Ethel was not promoted to Vice President at RCA until 1982, over 40 years into her career. Many colleagues said it was long overdue. The following year, she won a Grammy for Best Historical Album (for co-producing The Dorsey/Sinatra Sessions). After leaving RCA, Ethel remained in the industry where she worked as president and vice president to smaller record labels.

 

 

Impostor Syndrome in Creative Industries

This month’s blog topic is not directly related to audio. Yet it relates to our work and everyday life. It is a topic I have been thinking a lot about lately and one I hope others find educational or can relate to.

One evening, I was talking to a good friend about work and our successes. I’ve had some important accomplishments recently, and I was telling her how I felt undeserving of the recognition. I feared that soon, someone would point out how I didn’t know what I was doing. She said, look up impostor syndrome.

As defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, impostor syndrome “is the feeling that your achievements are not real or that you do not deserve the praise or success.” Great, I thought. There is a word to explain how I feel, but why do I feel this way? As I began looking into this, I’ve learned more about the syndrome and myself.

Impostor syndrome was introduced in a 1978 research paper by Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Ament Imes titled “The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women.” From the abstract: “Certain early family dynamics and later introjection of societal sex-role stereotyping appear to contribute significantly to the development of the impostor phenomenon. Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the impostor phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.” Clance and Imes aimed their research at how the syndrome affects women, yet further studies have since shown that many men also suffer from the phenomenon. Why do so many of us feel this way?

I believe that part of it, for me, is confidence and insecurity. I understand deep down that I know what I am doing, but there’s that subconscious nagging jerk tapping me on the shoulder saying “But you don’t really understand this thing. Everyone else understands it and will figure out soon enough that you don’t.”

In creative industries, it’s especially tough as your work is very subjective, yet constantly scrutinized. When you get positive feedback you think, that must have just been luck. And of course, there can be negative comments from people jealous of your successes that help crush you even further.

I try to push myself through these moments of insecurity by doing the things that feel uncomfortable.  Writing these blogs, for instance, is not a comfortable thing for me. No matter how well I write a blog, someone is going to point out a mistake and figure out that I don’t actually know what I’m talking about. And why would anyone want to read what I have to say, anyways? I persist because positive feedback fuels my confidence in my knowledge, and negative feedback fuels my pursuit of knowledge and growth even further.

If this subject interests you as well, I encourage you to check out Valerie Young at http://www.impostorsyndrome.com. She has some great resources in her blog that may help you understand and work with your impostor syndrome. (I found this one particularly helpful: https://impostorsyndrome.com/are-creative-people-more-susceptible-to-impostor-syndrome/)

 

I Have Confidence in Me

 

So, let them bring on all their problems – I’ll do better than my best

I have confidence they’ll put me to the test – But I’ll make them see I have confidence in me

I Have Confidence, from The Sound of Music: Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1965

To succeed in audio, having the right amount of confidence is key. I struggle with a lack of confidence, and this post will mostly deal with how I counteract that. However, if you think you’re god’s gift to sound, you might want to take a minute to reflect on whether that’s true too, especially if your bragging is overcompensation for low-esteem. Being realistic about your abilities, and having a mindset somewhere between Marvin the Paranoid Android from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the average Pop Idol contestant is the goal.

Plenty of aspects of this job can knock your confidence: as a freelancer, it’s easy to constantly compare yourself to others. As I mentioned in my last post, social media can be toxic; when all you see is the best aspects of your peers’ lives, it’s easy to think you’re lagging far behind. If office workers get stressed out and jealous any time there’s a promotion to compete for; we can feel that way for every gig. “Why did they put him on that show?” “Why did they think she’d be good for that role?” “Why didn’t they ask me?” The politics of who gets hired are many and varied, and if you try to make sense of it or take it personally, you may well end up sobbing in a corner. Even if you try to abstain from it, your colleagues might loudly and rudely question your abilities for you, either to make themselves feel better or to advance their careers. Having the confidence to get on with your job and show them why they’re wrong to doubt you are the best way to fight back.

Lack of confidence can sabotage you while you’re in the middle of work. We often have to deal with complex issues while sticking to tight deadlines. We can’t wander off, read up on the topic then come back the next day feeling educated and refreshed; the gig has to happen today. And of course, what every sound person dreads: the announcement that there are “technical issues.” The entire audience turns around as one to stare at the front of house, even if it’s a dodgy connection on a guitar pedal. You didn’t even see that bus coming before they threw you under it!

A healthy level of confidence (not to be confused with arrogance) is essential to remain resilient and effective in the face of challenges. It benefits the gig, your career, and your well-being. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is often recommended to treat depression and anxiety, but I think it can help everyone. Courses are freely available online and from your local library, and they help you to get perspective on things and break out of negative thought processes. For example, if you lost out on a job, imagine what you would say to a good friend if they were in your situation. You deserve as much faith and respect as anyone else, telling yourself you’re worthless or unemployable is not constructive.

I have referred to this blog post about caring about the opinion of others before, but I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say it changed my life: Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think. The main point to take away is that people are far more interested in themselves than you, and it’s a waste of time to worry about what others think of you. Let’s take a classic rom-com cliche as an example: you pass a group of people who all smile at you. Wait, why did they do that? Are they just happy? Are they smiling at something behind you? What if they’re actually sniggering at you because you have something stuck in your teeth?

As you can see from the Punnet Square of Embarrassment, there are four main possible scenarios, and in each of them worrying that you have something stuck in your teeth achieves nothing. We all have teeth. We all eat food. Stuff sometimes gets stuck in our teeth; no one cares. If they are laughing at you, you can pity them for wasting their time caring about something so inconsequential. For a bonus tip: very occasionally, I go for a walk and pretend that anyone looking my way is simply awestruck by how incredibly amazing I am. Obviously, that isn’t the case, but it lifts my mood and makes me laugh anyway.

The Punnet Square of Embarrassment. Pink denotes a waste of all your energy to worrying, purple denotes a waste of some energy, and in the blue area, no energy is wasted.

Of course, messing up at work is a bit more important than dental greenery, and laughing it off like you don’t care is not the approach to take. The principle remains the same, though: it happens to everyone, even the best engineers in the world have bad days. By all means, learn from what happened and plan how to prevent it from happening again, but then brush yourself off and move on. Dwelling on it can ruin your focus for the rest of the day and lead to more silly mistakes.

A great way to have confidence is to genuinely have a solid understanding of the topics at hand, and I recommend learning all you can at every opportunity. However, no one can know everything about every piece of equipment, every band, every venue. It can take a bit of experience to know what’s normal to know, and what isn’t. If you’re not sure of something, don’t be afraid to admit it; we’ve all been there, and it’s how we all learn. Everyone needs to ask the internet, a friend, or a manufacturer’s tech support for help sometimes. It isn’t a sign of failure; it’s part of the job.

Finding a happy medium in self-confidence, and having an accurate idea of your competence is a constant growing exercise. Discuss it with colleagues you trust, as it is often easier to gauge from an outside, more experienced perspective. Ask for input from several sources, so you aren’t unduly influenced by one opinion. Knowing your worth can reduce stress at work, reassure your clients and colleagues, help you when negotiating pay and lead you ever closer to your goals. It also encourages you to help others: only people who are afraid of competition hoard their knowledge. People who are confident in their abilities are happy to share and raise everyone up, which increases their confidence too.

Being A Musician Makes Me A Better Sound Designer and Engineer

I have been a musician for almost my entire life.  At four years old, I could sing every word of Annie without skipping a note.  When I was in the third grade, I got a piano for my birthday and started the first of many private lessons.  In the fourth grade, I started playing the viola in my school orchestra. I don’t usually count that as one of my instruments because, in orchestra class, I was more interested in talking to my best friend, who played the cello and sat right next to me.  Because of this, I never learned how to read alto clef fluently, and so I faked the viola until I was in the 7th grade and had to quit when my rouse caught up with me. In the 6th grade, I started playing flute and piccolo in the school band. In the 8th grade, the jazz band needed a tenor saxophone player, so I did that for a year since it was a smooth transition from the flute.  Somewhere in middle school, my dad got me a Fender California Series acoustic guitar, and in high school, he got me a Gibson SG. I can play the guitar well enough to be entertaining at a campfire. I was a music major in college, and while there, I took private piano and flute lessons. Most of my music school friends were percussionists, so halfway through my college career, I started taking private percussion lessons, and somehow became the principal percussionist in Campus Band.  So, as you can see, I have a pretty diverse background in music. Music has driven every of my life decisions. So why, when I started my studio recording private lessons, did I not want to play any music?

My degree is in Commercial Music.  My focus in that area was on engineering and producing.  As part of this focus, I was required to write, record, and produce a song once a week.  I would then have a one-hour lesson where my professor would respond to my latest creation.  The expectation was that I would absorb these notes, and my next project would be better. The thing is, it took me a while to get better because I did not want to write or play my own music.  For some reason, once I began the Commercial Music program, I decided I only wanted to be an engineer and producer, and I did not want to be a musician anymore. I asked my professor if I could hire musicians to play for me.  I told him I would do two lessons a week instead of one; I just did not want to play anymore. He did not bend–not even a little. Then he told me something that I have never forgotten. It’s a phrase I use with my students all the time.  He said, “My engineers are not just button pushers.” He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, and he is a fantastic trumpet player. He has a wealth of musical knowledge, so it frustrates him when sound engineers don’t feel the music the way he does.  He told me a story about a sound engineer that worked for him in the past. He said this guy did not have a musical bone in his body. He was a button pusher. Mics would come on; mics would go off. That’s it. My professor decided that he did not want anyone coming out of his program to perform like that.  I fought it for a while, but eventually, I gave in, and I’m glad I did. It was the best decision I ever made.

Now I’m a sound designer for theatre, and my musicianship helps inform many of my decisions.  I know to push the music during a big musical swell or interlude. I know that a little reverb in the back makes a small orchestra sound more prominent and lusher.  I know to fade down to underscoring, and I know to gracefully fade up to transition music. It’s not something I think about. It’s something I feel in my body, and my hands just follow.  I know it’s easy for me to say though. I’m a musician, and I have been for most of my life. So what if you’re not a musician? What if you can’t read music, you’ve never touched a musical instrument, but you are a sound engineer?  You don’t have to be a musician to be musical. You don’t have to be a musician to feel the music in your body, and I have a few exercises to help bring the music out of a non-musician’s soul.

First, make playlist of ten songs.  These should be some of your favorite songs, and if they’re contrasting genres, even better.  Next, get some headphones, and head to a quiet room where you can be alone. If it doesn’t creep you out too much, turn off the lights.  Now put on your headphones, and listen to your entire playlist. Note the parts that give you the warm fuzzies, or make the hair on your arms stand up, or force tears to flow from your eyes.  What is happening musically in those moments? Did the instruments crescendo? Was there a vocal effect? Did the reverb ring out after the final note? What about that music made it an experience as opposed to an exercise.  Remember that stuff, and carry it with you into your next gig.

After you’ve done the headphones task, do it again, but this time listen through the best speakers you have access to.  Even if that’s in your car, that’s ok. Listen to the same playlist, and remember those spots you loved. Keep your hand on the volume knob, and gently follow the musical line.  Turn up the volume slightly with that swell. Fade it back down when the line does. This will start to help you attach your warm fuzzy feelings to your technical hands. This is an exercise I love, so I always encourage people to do make multiple playlists and practice this regiment often.  It really does help train your brain and your body to work together.

Another great exercise I like to have my interns and students work on is shadow mixing a movie.  My suggestion is to choose a few movie musicals like Les Miserables, Moulin Rouge, or literally any Disney movie.  Now, sit on your couch, and put 8 pennies on the coffee table in front of you.  For the first movie, keep your pointer and middle finger on your right hand on two of those pennies.  Those are your music faders. Just like the volume knob exercise, move those penny faders with the music.  If you want to add a level of precision, mark a piece of paper with decibel markings to put under the pennies and keep track of the relationship of your pennies to unity.  Do not note things like “Now I am at -10, now I am at -12.” Once you start relying on the numbers, you stop using your ears, and they are your most valuable tool. The muscle memory and relationship between your ears and fingers is what is most important.  After you’re comfortable with the music, watch the movie again, and this time, assign characters to the other 6 faders. This part you will probably have to practice scene by scene, and if there are more than 6 characters per scene, you can assign groups to one DCA, or penny, in your case.  So now, you just repeat the process but adding vocals. When you hear voices get big, follow them with your pennies, and keep doing what you were doing on the first round with the music. If you’re going scene by scene, try filming your hands, and repeat the scene twice. Do your hands have basically the same relationship each time? Are there long stretches of time where you have forgotten to consider music changes? Review the footage, and repeat the practice. The next time you are mixing or designing a show, you just might find that your natural inclination will now be to enhance the musical line with subtle fader movements, thus giving an otherwise flat sound some body and life.  This will be the difference between an acceptable show and an impressively beautiful show.

 

SoundGirls Intro to Soldering – Colorado

Soldering is a necessary skill for audio engineers and techs. Being able to make and repair your cables can get you out of a tight spot and save you money. In this workshop, you’ll learn proper soldering techniques to carry with you to live gigs, in the studio and beyond! We’ll build XLR and TRS or TS cables that you can take home with you. Please note that you will need to bring your own soldering kit with you – see below for options. If you don’t have one, don’t fret!

This class will address the knowledge and techniques required to produce high-quality manually soldered joints and provide an overview of the basic manual soldering equipment and the proper safety precautions for soldering. You will be able to take your finished mic and guitar cables home to continue practice soldering.

If you cannot bring a soldering iron to class please email us at soundgirls@soundgirls.org and we will try and locate a loaner.

Required Tools to Bring to Class

 

 

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