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Música y Sonido. Parte 2

Encuentre la primera parte aquí

¿Los profesionales de audio también deben ser músicos?

Mi respuesta directa sería que no, algunos de los mejores ingenieros de audio de la industria no son músicos. Pero si quieres mi consejo como música y como ingeniera de sonido, aprender algunos conceptos básicos sobre música no te hará daño.

Ser ingeniera de sonido trabajando en proyectos que involucren tratamiento musical como grabación, edición, mezcla, etc., requerirá que tengas y desarrolles unas aptitudes y conocimientos básicos sobre música que te permitirán tener un mejor desempeño en tu trabajo. Esto significa que, incluso si no eres músico, deberás tener buen oído para la música: reconocer el notas, reconocer qué instrumentos musicales están tocando, reconocer si los instrumentos musicales están desafinados, reconocer los patrones armónicos y la forma de una pieza musical, reconocer y seguir ritmos y patrones rítmicos, ser sensible a las dinámicas.

Profundicemos en cada tema:

Reconocer y seguir ritmos y patrones rítmicos.

El clic:

Cada pieza musical tiene un pulso llamado tempo, que sigue una marca de metrónomo medida en pulsaciones por minuto (bpm). Si hay una partitura disponible, esta marca de metrónomo se indicará en la parte superior izquierda de la partitura. Puede indicarse con números o con términos musicales en italiano que darán una pista sobre el tempo. La mayoría de las veces, será necesario para las grabaciones y/o presentaciones en vivo configurar el clic en tu DAW o software de música. Dependiendo de la solicitud del músico, el clic puede configurarse para seguir el tempo o subdividirse, asegúrate de estar familiarizado con la configuración del clic en el software antes de realizar tu sesión.

Compases y compases:

Los pulsos o tiempos se agrupan en compases, y pueden variar dependiendo de la música, los compases también pueden cambiar dentro de la misma pieza musical. El número de tiempos en un compás puede ser 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Los compases también se pueden configurar en tu software, aparecerán como un número con dos dígitos: un número en la parte superior que indica cuántos tiempos que hay dentro del compás y el número de abajo que indicará el tipo de notas utilizadas dentro del compás (blanca, negra, corchea, etc.). Conocer el compás te ayudará a contar compases y a seguir patrones rítmicos, también te ayudará a ubicar partes específicas en una pieza musical. Pero también permitirá al músico identificar conteos de barras y pulsos.

Compases y tiempos fuertes:

Cada compás tiene tiempos fuertes y débiles que le dan a la música patrones rítmicos memorables. Por lo general, el primer tiempo es el tiempo fuerte del compás, esta característica se puede configurar en el software para que los compases puedan tener diferentes acentos, niveles y sonidos para cada tiempo, ayudando a los músicos durante su interpretación. Conocer todos estos ajustes a la hora de configurar el clic, los compases y la línea de tiempo de tu sesión es fundamental.

Anacrusa:

Comprender el término anacrusa es útil cuando necesitas anticipar grabaciones o ejecuciones musicales en vivo. Si escuchas este término, significará que la música comenzará con una nota o un grupo de notas que preceden al primer tiempo fuerte. Su principal característica es que la anacrusa es un compás parcial antes de que comience el primer compás de la música.

Reconocer patrones y forma de una pieza musical:

Forma:

La estructura de una pieza musical se conoce como forma musical. Familiarizarse con los diferentes tipos de formas pueden ayudarte a organizar tu sesión de manera eficiente. Encontrarás frases musicales, estructuras armónicas, progresiones de acordes, modulaciones, patrones rítmicos dentro de la música que te ayudarán a la hora de reconocer diferentes formas. Una buena manera de familiarizarse con ella es escuchar y leer sobre diversos estilos de música para que pueda identificar qué forma está presente en la pieza musical. Para la música popular, los elementos de forma como el coro, el puente, etc., pueden ser más familiares para identificar, sin embargo, para otros tipos de música, entrenar tu oído es la mejor manera de hacerlo.

Un excelente ejemplo de un tipo de forma muy distinguido es el blues básico: la forma de blues es de 12 compases y su progresión de acordes es muy distintiva porque el acorde I es un acorde dominante, así como el acorde IV, y los músicos han tomado el patrón básico I7-IV7-V como para ser utilizado en el mismo. Se pueden estudiar otras formas como Binaria (AB), Ternaria (ABA), Rondo (ABACA) o (ABACABA), Arco (ABCBA), Sonata (Exposición, Desarrollo, Recapitulación), Tema y Variaciones para que pueda identificarlas mejor para su sesiones

Progresión de acordes:

La mayor parte de la música escrita se basa en escalas y tonalidades. Cada nota de una escala se identifica como un grado. La secuencia y el orden de los acordes basados ​​en estos grados de la escala se denomina progresión de acordes. Los acordes principales son I, IV, V y algunos géneros musicales populares tienen progresiones de acordes distintivas que se pueden identificar fácilmente, como la progresión I-IV-V-I utilizada en la mayoría de las canciones pop. Debido a la variedad de tonalidades y escalas que pueden estar presentes en una canción, las progresiones de acordes pueden ayudarte a identificar la forma de una canción y el género, reconocer frases y temas fácilmente, y ubicar partes musicales para ayudarte a obtener una mejor comprensión del tema musical.

Cadencia:

Como parte de las progresiones de acordes, la forma en que finaliza un tema, frase o idea musical estará acompañada armónicamente por al menos dos acordes que se reconocen como una cadencia. Esta cadencia da una sensación de resolución y se puede clasificar en muchos tipos. Una de las más fáciles de reconocer será la cadencia perfecta que va del acorde V al acorde I donde la nota de bajo es la nota principal (tónica) de cada acorde. Ser capaz de reconocer cadencias durante grandes piezas musicales puede ayudarte con tu proceso creativo mientras mezclas, etc.

Se utilizan algunos otros elementos musicales que te ayudarán a comprender lo que sucede en una canción

Un riff es un patrón de notas que se repiten a lo largo de una pieza musical. Los riffs no se repiten inmediatamente y generalmente se encuentran al final del verso en una canción o en el coro.

Groove, un término tomado de los músicos de jazz, a menudo se refiere a un sentido rítmico de cohesión empleado en una rutina o estilo de práctica musical.

Solo es una sección de improvisación donde actúa cada instrumentista, el orden puede ser predeterminado o no. Los solos se interpretan en forma de tema y el número de vueltas se denominan estribillos.

Los fills son frases melódicas o rítmicas improvisadas, tocadas entre frases del tema.

Un vamp es una figura, sección o acompañamiento musical que se repite hasta que se da la señal para la siguiente sección.

El interludio es un arreglo pre-escrito que sirve como transición entre secciones o solos.

Los breaks son interrupciones momentáneas del discurso musical mientras se mantiene el tiempo. A veces, un solista podría tocar durante el break.

Entrenando tu oído para identificar instrumentos y notas:

Si nunca has escuchado un instrumento que está a punto de grabar, solo pídele al músico que te explique cómo se toca y cualquier otro detalle que te interese saber, pídele al músico que toque el instrumento frente a ti para que puedas escuchar, camina a su alrededor y encuentre el mejor lugar para colocar un micrófono para grabaciones o amplificación.

Afinación:

Identificar instrumentos desafinados puede ser complicado y requiere mucho entrenamiento, por lo que la mejor manera de proceder es recordarle al músico antes de las grabaciones y de vez en cuando durante largas sesiones, que verifique su afinación siempre que sea posible.

El tono o las notas son la forma en que el oído humano entiende la frecuencia en la que cualquier fuente produce una onda de sonido. Cuanto mayor sea la frecuencia, mayor será el tono y viceversa. Los instrumentos musicales pueden producir diferentes rangos de tonos dependiendo de su construcción. Cada nota musical producida por cualquier instrumento tiene una frecuencia relacionada medida en (Hz) que luego se interpretará como un tono o nota específica (do, re, mi, fa, sol, etc.)

Se pueden encontrar muchos recursos en línea para ayudarlte a entrenar tu oído y aprender sobre instrumentos musicales y teoría musical. Si te interesa profundizar en estos conceptos consulta:

Aprende sobre orquestación, escucha cada instrumento musical en una orquesta, su construcción, rango de tonos, consejos, trucos y más:

https://andrewhugill.com/OrchestraManual/

Aprende teoría musical:

https://www.teoriamusical.net/lecciones

Mejore las habilidades básicas de escucha, como la detección de frecuencias (Soundgym ofrece suscripciones a miembros de SoundGirls):

https://www.soundgym.co/

 

Music and Sound. Part 2

Find Part One Here

Do professionals in audio need to be musicians too?

My straight answer will be no, some of the best sound engineers in the industry are not musicians. But if you want my advice as a musician and as a sound engineer, learning some basics about music won’t hurt you.

Being a sound engineer working on projects that involve music treatment such as, recording, editing, mixing, etc., will require you to have and develop some aptitudes and basic knowledge about music that will allow you to have a better performance at your job. This means, even if you are not a musician you will need to have a good ear for music: recognize pitch and tone, recognize which musical instruments are playing, recognize if musical instruments are out of tune, recognize harmonic patterns and form of a piece of music, recognize and follow beats and rhythmic patterns, be sensible to dynamics.

Let’s go deeper into each topic

Recognize and follow beats and rhythmic patterns

The Click:

Every piece of music has a heartbeat called tempo that follows a metronome marking measured in beats per minute (bpm). If a music sheet is available, this metronome marking will be indicated at the top left of the music sheet. It could be indicated by numbers or by musical terms in Italian that give you a hint about the tempo. Most of the time, It will be necessary for recordings and/or live performances to set up the click on your DAW or music software. Depending on the musician’s request, the click can be set to follow the tempo or subdivided, make sure you are familiar with setting up a click on your software before you run your session.

Bars and time signatures:

Beats are grouped into bars, and they can vary depending on the music, bars can also change within the same piece of music. The number of beats on a bar can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Bars can also be set up in your software, it will appear as a number with two digits: one number at the top that indicates how many beats there are inside the bar, and the bottom number that will indicate the type of notes used inside the bar ( half, quarter, eight, etc.). Knowing the time signature will help you with bar counting and following rhythm patterns, it will also help you to locate specific parts in a piece of music. But it will also allow the musician to identify bar counts and pulses.

Strong beat:

Each bar has strong and weak beats that give music memorable rhythmic patterns. Usually, the first beat is the strong beat of the bar (known as downbeat), this feature can be set up on the software so bars can have different accents, levels, and sounds for each beat, helping musicians during their performance. Knowing all these settings when configuring the click and timeline of your session are essential.

Pickup:

Understanding the pickup term or anacrusis is handy when you need to anticipate music recordings or performances. If you hear this term, it will mean that the music will start with a note or a group of notes preceding the first downbeat. Its main characteristic is that the pickup is a partial bar before the first bar of the music starts.

Recognize patterns and forms of a piece of music

Form:

The structure of a piece of music is known as musical form. Familiarizing yourself with the different types of forms can help you organize your session in an efficient way. You will find musical phrases, harmonic structures, chord progressions, modulations, and rhythmic patterns within the music that will help you when it comes to recognizing different forms. A good way to familiarize yourself with it is to hear and read about diverse styles of music so you can identify which form is present in the piece of music. For popular music, forms elements like chorus, and bridge can be more familiar to identify, however, for other types of music training your ear is the best way to go.

One terrific example of a very distinguished type of form is basic blues: Blues form is 12 bars and its chord progression are very distinctive because the I chord is a dominant chord as well as the IV chord and the musicians have taken the Basic I7-IV7-V chord to be used in it. Other forms like Binary (AB), Ternary (ABA) , Rondo (ABACA) or (ABACABA), Arch (ABCBA), Sonata (Exposition, Development, Recapitulation), Theme, And Variations can be studied so you can identify them better for your sessions.

Chord progression:

Most music written is based on scales and keys. Each note of a scale is identified as a grade. The sequence and order of the chords based on these grades of the scale is called a chord progression. The primary chords are I, IV, V, and some popular music genres have distinctive chord progressions that can be identified easily, like the progression I-IV-V-I used in most pop songs. Because of the variety of grades and scales that can be present in a song, chord progressions can help you identify the form of a song and the genre, recognize phrases and themes easily, and locate musical parts to help you get very creative.

Cadence:

As part of the chord progressions, the way a musical theme, phrase, or idea ends will be harmonically accompanied by at least two chords that are recognized as a cadence. This cadence gives a sense of resolution and can be classified into many types. One of the easiest to recognize will be the perfect cadence that goes from V chord to I chord where the bass note is the main note (tonic) of each chord. Being able to recognize cadences during large pieces of music can help you. With your creative process while mixing, etc.

There are some other musical elements used that will help you understand what’s happening in a song

A riff is a pattern of notes that are repeated throughout a piece of music. Riffs do not repeat immediately and are usually found at the end of the verse in a song or in the chorus.

Groove, a term borrowed from jazz musicians, often refers to a rhythmic sense of cohesion employed in a routine or musical practice style.

Solo is an improvisation section where each instrumentalist performs, the order can be predetermined, or not. Solos are performed in the form of the theme and the number of turns are called choruses.

Fill are improvised melodic or rhythmic phrases, played between phrases of the theme.

A vamp is a repeating musical figure, section, or accompaniment until the cue for the next section is given.

An interlude is a pre-written arrangement that serves as a transition between sections or solos.

Breaks are momentary interruption of musical discourse while time is maintained. Sometimes, a soloist could play during the break (solo break).

Training your ear to identify instruments and pitch

If you have never heard an instrument you are about to record, just ask the musician to explain to you how is it played and any other details you might be interested in knowing, ask the musician to play the instrument in front of you so you can hear it, walk around it and find the best place to place a microphone for recordings or amplifications.

Tunning:

Identifying instruments out of tune can be tricky and it takes a lot of training so the best way to proceed is to remind the musician before recordings and every once in a while during long sessions, to check their tuning every time possible.

Pitch is how the human ear understands the frequency at which a sound wave is being produced by any source. The higher the frequency the higher the pitch and vice versa. Musical instruments can produce different pitch ranges depending on its construction. Each musical note produced by any instrument has a related frequency measured in (Hz) that will then be interpreted as a specific pitch or note (c, d, e, f, g, etc.)

Many resources can be found online to help you train your ear and learn about musical instruments and music theory. If you are interested in going deeper into these concepts check out:

Learn about orchestration, listen to every musical instrument in an orchestra, their construction, pitch range, tips, tricks, and more :

https://andrewhugill.com/OrchestraManual/

Learn music theory:

https://www.musictheory.net/lessons

Improve core listening skills like frequency detection (Soundgym offers SoundGirls Members Subscriptions to the service):

https://www.soundgym.co/

 

How to Communicate About Audio With Non-Audio People

The language we use to do to do our jobs spans across a lot of areas (audio, acoustics, electronics, technology, psychoacoustics, music, film, and more). Our clients, on the other hand, may not have much language to convey what they want. The mix notes I get may be as broad as, “I don’t like that” or “something doesn’t feel right.” My job is to fix it and deliver a product they are happy with but how do you do that without language?

Everyone has preferences for sound even if they don’t have the language to convey it. It takes time to uncover these preferences, and that’s part of our job. It’s like a painting where you can see the outline of what to paint but don’t know what color palette to use. Some people like bright colors and others prefer pastels. Some people know their favorite colors right away, and others want to see you paint a bit then have you change it (and maybe change it again). It takes some trial and error to discover their “color palette,” but once you know it, you can make choices that will likely be in their taste (or at least close enough to have a discussion about it).

In music, this is knowing that the drummer will want less vocals in the monitor before they ask. It’s knowing that the lead singer wants a slap delay on her voice on the album. In post, it’s knowing that a producer wants to hear every footstep or doesn’t like a particular cymbal the composer used in the score. Having this knowledge of someone’s taste builds trust because it lets them know that you understand what they want. It’s what gets you re-hired and over time establishes you as “the” engineer or mixer for that person (or group).

Finding these preferences takes investigation. Our job, in that sense, is like a doctor and a patient. For a doctor, there’s a lot of questions about symptoms, recent health, etc. because the patient doesn’t have the same expertise. The approach is the same here with a mix note: “Are the guitars loud enough for you? Is it something about the dialog bothering you? When you say it doesn’t feel right, is it a balance issue or a timing issue?”

Sometimes the message can get conveyed without using proper language. For example, non-audio people may use the word “echo” to mean reverb. One common note is something is “too loud” or “too soft.” But, the problem might be something else (is it perceived as too loud because it’s bright? Is it too exposed vs. too loud?). With notes, you have to ask yourself: does this need to be taken literally or is it an observation that might be pointing to another issue?

For example, a producer I work with likes to give me a sound design note: “Play around with it.” Does that mean he likes what’s already there but wants more? Or, does he want something totally different? I’ve learned that’s his way of saying “I don’t know what I want or like yet.” I sometimes do more than one version including one out of his normal taste (a different “color palette,” so to speak). I find that helps him define what he likes (or doesn’t) by hearing two contrasting ideas.

You can adapt to a client’s strengths, too. A filmmaker I work with doesn’t know audio well, but he’s very good at conveying moods. We talk about the moods of the film and specific scenes, and I interpret that into audio. He might give a note like, “I want to feel the car wreck.” I know what that means (in audio terms) is he wants a lot of detail in the sound design, and the car crash should be at the forefront of the mix.

Talking about moods is a useful technique with musicians, too. Should it be intimate, polished, rough around the edges, massive, etc.? Do they like clean studio recordings or does it make them uncomfortable? Should it feel like a private living room performance, a rowdy bar or a stadium? You obviously won’t be adding bar patrons to a music mix but knowing that will influence the approach to the mix from vocal treatments to EQs, balances, reverbs, and effects.

Where this gets tricky is when people use words that aren’t audio words at all. Sometimes we can translate or offer other words. “When you say it sounds too ‘shiny’ do you mean it sounds bright or shrill? Or too clean and you want it more gritty?” If someone is struggling to convey what they want, they might be able to think of an example from somewhere else (an album, movie, or Youtube video). It might be totally unrelated, but it can help figure out what they’re asking for.

The most effective way to be a good communicator with clients is to have a diverse audio language yourself. It’s a great skill to talk about audio using words not related to audio. You can make an exercise of this by asking, “what words could I use to explain what I hear?” Walking on leaves could be crispy, crunchy, and noisy but it also could be like Pop Rocks, crinkling paper, or eating cereal. So, the next time a client asks you about the “gaggle of Girl Scouts”** in the mix, you’ll have a better idea what they’re talking about.

(**This was a real note I got from a client. The sound was actually a pan flute.)

Weapons Up: Explorations into Radio Drama

Over the past six years, my main areas of work have been as a sound designer, voice actor, and producer for commercial, gaming and animation voice demos,

These disciplines often overlap and complement each other. I’ve provided voice-overs for plays that I’ve sound-designed, for example, and actors for whom I’ve produced voice demos have recommended me as a sound designer to directors. But sometimes an opportunity arises that is such a great combination of your skills and interests, you wonder why you didn’t think of exploring it earlier. My introduction to sound design for radio drama was this kind of opportunity.

Back in October last year, I received an email from a voice actor friend, who approached myself and two other actor friends with the idea of creating a showcase for our voice acting skills, in the form of an audio, or radio, drama. We would write a short script for four female actors, record and produce it and then send it out to radio drama directors and producers who we thought might be interested in hiring us.

The UK has a long history of radio drama, mainly thanks to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which broadcasts hundreds of radio dramas every year. The creative possibilities of radio dramas appeal to me both as a sound designer and an actor. For me, it’s about learning how to tell stories without relying on what you can see.

Initially, I planned on acting in one or more roles in our fledging radio drama and doing all the sound design and mixing. Then in a flash of inspiration one afternoon I drafted an initial synopsis for a dramatic science-fiction thriller, and after a few drafts, it became apparent that while everybody loved the story, nobody else in the team was keen to take on the task of actually writing a script based on it. And so I found myself writing, sound designing, mixing and acting in a sci-fi radio drama called The Converged.

Once the script was ready, we booked a studio that could accommodate four actors in the same studio, found an experienced director and recorded three takes of the script in an hour-long session.

My first task after I got the recordings back to my studio was more editorial role than sound design or mixing. I had to decide what take to use for each line. As our script was short and we weren’t under any pressure from a commercial publishing company, we had the luxury of having two hours of rehearsal time with our director beforehand, and being able to record three full takes plus pickups and efforts (grunts, groans, and other vocalisations). Rehearsals and multiple takes are pretty much unheard of in the commercial work of radio drama – most directors aim to record between 60 – 90 minutes of material per day, which doesn’t leave any time for rehearsals and limited time for multiple takes.

So it was a bonus to have three full takes of the script. The director had given me a few notes on his preferences, plus I had made notes during the recording session – one of the benefits of acting in the play as well. But I would still need to make the final choices of which take to use for each line.

Each character was recorded on a separate track during the recording session. The engineer had also kindly labeled the different takes, so I had three audio files per character, one for each take, which I could lay them out in Protools on separate tracks. I immediately discarded the first take, as a quick way to reduce my options. That left takes two and three, which I could A/B to find the take for each line that I thought worked the best. I did this for each character – fortunately, there are only five in total!

The next step was editing, made much easier by the fact that I didn’t have to do much cleanup, thanks to high-quality recordings, and processing on each vocal channel.

Then I left the voiceovers alone for a little while to concentrate on the next important piece in the process: planning the sound design.

My two main reasons for writing a sci-fi script were a mix of creative and purely practical.  There is a lot of scope for creative sound work within the sci-fi genre, and I already have an extensive library of sci-fi sound effects. Normally, I like to create as many sounds from scratch as possible, but I knew I would only have a short window to design and mix the first episode, hence wanting to stay within the boundaries of what I could already accommodate.

I also knew that if we wanted to produce more episodes of the drama (and we do – there’s a cliffhanger at the end of Episode 1 for this very reason), I would need to have a plan of the overall tone and style for the design.  Throwing in random sounds that sound impressive won’t work for an episodic drama where the sonic world needed to be consistent enough to be recognisable from episode to episode, and adaptable enough to sonically create a variety of environments.

I divided my overall sound design plan for The Converged into categories: atmospheres and drones, interface beeps and noises, weapons, explosions, foley (mainly footsteps, doors and operating various tools), mechanical sounds, vocal processing and miscellaneous.

Following a timeline of the script, I mapped out the important points for each category. These included: where we needed to hear a change of the base environment (for an atmosphere or drone), or a character used equipment or a weapon, where the Foley happened and when the vocal processing would change depending on the character.  For example, when characters needed to sound like they were in space suits.

The major choices I made about vocal processing were the sounds of the astronaut suits and the AI character. A plugin called Cosmonaut came to my rescue on the first, and I auditioned various modulation plugins until I found one that gave the detached, slightly jarring chorused quality that I wanted for the second.

Once I had my sound map, I started making decisions about the sounds themselves. How futuristic did I want the spaceship (the location for the episode) to sound? Ultra high-tech or a bit more organic? In the end, I went for a combination of processed organic electronic sounds (bell-like chimes for interface noises), and recognisable mechanical Foley sounds e.g. the sound of metal doors opening and closing on military ships and rifle handling sounds.

After I had all my sounds in place, it was time for track-laying and mixing.  Panning is particularly vital in a creative sense for audio drama. Without a picture to follow, it’s up to the sound designer to locate the action for the listener for each scene and make sure it makes sense with the script and the story. When you don’t have a picture as a reference point, it’s easy to forget that a character is a collection of sounds – footsteps, equipment beeps, clothing movement, gun movement – and not just a voice.

The teaser for Episode 1 was released last week with the full episode due to be released within the next month.

I’ve learned a lot from my first foray into radio drama, and I already know there will be some changes to the sound of Episode 1 of The Converged, and probably to the sound of the following episodes as well.

It would be interesting to incorporate binaural sound, especially in sci-fi drama. I’d also like to experiment with the ideas explored in the film Gravity, of only hearing sound in space when conducted through touch. Possibly a step too far for a radio drama? After this introduction to its creative possibilities, I’m keen to continue my explorations.

 

Part Time Mixer… and Part-Time What?

 

Years ago when I was a studio assistant, there was a freelance mixer who everyone at the studio loved. Vince was funny, totally calm in stressful situations, and genuinely wanted to get to know everyone. When he’d get free lunch (a perk mixers sometimes get for working through breaks), Vince would often share with his assistant, or he’d just order something, say he’d eat it later, and sneak it to us in the machine room.

On one hectic day, I was on three sessions with tech issues that all needed my attention. Assisting on those kinds of days was like working in a busy ER. “What are your symptoms? Have you taken any medicine?” you’d say while handing a prescription and heading to a more urgent patient. As always, Vince was patient and understanding as I was troubleshooting and running between mix bays.

At the end of the day, I stopped by his bay and we got to talking. We laughed as he told stories about working with people like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Lloyd. I realized I didn’t know where else he worked since he wasn’t at the studio every day. He said, “I work at a jail.” After my crazy day, I assumed he was joking and said, “I know how you feel!”

“No, I mean, really… I work at a correctional facility in downtown Los Angeles.” He could tell I was totally confused.

“After working in audio for 15 years I just got tired of it. Especially the stress. I had been volunteering at a correctional facility counseling and rehabilitating inmates. When a part-time job opened up, I took it.” I was surprised that someone with his level of audio expertise and credits would make such a drastic change. I asked, “when you’re doing something for a living, is it bound to become a job?”

“Absolutely,” He said. “But it’s the environment, too. This can be a grind when it’s only about quantity and getting it done fast. I still like working on TV and music when I can actually spend time on it.”

After our talk, I realized that perspective was how he could stay calm in hectic sessions and with difficult clients. Client has an “emergency”? He would laugh and say, “this stuff isn’t life or death… it’s television.” It’s easy to lose perspective in a busy studio environment especially if you’re friends with co-workers outside of work. It would bring us back to reality when Vince would come in with a new buzz cut that an inmate gave him (at the prison barber shop), or mention the death row inmate he met with before coming to the studio.

I learned from Vince that the issues that come up at work (and the issues our clients have) are important – but there are ways to acknowledge and accommodate our clients and colleagues without being completely self-sacrificing. Our time, energy, relationships, and health are important, too. When you engage with friends, family, interests, hobbies or even jobs outside the industry it serves as a perspective – a reminder that what we do for work (and some of the environments we work in) aren’t normal. Perspective keeps you grounded when you’re asked to do something like, “Can you squeeze in 20 hours this weekend after working a 60-hour week?” It also helps you see objectively when something happens around you that isn’t right.

Perspective also helps us see our work/life balance. Burnout happens when you don’t have a good balance (or more like the “all work/no life” balance). Balance changes over time – At one point in your career you may love working 14 days in a row but later you may want that part-time job outside the industry. Balance can sway the other direction, too; “all life/no work” balance can mean underemployed or consumed by something personal. Finding balance doesn’t have to be a life crisis or career crisis, and change isn’t always permanent. When things feel out of balance, it’s a sign that something needs to change – at least for a while.

Ultimately, we get to choose what balance works best for us – whether that job title is engineer/mixer or engineer/cupcake maker. Sometimes it takes mentors or people with a different balance (like Vince) to give us perspective… and to remind us why it matters.

 

Tiffany Hendren – Dedication, Hard Work and Emotion

By: Toni Venditti

Tiffany Hendren was one of those kids that listened to the teacher with one ear and had music playing in the other. Her hair hid the headphones of the CD player shoved into her backpack at her feet (yes, it was the 90’s). There was one CD; Aenima by Tool, that she listened to so many times that the disc stopped working!

Listening to music was (and still is) about feelings for Tiffany. She explains that music to her is like a rollercoaster of emotions elicited by a really great album and her mixes are based on these feelings that she gets to share with the audience.  As a full-time sound engineer, she is involved in making people feel the emotion in the music the way that she does, albeit a little differently. Whether it’s pushing up the fader for a particularly awesome guitar solo or dialing in the perfect vocal effect for a more intimate song, it’s hugely rewarding to watch people experience the music instead of just listening to it, and know that she has had a part to play in that.

When she was at school she was pretty set on being a performer – the kind of performer that made people feel the way she felt when she listened to a song. However, she was well aware that she had no actual talent to speak of, aside from a halfway-decent singing voice, and taking lessons of any sort was out of the question. It was her sophomore English teacher who opened up the world of sound to her by assigning her to do a report on what she wanted to be when she grew up. Tiffany still badly wanted to be involved in the industry, but her perceived lack of talent started her researching the other types of jobs available.

Her other interests were mainly in computing and electronics, so the tech side called out to her pretty loudly. At first, she thought of engineering in a studio, but then she found out that live sound engineers existed.  Growing up in a small rural-ish town, she had never been to a concert or any major experience and had only seen that type of event on TV. It never occurred to her that anything really went on behind the scenes, so to find this out was pretty exciting and the idea that she didn’t have to be on stage to be part of a live show was SO exhilarating. When she started going to concerts regularly, there was nothing more she wanted than to do live sound.

The next ten years took Tiffany in another direction. She joined the military and worked a couple of office jobs because having money was sort of a priority at the time. She also spent a fair amount of time working for a local/regional rock band, organizing the street team and doing merch and some light tour managing when they were on the road. Tiffany’s experience from the office jobs really paid off for this role when it came to paperwork, organization, and time management. At the same time she was taking classes for a degree in Public Relations – her fallback career choice was music industry PR. Looking back, Tiffany is convinced this is something she would have hated, so she is rather pleased she didn’t follow that path.

In late 2008, Tiffany was laid off from her last office job, starting a new direction in her life and leading her back to her first love. She started working in the coffee/merch shop of The Pageant in St. Louis. After a few months, an audio intern position opened up and Tiffany grabbed it with both hands. She spent the next year and a half interning in The Halo Bar, a 150 capacity venue attached to The Pageant, as well as reading and watching everything audio-related she could find.

Working in The Halo Bar involved a lot of what Tiffany refers to as “combat audio”. The gear is decently maintained, but as the gear is older things are more likely to break at the exact worst moment, which gave Tiffany the best experience in troubleshooting. The internship also offered the opportunity to learn skills in a lower-stress environment. When The Pageant’s full-time monitor engineer moved on to a new venue, Tiffany was offered his position. While not being exactly qualified, her boss had faith in her and within a few months, it was relatively smooth sailing.

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The gear at the Pageant is all analog at the moment. They have a Midas XL250 for monitors and a Heritage 1000 and two giant racks of outboard gear at FOH, and they all work!  Tiffany loves the sound of the analog Midas compared to most of the digital desks that are out there, but the venue is aware that it’s not the most convenient for visiting monitor engineers who don’t travel with a console. Eventually, they will go digital, at least in the monitor world, but Tiffany thinks they are secretly waiting for something tragically sad to happen to the XL250 first!

If you ask Tiffany what her favorite desk, PA, piece of outboard gear, etc. is, she will quickly tell you that it’s whatever is available and working properly! When touring with A Silent Film, it’s desk du jour. Some of her favorite shows have been mixed on an M32 from an iPad. Getting back to the feelings that music produces, Tiffany really enjoys mixing from the crowd instead of FOH – calling it unconventional but she personally enjoys the show a lot more and likes to hear exactly what the fans are hearing. Plus, the bar seems to be exactly where the FOH should be in a lot of smaller venues, and she thinks it’s nice to not be stuck under a stairwell or against a wall at the back of the room.  Tiffany tells us that it definitely helps that the iPad app for the M32 is surprisingly well done. If she had an endless budget, however, she would definitely prefer the DiGiCo and Midas Pro series desks.

The Pageant is currently in the process of deciding on consoles and PA for their new sister venue, the 800 capacity Delmar Hall. Tiffany will be the FOH engineer when it opens. She’s also continually learning and this year is taking a few classes that she is excited about – SMAART training and a stage electrics class.

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Live Sound Camp for Girls 2015

Mentors played a huge part in Tiffany’s learning. The Pageant’s FOH and monitor engineers, Randy Noldge and Adrian Silverstein, really took her under their wing when she first started learning sound. Tiffany says she wouldn’t be where is today without their patience and willingness to teach. Also, Tiffany looks up to and really admires Soundgirls.Org co-founder – Karrie Keyes saying “she’s one of the most driven and productive people I’ve ever met. I have absolutely no idea how she gets so much work done every day”.  Tiffany says Karrie is a living embodiment of the DIY mindset – Karrie will say – “Don’t know how? Figure it out and then go do it.” Plus, Tiffany declares Karrie is an excellent teacher, and Tiffany really enjoys being involved in the live sound camps with Karrie.

Tiffany has experienced some discrimination working in a lot of male-dominated workplaces and industries, saying “you can always run into the odd sexist remark or behavior no matter where you go, but I’ve been mostly lucky with my jobs”. Tiffany would like to stress here that the majority of people that she has worked within this industry are awesome and treat her like a human being, however, she finds that most of the bad experiences are confined to other crew members. She has run into a person or two that “just doesn’t work with women”. One memory that remains is where one crew member even tried to have her sent home and she has definitely had a few people get a little too touchy-feely. One guy in a town wouldn’t let her mix the band who had hired her – he wouldn’t even speak to her! On tour, it takes longer than expected for some house engineers to warm up. Tiffany’s solution is to just get the job done, saying that once they see her pushing cases and setting up drums, they’re suddenly much friendlier.

Tiffany has actually lost tour work by being a woman, with excuses like “We’re just a bunch of guys, you wouldn’t fit in with us,” and “The band’s wives wouldn’t be comfortable with a woman on the bus”!!! On top of that, some guys have the idea that women are mainly interested in working in the music industry so they can date guys in bands.

The idea that being a woman is a setback is not only confined to the music industry, though. Women have to work harder and be better at their jobs, flawless even, to get the same recognition and reputation, and for less money.  The band Tiffany is working with at the moment were shocked that this attitude exists, as it had never entered their minds that working with a woman would be any different than working with a man.

Sometimes she will have a show to do that has previously had women working for them and will hear comments like, “Oh, the monitor engineer is a girl, we’re gonna have a good night!” At this point, Tiffany has just introduced herself and hasn’t lifted a finger but somehow, everything is going to be awesome. It makes her happy to think they have encountered other women out there that are awesome and kicking ass, making her job easier.

Tiffany’s message to young girls coming into the industry is “take physics, math, and music classes. Don’t put up with any nonsense and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t”. She recalls reading an article posted by SoundGirls about how men are more willing to take a position they’re not fully qualified for and figure it out as they go, and women feel like they have to know the skills 110% before they even think about applying.  This really made her examine how she’d been approaching her career, as she had always felt that she was being judged extra hard because she was female. Whether that’s true or not, she felt she had to be perfect all the time with no mistakes, ever. That meant that she didn’t take a lot of chances on things she wasn’t sure about – her mantra being  – If you don’t know every little thing about how that piece of outboard gear works you had better not touch it until you do hours of research!

Tiffany says that when she started, there were no women around her on a regular basis until she discovered SoundGirls.Org, and she could count the number of female sound techs she’d met in the previous five years on less than two hands. Also, she had never seen a woman behind the board at any show she had attended. She states now that if she’d had a group of like-minded women as mentors, she would have been so much more comfortable asking questions, experimenting more, and generally taking more chances.unnamed (6)

Tiffany is currently the monitor engineer at The Pageant in St. Louis and tours with the band “A Silent Film” doing FOH. She has been involved in sound professionally for around seven years, full-time about five. Tiffany became the co-director of SoundGirls.Org in August 2015. She also co-produces an annual invitational motorcycle showcase in St. Louis, MO – Cycle Showcase STL. When she gets some time – her other hobbies include crocheting scarves that never get finished, cross-stitching bad words onto things, learning to actually ride her motorcycle, and finally taking guitar lessons.

The Life Long Learner

Personal growth and professional growth work hand in hand for me. The more I expand my mindset, the greater the possibilities. Julia Child said it best “You’ll never know everything about anything, especially something you love.” So why should we stop learning, right?

I started my journey in media at a young age within a place of worship. Audio has always been my focus point. But I noticed as an in-house engineer once communication was set and audio was brought up to a standard of excellence there was still more work to be done. Which led me to expand my reach as a freelance technician.

Once I set up a multimedia platform for one worship center I continued to research equipment that could take the worshiping experience to the next level. From audio consoles to projectors, from lights to CD duplication. From live broadcasting to DVD production, they all played a significant role in creating this great experience. The leaders loved the thought of having all these outlets to help spread the gospel. Not only did it help the leaders and the congregation. It helped me gain experience, which births excellent technicians.

After working in places of worship for over eight years and graduating from a Media Tech Institute with a diploma in audio engineering and multimedia. I choose to see what other routes I could go with this passion and experience. I then found the wonderful world of AV (Audio and Visuals). A place where being proficient in all areas of event technology is golden. I had been in AV for years and didn’t even know it. I just specialized in worship centers; now I’m branching out even more. Seeing what all the world has to offer a young audio engineer willing to learn and grow.

Being an audio engineer can take you in many different directions, but no matter which route you take, the more you know, the more you grow. You can start as a monitor engineer and then move to mixing at FOH. You can be a boom microphone operator and develop into recording and mixing Foley. I started in AV as a stagehand just doing load in and load-outs. You never know, continue to keep an open mind. Never stop learning. The possibilities are endless, so is the amount of growth within the industry. Once you feel you know everything there is to know, you put a cap on yourself and opportunities. Don’t be a know it all, be willing to learn it all.

Would You Say That to Your Boss?

 

In my position, I spend the majority of my time teaching new students how to run the equipment we own. All the artists know they are coming to a college where learning occurs, and a majority of the audience members know this too.  We constantly hear from artists that we have better equipment and are more prepared than the last school they were at, and I pride myself on that achievement. My expectations for a show are no less than what a professional production person would produce. (more…)

Michelle Desachy – Fighter – Forging a Path

10247361_10152485822777272_4407332563405838303_nMichelle Desachy is a music producer, recording and mixing engineer and musician based in Mexico City. (more…)

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