Mixing for music is a great example of where art meets science, and for any engineer, expanding upon musical listening skills can bridge any gap between the two. We investigate…
Art Or Science?
Audio technology and recorded music have been inextricably linked since the very earliest Phonautograph and Phonograph recordings from the middle of the 19th century. From then on, the process of capturing and replaying music became perhaps the first in which scientists and technicians found themselves working alongside artistic types who were purely engaged in the creative process of singing and playing musical instruments. Fast forward to the 21st century, and the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking nothing has changed!
Of course those in the industry know differently, with the line between engineer and musician becoming increasingly blurred with tools that get cleverer, better, and cheaper by the month. While those with a pure engineering background can occasionally find themselves on record through the medium of background vocals, extra handclaps, percussion, or other instruments, it is perhaps the musician who has crossed over the most into the other’s territory.
The whole discussion in the audio technology industry revolves around either tools for the professional engineer, or those for the musician who find themselves with a fanbase on one hand and a hard drive in the other. The latter scenario can undoubtedly empower the musician in most situations when they understand the technical skills others bring to their music, but there is far less emphasis on expanding the musical awareness of those holding the technical cards.
Relative And Absolute Pitch
For the engineers who don’t play music, having a good knowledge of the different sounds and registers of instrumentation is a big bonus. Also very useful is knowing when and how to offer an extra perspective for those times when the artist needs musical help or isn’t hearing something. On this last point, tuning is paramount, but having a wider awareness of musical pitch is also invaluable.
Absolute, or Perfect pitch is where someone can hear a note and intrinsically know what note’s name is. Relative pitch is where the listener can discern the exact distance between notes (the “interval”) and apply this to finding or ‘hearing’ the right chords or notes. Some people can hear music but cannot play it, but that does not mean that they will never be able to play. Conversely some can play instruments extremely well or record and mix an entire band without pitch skills, but there is sometimes a notion that this cannot be learned.
Use Your Ear
Using a different approach to conventional teaching methods, Use Your Ear offers a free ear training workshop that students access via an email registration. It is intended for people who want to improve their musical recognition skills (for those “what’s that chord?” moments), and those of relative pitch. The three hour workshop is not just for musicians or engineers, and is intended for anyone with the desire to improve their skills including music lovers, audiologists, musicologists, or anyone who is open to the idea that having pitch isn’t something that others have sold their souls to obtain…
What Use Your Ear Say About Their Free Course:
Discover a science-based model that reveals the secrets great musicians use, without even knowing it, to recognize music on the fly ... secrets that anyone can harness to quickly develop a pro-caliber musical ear.
Preview our step-by-step method to develop relative pitch faster and easier than you ever imagined. See first-hand how our students get results quickly, experiencing music on a much deeper level in a matter of weeks — no more tedious mental math on intervals.
Practice multiple exercises during the workshop. You’ll discover the right way to recognize melodies and chords, so you walk away with practical direction based on your own skill level and sticking points. You will know how to improve, instead of just guessing.
Learn which exercises to avoid at all costs — ineffective exercises, prescribed by generations of well-meaning music teachers, that doom 99.9% of promising musicians to failure — so you can avoid years of frustration and lack of progress.
Get TWO GIFTS, available nowhere else, to help you build on the concepts and exercises you learn during the workshop.
Being A Better Engineer
However listening skills are improved upon, there is no doubt that having a greater understanding of the skills the person sat next to you has makes for a much stronger creative partnership. Musical pitch might not be learnable for everyone, but it will be for many who thought it impossible. Whatever the aim or method, it’s true to say that we can never stop learning in whatever we do.