Wikipedia

Audio engineer

Anaudio engineer(also known as asound engineerorrecording engineer)[1][2]helps to produce arecordingor alive performance,balancing and adjusting sound sources usingequalization,dynamics processingandaudio effects,mixing,reproduction, andreinforcementof sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing ofmicrophones,pre-ampknobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer… "[3]

An audio engineer with audio console, at a recording session at theDanish Broadcasting Corporation

Sound engineering is increasingly seen as a creative profession where musical instruments and technology are used to producesoundfor film, radio, television, music and video games.[4]Audio engineers also set up, sound check and do live sound mixing using amixing consoleand a sound reinforcement system for music concerts, theatre, sports games and corporate events.

Alternatively,audio engineercan refer to ascientistor professionalengineerwho holds an engineering degree and who designs, develops and builds audio or musical technology working under terms such aselectronic/electrical engineeringor (musical)signal processing.[5]

Research and development

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Research and developmentaudio engineers invent new technologies, audio software, equipment and techniques, to enhance the process and art of audio engineering.[6]They might design acoustical simulations of rooms, shape algorithms foraudio signal processing,specify the requirements forpublic addresssystems, carry out research on audible sound forvideo game consolemanufacturers, and other advanced fields of audio engineering. They might also be referred to as acoustic engineers.[7][8]

Education

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See also:Category:Audio engineering schools

Audio engineers working in research and development may come from backgrounds such asacoustics,computer science,broadcast engineering,physics,acoustical engineering,electrical engineeringandelectronics.Audio engineering courses at university or college fall into two rough categories: (i) training in the creative use of audio as a sound engineer, and (ii) training inscienceorengineeringtopics, which then allows students to apply these concepts while pursuing a career developing audio technologies. Audio training courses provide knowledge of technologies and their application torecording studiosandsound reinforcement systems,but do not have sufficient mathematical and scientific content to allow someone to obtain employment in research and development in the audio and acoustic industry.[9]

Noted audio engineerRoger Nicholsat a vintage Neve recording console

Audio engineers in research and development usually possess abachelor's degree,master's degreeor higher qualification in acoustics, physics, computer science or another engineering discipline. They might work in acoustic consultancy, specializing inarchitectural acoustics.[10]Alternatively they might work in audio companies (e.g.headphonemanufacturer), or other industries that need audio expertise (e.g.,automobilemanufacturer), or carry out research in a university. Some positions, such asfaculty (academic staff)require aDoctor of Philosophy.InGermanyaToningenieuris an audio engineer who designs, builds and repairs audio systems.[citation needed]

Sub-disciplines

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The listed subdisciplines are based on PACS (Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme) coding used by theAcoustical Society of Americawith some revision.[11]

Audio signal processing

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Audio engineers developaudio signal processingalgorithms to allow the electronic manipulation of audio signals. These can be processed at the heart of much audio production such asreverberation,Auto-Tuneor perceptual coding (e.g.MP3orOpus). Alternatively, the algorithms might performecho cancellation,or identify and categorize audio content throughmusic information retrievaloracoustic fingerprint.[12]

Architectural acoustics

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Acoustic diffusing mushrooms hanging from the roof of theRoyal Albert Hall

Architectural acousticsis the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a room.[13]For audio engineers, architectural acoustics can be about achieving good speech intelligibility in a stadium or enhancing the quality of music in a theatre.[14]Architectural Acoustic design is usually done by acoustic consultants.[10]

Electroacoustics

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See also:Sound reinforcement system
The Pyramid Stage

Electroacoustics is concerned with the design of headphones, microphones, loudspeakers, sound reproduction systems and recording technologies.[8]Examples of electroacoustic design include portable electronic devices (e.g.mobile phones,portable media players,andtablet computers), sound systems in architectural acoustics,surround soundandwave field synthesisinmovie theaterandvehicle audio.

Musical acoustics

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Musical acousticsis concerned with researching and describing the science of music. In audio engineering, this includes the design of electronic instruments such assynthesizers;the human voice (the physics andneurophysiologyofsinging);physical modelingof musical instruments;room acousticsof concert venues;music information retrieval;music therapy,and the perception and cognition ofmusic.[15][16]

Psychoacoustics

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Psychoacousticsis the scientific study of how humans respond to what they hear. At the heart of audio engineering are listeners who are the final arbitrator as to whether an audio design is successful, such as whether abinaural recordingsounds immersive.[12]

Speech

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The production, computer processing and perception ofspeechis an important part of audio engineering. Ensuring speech is transmitted intelligibly, efficiently and with high quality; in rooms, through public address systems and through mobile telephone systems are important areas of study.[17]

Practitioner

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Live sound mixing
At thefront of houseposition, mixing sound for a band

A variety of terms are used to describe audio engineers who install or operatesound recording,sound reinforcement,or soundbroadcastingequipment, including large and small formatconsoles.Terms such as "audio technician", "sound technician", "audio engineer", "audio technologist", "recording engineer", "sound mixer", "mixing engineer" and "sound engineer" can be ambiguous; depending on the context they may be synonymous, or they may refer to different roles in audio production. Such terms can refer to a person working in sound and music production; for instance, a "sound engineer" or "recording engineer" is commonly listed in the credits of commercial music recordings (as well as in other productions that include sound, such as movies). These titles can also refer to technicians who maintain professional audio equipment. Certain jurisdictions specifically prohibit the use of the titleengineerto any individual not a registered member of aprofessional engineering licensing body.

In the recording studio environment, a sound engineer records, edits, manipulates, mixes, ormasterssound by technical means to realize the creative vision of the artist andrecord producer.While usually associated with music production, an audio engineer deals with sound for a wide range of applications, includingpost-productionforvideoandfilm,live sound reinforcement,advertising,multimedia,and broadcasting. In larger productions, an audio engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of a sound recording or other audio production, and works together with a record producer or director, although the engineer's role may also be integrated with that of the producer. In smaller productions and studios the sound engineer and producer are often the same person.

In typical sound reinforcement applications, audio engineers often assume the role of producer, making artistic and technical decisions, and sometimes even scheduling and budget decisions.[18]

Education and training

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See also:Category:Audio engineering schools

Audio engineers come from backgrounds or postsecondary training in fields such as audio,fine arts,broadcasting, music, or electrical engineering. Training in audio engineering and sound recording is offered by colleges and universities. Some audio engineers areautodidactswith no formal training, but who have attained professional skills in audio through extensive on-the-job experience.

Audio engineers must have extensive knowledge of audio engineering principles and techniques. For instance, they must understand how audio signals travel, which equipment to use and when, how to mic different instruments and amplifiers, which microphones to use and how to position them to get the best quality recordings. In addition to technical knowledge, an audio engineer must have the ability to problem-solve quickly. The best audio engineers also have a high degree of creativity that allows them to stand out amongst their peers. In the music realm, an audio engineer must also understand the types of sounds and tones that are expected in musical ensembles across different genres—rockandpop music,for example. This knowledge of musical style is typically learned from years of experience listening to and mixing music in recording or live sound contexts. For education and training, there are audio engineering schools all over the world.

Role of women

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According toWomen's Audio Mission(WAM), a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to the advancement ofwomen in musicproduction and the recording arts, less than 5% of the people working in the field of sound and media are women.[19]"Only three women have ever been nominated for best producer at the Brits or theGrammys"and none won either award.[20]According toSusan Rogers,audio engineer and professor atBerklee College of Music,women interested in becoming an audio engineer face "a boys' club, or a guild mentality".[20]The UK "Music Producers' Guild says less than 4% of its members are women" and at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, "only 6% of the students enrolled on its sound technology course are female."[20]

Women's Audio Mission was started in 2003 to address the lack of women inprofessional audioby training over 6,000 women and girls in the recording arts and is the only professional recording studio built and run by women.[21]Notable recording projects include the Grammy Award-winningKronos Quartet,Angelique Kidjo(2014 Grammy winner), authorSalman Rushdie,the Academy Award-nominated soundtrack to "Dirty Wars",[22]Van-Ahn Vo (NPR's top 50 albums of 2013), Grammy-nominatedSt. Lawrence Quartet,andworld musicartistsTanya TagaqandWu Man.[citation needed]

There certainly are efforts to chronicle women's role and history in audio. Leslie Gaston-Bird wrote Women in Audio,[23]which includes 100 profiles of women in audio through history. Sound Girls is an organization focused on the next generation of women in audio, but also has been building up resources and directories of women in audio.[24]Women in Soundis another organization that has been working to highlight women and nonbinary people in all areas of live and recorded sound through an online zine and podcast featuring interviews of current audio engineers and producers.

One of the first women to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her ownrock and rollmusic label wasCordell Jackson(1923–2004).Trina Shoemakeris a mixer, record producer andsound engineerwho became the first woman to win theGrammy Award for Best Engineered Albumin 1998 for her work onThe Globe Sessions.[25]

Gail Davieswas the first female producer incountry music,delivering a string of Top 10 hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "Someone Is Looking for Someone Like You","Blue Heartache"and"I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)".[26]When she moved toNashvillein 1976, men "didn't want to work for a woman" and she was told women in the city were "still barefoot, pregnant and [singing] in the vocal booth."[26]When Jonell Polansky arrived in Nashville in 1994, with a degree in electrical engineering and recording experience in the Bay Area, she was told "You're a woman, and we already had one" —a reference toWendy Waldman.[26]KK Proffitt, a studio "owner and chief engineer", states that men in Nashville do not want to have women in the recording booth. At a meeting of theAudio Engineering Society,Proffitt was told to "shut up" by a male producer when she raised the issue of updating studio recording technologies.[26]Proffitt said she "finds sexism rampant in the industry".[26]

Other notable women include:

Sub-disciplines

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There are four distinct steps to the commercial production of a recording: recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. Typically, each is performed by a sound engineer who specializes only in that part of the production.

  • Studio engineer – an engineer working within a studio facility, either with a producer or independently.
  • Recording engineer – the engineer who records sound.
  • Assistant engineer – often employed in larger studios, allowing them to train to become full-time engineers. They often assist full-time engineers with microphone setups, session breakdowns and in some cases, rough mixes.[18]
  • Mixing engineer– a person who creates mixes of multi-track recordings. It is common to record a commercial record at one studio and have it mixed by different engineers in other studios.
  • Mastering engineer– the person who masters the final mixed stereo tracks (or sometimes a series of audio stems, which consists in a mix of the main sections) that the mix engineer produces. The mastering engineer makes any final adjustments to the overall sound of the record in the final step before commercial duplication. Mastering engineers use principles of equalization,compressionandlimitingto fine-tune the sound timbre and dynamics and to achieve a louder recording.
  • Sound designer– broadly an artist who produces soundtracks or sound effects content for media.
  • Live sound engineer
    • Front of House (FOH) engineer, or A1.[27]– a person dealing withlive sound reinforcement.This usually includes planning and installation of loudspeakers, cabling and equipment and mixing sound during the show. This may or may not include running thefoldback sound.A live/sound reinforcement engineer hears source material and tries to correlate that sonic experience with system performance.[28]
    • Wireless microphone engineer, or A2. This position is responsible for wireless microphones during a theatre production, a sports event or a corporate event.
    • Foldback orMonitor engineer– a person running foldback sound during a live event. The term "foldback" comes from the old practice of "folding back" audio signals from thefront of house(FOH) mixing console to the stage so musicians can hear themselves while performing. Monitor engineers usually have a separate audio system from the FOH engineer and manipulate audio signals independently from what the audience hears so they can satisfy the requirements of each performer on stage. In-ear systems, digital and analog mixing consoles, and a variety of speaker enclosures are typically used by monitor engineers. In addition most monitor engineers must be familiar with wireless or RF (radio-frequency) equipment and often must communicate personally with the artist(s) during each performance.
    • Systems engineer – responsible for the design setup of modern PA systems, which are often very complex. A systems engineer is usually also referred to as a "crew chief" on tour and is responsible for the performance and day-to-day job requirements of the audio crew as a whole along with the FOH audio system. This is a sound-only position concerned with implementation, not to be confused with the interdisciplinary field ofsystem engineering,which typically requires a college degree.
  • Re-recording mixer– a person inpost-productionwho mixes audio tracks forfeature filmsortelevision programs.

Equipment

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Correcting a room's frequency response

An audio engineer is proficient with different types of recording media, such as analog tape, digital multi-track recorders and workstations, plug-ins and computer knowledge. With the advent of the digital age, it is increasingly important for the audio engineer to understand software and hardware integration, from synchronization to analog to digital transfers. In their daily work, audio engineers use many tools, including:

Notable audio engineers

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Recording

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List

Mastering

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List

Live sound

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List

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Which Type Of Sound Engineer Are You Destined To Be?".www.sheffieldav.com.Retrieved2019-02-05.
  2. ^The difference between a producer and an audio engineer,10 October 2013,archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-15,retrieved2019-12-08
  3. ^"Interview with Phil Ek".HitQuarters.25 May 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.RetrievedSep 3,2010.
  4. ^Rosenberg McKay, Dawn."Audio Engineer Job Description: Salary, Skills, & More".About.com Careers.Archivedfrom the original on 23 July 2018.Retrieved8 Dec2019.
  5. ^Smith, S. E."What Is Audio Engineering?".wiseGeek.Archivedfrom the original on 8 January 2010.Retrieved17 May2013.
  6. ^Daley, Dan,"The Engineers Who Changed Recording: Fathers Of Invention",Sound on Soundmagazine, October 2004
  7. ^University of Salford."Graduate Jobs in Acoustics".Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2016.Retrieved13 May2013.
  8. ^abAcoustical Society of America."Acoustics and You".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-03-08.Retrieved13 May2013.
  9. ^University of Salford, Acoustics."Physics and music technology degrees".Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2020.Retrieved17 May2013.
  10. ^abNational Careers Service."Job profiles: Acoustics consultant".Retrieved13 May2013.
  11. ^Acoustical Society of America."PACS 2010 Regular Edition—Acoustics Appendix".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-05-14.Retrieved22 May2013.
  12. ^abPohlmann, Ken (2010).Principles of Digital Audio, Sixth Edition.McGraw Hill Professional. p. 336.ISBN978-0-07-166347-2.
  13. ^Morfey, Christopher (2001).Dictionary of Acoustics.Academic Press. p. 32.
  14. ^Templeton, Duncan (1993).Acoustics in the Built Environment: Advice for the Design Team.Architectural Press.ISBN978-0-7506-0538-0.
  15. ^Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics (TCMU) of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA)."ASA TCMU Home Page".Archived fromthe originalon 2001-06-13.Retrieved22 May2013.
  16. ^Bader, Rolf (2018). "Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing". In Bader, Rolf (ed.).Springer Handbook of Systematic Musicology.Springer Handbooks. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 25–28.doi:10.1007/978-3-662-55004-5.ISBN978-3-662-55004-5.
  17. ^Speech Communication Technical Committee."Speech Communication".Acoustical Society of America. Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2013.Retrieved22 May2013.
  18. ^abHuber, D.M. (1995).Modern Recording Techniques.(5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Focal Press
  19. ^Ncube, Rosina (September 2013)."Sounding Off: Why So Few Women In Audio?".Sound on Sound.
  20. ^abcSavage, Mark (2012-08-29)."Why are female record producers so rare?".BBC News.
  21. ^"Gale - User Identification Form".Go.galegroup.com.Retrieved3 October2018.
  22. ^"Womens Audio Mission - GuideStar Profile".Guidestar.org.Retrieved2017-03-02.
  23. ^Mathew, Marlene; Grossman, Jennifer; Andreopoulou, Areti (2016-09-20)."Women in Audio: Contributions and Challenges in Music Technology and Production".Audio Engineering Society.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  24. ^"A More Inclusive Industry".SoundGirls.org.Retrieved2022-06-27.
  25. ^Dunbar, Julie C. (2010).Women, Music, Culture: An Introduction.Taylor & Francis. p. 304.ISBN978-0415875622.
  26. ^abcde"Women account for less than 5 percent of producers and engineers — but maybe not for long - Cover Story - Nashville Scene".Nashville Scene.
  27. ^"Front of House (FOH) Engineer",Get in MediaEntertainment Careers
  28. ^Davis, G., Jones R. (1990).Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook.(2nd ed.) Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp.
  29. ^"Andrew Scheps".McDonough Management.Retrieved27 October2015.
  30. ^"Jonathan Wilson: Fanfare Reviving The West Coast Sound".Sound On Sound.Retrieved27 October2015.
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