Careers in Acoustic and Audio Equipment Design
Audio engineers have an interesting combination of character traits. On the one hand they tend to love music and want to have a hand in creating it. On the other hand they are also lovers of technology and ‘cool gear’. Along with an interest in technology usually comes an interest in understanding how it works – a desire to master the technology. With some people also comes a desire to go beyond the latest gear and ‘do it better’. They have a desire to create new technology which will provide the ultimate listening / processing / recording / etc experience. This paper will explore career opportunities that exist for those people.
There are many different areas of audio related design in which to pursue a career. To illustrate, consider the typical live music concert. First of all, the performance venue needs to be acoustically designed to provide a good listening environment. Each of the performers’ instruments is designed and depending on the instrument the design could have involved acoustic as well as electronic knowledge. Sound reinforcement for the concert involves a myriad of equipment each with it’s own design criteria. Finally, if the concert is to be recorded and produced on a CD, all the recording equipment would need to be designed as well as the studio that it is used in.
To design something is to conceive and invent. It is the art of creating the arrangement of parts or details of something. Furthermore, the point of designing something is to meet a need or to solve a defined problem. Each of the different design tasks involved in the concert scenario requires a different type of design expertise. There are basically four areas of design involved - acoustics, electronics, industrial design and mechanical design. Each of these areas overlaps with the other somewhat. Furthermore, each of these areas has an ‘art’ side and a ‘science’ side to them.
Acoustic designers create the plan for performance spaces like concert halls as well as recording studios, and any other space that needs to provide a quality listening environment. They may also be involved in specifying equipment to provide sound reinforcement in the venue. Some acoustic design firms offer a full range of services, which may include site analysis, interior design, lighting, power and HVAC systems, wire management, budgeting, construction administration, and acoustic tuning (Droney).
Working in the recording industry takes a lot of time, patience, and money. Starting with making records, to 8 tracks, to 4 track tapes, and now to CD’s, there have been many changes in bettering the production. There are five separate levels of responsibility the industry must go through before it reaches the public(148). One is the Artists and repertoire, which develop and coordinate talent. The Operations manage the technical aspects of the recording, such as: sound technicians, musicians, and even the people that
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Rio’s population exceeded one million, a quarter of the inhabitants foreign-born. The years between 1920 and 1960 are considered by many to be Rio de Janeiro’s “golden years”. Reasons for this include the sudden population boom, overall increased trade with the U.S. and Europe, Brazil’s participation in the 1920 summer olympics, as
Fine studio Arts is a discipline which incorporates the creativity of an individual or artist into both plastic and visual media. This field makes use of the traditional fine arts media such as sculpture, painting and drawing and it also utilizes upcoming modern media such as digital images, ceramics and textile. Other in the context of modern media is the maintenance and management of studios, perspective and composition and the theory of art and color (Colwell 56). Since the ancient time music it is notable that music artist have made use of the studio arts concepts in creating perfect and enjoyable music to suit their audience. Examining and exploring the music trends for over decades the use of modern media technologies notably in the composition and performances is evident.
Most successful musicians know a hidden art carried out by the work of a good sound engineer; it is essential for a magnificent album. For the rest of us novice listeners and fans, we believe what we hear through our speakers or played over the radio are the true skilled professional musicians, soaring at their craft. Most contemporary music, from pop to R&B and acid jazz to the sophisticated realm of orchestral film scores, has been modernized by several inventions encased within the studio. The art of audio engineering has taken on new forms, from the nuts and bolts, "plug it in, and see if it works" era into the digital world, because of these wonderfully tragic solutions to a higher pace of life. A musician's art have been made solely because of it, and others have been destroyed and humiliated by it. The complex new inventions of technology shape the adaptive method of studio recording and production however caused a drastic negative musical degrading of our beloved art.
Polyphonic, like the rest of Grupo, is led by a talented and educated team of managers, who have experience working in the music industry. Adding to their strengths, the company is supported by an experienced advisory board made up of music industry insiders with first-hand knowledge of how music companies operate and about the challenges they might face. Lastly, Polyphonic has created in HSS a valuable and scientifically proven product with unlimited potential that can serve across different market segments (discussed at length below). However, the company is not without its own challenges.
...in civil society through the precepts or general rules that are the laws of nature. Men follow these as it is in their own self-interest to do so. Hobbes’ laws of nature also differ from traditional conceptions, as he does not believe, unlike Aquinas, that natural law is innate through divine providence and God-given rationality. It is rather that men choose to form an agreement, as it is their best chance to escape a miserable life and horrific death. His view can thus be deemed as utilitarian.
Hobbes, on the other hand argues that justice is needed for people to live together in civil society. He outlines this idea down to human beings in the
There are many degree programs offered by schools around the world, leaving the prospective recording engineer with several routes of training. One method of receiving training in the audio engineering field is through short course and seminars. While these serve only as an introduction to the field by themselves, they are also instrumental in keeping professionals abreast with current trends and technologies affecting the industry. Such seminars are also a great source of networking for the professional. Short courses and seminars are an excellent way of supplementing a one or two-year program to enter the field. These schools tend to concentrate on the actual usage and maintenance of studio equipment. Hands-on experience and intensive exposure to the equipment is an advantage of such a program. Most offer considerable job placement services as well. Trade or occupational schools are a good choice if someone wishes to someday become a recording engineer.
Here comes Pharrell (record producer/music artist) on the radio with a new snazzy song. The song is such a hit that it has great vibes and a flowing rhythm. But wait, how does Pharrell create a song that is so attractive to your ears? A record producer would be able to answer the questions and help explain why Pharrell song is so brilliant. Record Producer is a great career to get into because they create new types of music and meet new or highly known musicians. Even though you have to learn new instruments it’s a great opportunity to create music.
“Music Producer: Job Duties, Career Outlook, and Education Prerequisites.” Degree Directory. DegreeDirectory.org. Web. 5 December 2013.
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For this task the brief was to design the construction, soundproofing and acoustic treatment of a recording studio complex within a series of set constraints. The complex had to include a control room, living room, reception and bathroom, within an overall floor space of 15m x 15m. The main focus was to be on acoustic design with the use of scale drawings to make the studio clear and easy to understand. For this studio the idea was to design a space suitable for recording large ensemble groups such as orchestras and so the space was designed with this in mind when regarding the size, shape and layout of the space. Arguably two of the most important aspects when designing a studio complex are that the live and control rooms include a lot of natural light and that the communication between the artists and the studio team is free and easy. In the studio this has achieved this by creating a design similar to and inspired by ‘The Big Room’ at Real World Studios (Realworldstudios.com, 2013), where the ‘control room’ and ‘live room’ are actually all within the one space utilising the live end/dead end theory.
DIY has taken many different ranges of skills like music, arts and craft, home improvement and other more. In music artist make their own music by writing and producing it by themselves. These people would mainly have a studio in their house or they would use what ...
"Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers. Design may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end." by Sir George Cox.
At the Univ. of Manchester, I got more opportunities to sharpen my research and practical abilities. In the coursework of VLSI design: logic gates circuit design, I designed schematic diagram and layout, and constructed models for simulations. Subsequently, I constantly adjusted relevant parameters based on the simulations and theoretical knowledge. In two weeks of continuous testing, I ultimately designed a chip circuit with a high response speed. Additionally, in the alarm clock design project based on Microchip PIC18F6722, I not only achieved the fundamental alarm functions on the basis of the limited circuit components and a microcontroller, but independently designed extra functions so that users can load music files via USB port. The clock could produce the corresponding melody as the alarm simply through a single buzzer. Although these are simple practices, the process of applying knowledge to actual applications brings me closer to my dream of becoming an