Music TechnologyQ&A by dot point

Critical listening and audio analysis: identifying EQ, dynamics, effects, panning and synthesis by ear, describing what you hear in precise technical terms, linking an audible effect to the technique and the technology that created it, and answering Component 3 listening questions.

Distinguishing effects and processing by ear: the audible signatures of reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion, compression, EQ and pitch correction, telling similar effects apart, and recognising synthesis types and sampled material.

Analysing recordings in their technological context: recognising the era and technology of a recording from its sound, linking production features to the development of recording technology, comparing recordings across eras, and writing the extended analytical response.

Capturing and editing audio: setting levels and recording cleanly, non-destructive editing, cutting, trimming and moving regions, comping the best take, crossfades to avoid clicks, fades, and removing noises and breaths.

Pitch correction: tuning a recorded vocal or instrument to the correct notes, transparent correction versus the hard Auto-Tune effect, retune speed and reference scale, formant preservation, and identifying pitch correction by ear.

Timing correction: quantising MIDI and audio, the grid and note values, quantise strength and swing, groove templates, flexing or warping audio timing, and balancing tightness against natural feel.

The Component 4 corrections and producing task: working with supplied audio parts and a MIDI part in a DAW, identifying and fixing timing, tuning, level and edit problems, realising the MIDI part, mixing the materials, and working methodically under time pressure.

Automation of mix parameters over time (volume, pan, effects, EQ and filter sweeps), writing and editing automation, riding levels, the final mixdown and bounce, monitoring and reference checking, and an overview of the mastering stage.

Dynamics processing: the compressor and its parameters (threshold, ratio, attack, release, knee, makeup gain), gain reduction, limiting, the noise gate and expander, and creative uses such as controlling peaks, adding punch and parallel compression.

Equalisation: the frequency bands, high-pass and low-pass filters, shelving and parametric EQ, cut and boost, the Q (bandwidth) control, and using subtractive EQ to create space and corrective and creative EQ in a mix.

The mixing process: setting levels and the static balance, frequency balance and avoiding masking, the three dimensions of a mix (level, frequency, stereo), creating depth, bus routing and submixing, and the goal of a clear, balanced mixdown.

Panning and the stereo field: the pan control and stereo placement, mono and stereo, building width and separation, the pan law, phase and mono compatibility, and conventions for placing instruments in the stereo image.

Time-based effects (reverb and its parameters, delay and its types) and modulation effects (chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo and vibrato), plus distortion, how each is generated, and the use of send and insert effects with the wet/dry balance.

Microphone placement: close, distant and ambient miking, the proximity effect, off-axis placement, and stereo techniques (spaced pair AB, coincident XY, ORTF, Mid-Side) and how each creates a stereo image.

Microphone types (dynamic, condenser, ribbon) and how each transduces sound, polar patterns (cardioid, omnidirectional, figure-of-eight, hyper-cardioid), and how type and pattern govern frequency response, sensitivity and rejection.

The multitrack recording process for Component 1: planning a session, recording each part to its own track, overdubbing and the click track, monitoring and the headphone mix, capturing a clean balanced multitrack, and documenting the process in the logbook.

The recording signal chain: microphone, mic preamp and gain, line and mic level, the A/D converter and audio interface, balanced and unbalanced connections, and gain staging to optimise the signal-to-noise ratio and avoid clipping.

Other synthesis methods: additive synthesis (building from sine waves), FM synthesis (carrier and modulator), wavetable synthesis, the characteristic sounds of each, and how they contrast with subtractive synthesis.

MIDI and sequencing: MIDI as performance data not audio, note, velocity and controller messages, real-time and step input, quantisation and groove, programming drums and instruments with velocity and timing for a realistic result.

Sampling and sample-based synthesis: capturing and triggering samples, the sampler and key mapping, looping, time-stretching and pitch-shifting, slicing and reordering, warping to tempo, and creative sample manipulation.

Subtractive synthesis: oscillators and waveforms, the voltage-controlled signal path (VCO, VCF, VCA), the filter and resonance, the ADSR envelope, the LFO and modulation, and how these combine to design a synth sound.

Technology-based composition for Component 2: composing with synthesis, sampling and audio manipulation, developing material through production, meeting the set brief, and using technology as the compositional medium.

Developing and structuring a composition: building sections and overall form, creating contrast and climax, developing motifs and texture, arrangement and orchestration in the DAW, transitions, and sustaining interest over the required duration.

The DAW as a compositional tool: tracks, MIDI and audio, virtual instruments and plug-ins, the piano roll and arrangement view, loops and automation, routing and effects, and assembling a whole composition in software.

Early recording technology: the phonograph and acoustic (mechanical) recording, the limitations of the acoustic process, the arrival of electrical recording in the 1920s with the microphone and amplifier, and the leap in fidelity and control this brought.

Magnetic tape recording: how tape stores sound magnetically, its arrival as the studio standard in the late 1940s, tape editing and splicing, the move from direct-to-disc, and tape effects (delay, flanging) and noise reduction.

The digital revolution: the move from analogue to digital audio, the compact disc (1982), MIDI (1983), the digital sampler, hard-disk recording and the rise of the DAW, and software pitch correction such as Auto-Tune.

The multitrack revolution: recording parts to separate tracks, Les Paul, sel-sync and overdubbing, the growth from 4-track to 8, 16 and 24-track, the rise of stereo, and how multitrack changed the studio into a creative instrument.

Sound as a longitudinal pressure wave: amplitude and loudness, frequency and pitch, period, wavelength and the wave equation, and the audible frequency range.

The harmonic series and timbre: fundamental and harmonics, how the relative levels of harmonics shape tone, the waveform shapes of basic tones, the frequency spectrum and the phase relationships that create a sound's character.

Analogue-to-digital conversion: sampling rate and the Nyquist theorem, aliasing and the anti-aliasing filter, bit depth and quantisation, dynamic range and quantisation noise, and common audio resolutions.

The decibel as a logarithmic ratio: the power formula and the amplitude (voltage) formula, dBFS and headroom, the relationship between decibel change and perceived loudness, and dynamic range.