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EnglandMusic Technology

Audio analysis and critical listening

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you identify production techniques in an unfamiliar recording and describe them in precise technical language?

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.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9MT0 critical-listening content, covering identifying EQ, dynamics, effects, panning and synthesis by ear, describing them precisely, linking effect to technique to technology, and Component 3 questions.
12 min answer →

How do you tell one effect or process apart from another by ear, and what are the tell-tale signs of each?

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.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9MT0 effect-identification content, covering the audible signatures of reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion, compression, EQ and pitch correction, telling similar effects apart, and recognising synthesis and sampling.
12 min answer →

How do you hear the development of recording technology in a recording, and date or place it by its production?

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.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9MT0 contextual-analysis content, covering recognising the era and technology of a recording from its sound, linking production to the development of recording technology, comparing eras, and the extended response.
12 min answer →