The
Audio
Masterclass
Music
Production
and
Sound
Engineering
Course




MODULE
12
AUDIO
EXAMPLES

You
have
reached
the
last
module
of
your
course,
so
at
this
stage
what
you
need
most
of
all
is
preparation

for
the
future.
The
audio
examples
in
the
course
have
presented
new
and
'ear‐opening'
material
to
you.

But
from
now
on
you
are
going
to
have
to
develop
your
audio
awareness
all
by
yourself.
Successful

producers
and
engineers
do
not
necessarily
have
'golden
ears',
but
they
do
have
a
very
well‐developed

awareness
of
sound,
won
through
years
of
experience
and
concentrated
listening.

The
examples
in
this
module
therefore
will
challenge
your
listening
abilities.
You
will
find
it
easy
in
some
of

the
examples
to
hear
what
you
are
asked
to
listen
for.
In
others
you
will
find
it
impossible.
But
as
your
skills

develop,
you
will
find
it
increasingly
easy
to
'tune
in'
to
the
subtleties
of
sound.

First,
ear
cleaning.
There's
so
much
sound
all
around
that
the
audio
centers
of
your
brain
need
a
good

clearout.
And
what
better
way
to
do
that
than
with
white
noise?
Take
a
listen
to
this,
at
low
volume,
for
a

full
two
minutes...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐120.wav



An
odd
feature
of
white
noise
is
that
although
it
is
random,
after
a
while
the
brain
starts
looking
for

patterns.
Sometimes
you
'hear'
things
that
are
actually
not
there.
That
is
common
in
everyday
audio
work

too
‐
it's
easy
to
think
you're
hearing
something
when
actually
you
are
not,
and
vice
versa.

Here
is
a
slightly
different
version
of
the
white
noise,
just
30
seconds
this
time...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐1.wav



What
can
you
hear?
Does
it
still
sound
like
ordinary
white
noise,
or
is
there
something
very
slightly

different
about
it?

What
about
this
example,
which
is
different
in
the
same
way,
but
the
effect
is
slightly
more
pronounced..?

Example
file:
white‐noise‐2.wav



Can
you
hear
it
yet?
OK,
here
is
an
example
where
the
effect
is
very
strong...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐3.wav



And
taken
to
the
fullest
extreme...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐4.wav



Yes!
The
noise
is
in
stereo.
Two
samples
of
white
noise
were
generated
and
placed
on
two
tracks.
In
white‐
noise‐1.wav
the
tracks
are
panned
only
very
slightly
apart.
The
separation
increases
in
each
example
until

in
white‐noise‐4.wav
the
tracks
are
panned
hard
left
and
hard
right,
where
the
effect
is
very
clear.

OK,
let's
go
back
to
a
clean
example
of
white
noise
again...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐5.wav





Module
12
Audio
Examples
Notes

Now
something
happens
to
it
that
changes
over
time...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐6.wav



Did
you
get
that?
No?
OK,
let's
make
it
a
little
more
obvious...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐7.wav



Would
you
like
it
to
be
more
obvious
still...?

Example
file:
white‐noise‐8.wav



OK,
let's
make
it
very
clear...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐9.wav




Quite
straightforward
really.
A
low‐pass
filter
has
been
inserted
into
the
track
and
the
cut‐off
frequency
is

gradually
shifted
downwards,
starting
at
20
kHz.
The
slope
is
24
dB/octave.

In
the
less
extreme
examples,
it
really
is
difficult
to
hear
what's
happening.
That's
how
easily
the
ear
can
be

'fooled'.

You
can
probably
guess
what's
coming
next.
And
here
it
is...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐10.wav




That
wasn't
very
subtle
really
was
it?
But
just
in
case,
here
is
an
obvious
example...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐11.wav



This
time,
a
high‐pass
filter
has
been
inserted
and
the
cutoff
frequency
swept
gradually
upwards.
It's
as

much
a
test
of
your
loudspeakers
as
your
ears.
At
what
point
do
you
start
to
hear
the
difference?


Depending
on
your
loudspeakers,
it
could
be
as
high
as
100
Hz.
That
means
that
when
you
are
recording

normally,
you
haven't
a
clue
what
is
going
on
below
that
frequency.
There
could
be
secret
messages

inserted
by
aliens,
for
all
you
know.




Here's
another
example.
Surely
you
can
hear
this...

Example
file:
white‐noise‐12.wav



OK,
let's
replace
the
white
noise
with
a
400
Hz
sine
wave,
with
the
same
process
applied...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐13.wav




In
both
of
these
examples
a
notch
filter
with
frequency
400
Hz
is
switched
in
and
out
at
one‐second

intervals.
Where
the
source
is
a
400
Hz
sine
wave,
the
effect
is
very
clearly
audible.
Where
the
source
is

white
noise,
it
is
very
difficult
to
notice.
Blame
your
ears
for
that.
There's
a
lot
going
on
in
your
mix
than

you
can't
hear.
But
as
your
appreciation
develops
you
will
certainly
hear
more
and
more.
It
would
be
good


Module
12
Audio
Examples
Notes

to
try
more
tests
like
these
for
yourself.

Let's
change
the
mood
to
sine
waves
for
a
moment....

Listen
to
this...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐14.wav



It's
just
a
sine
wave
with
no
processes
applied.

Now
this...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐15.wav



Something
changed
over
the
course
of
the
file.
You
didn't
hear
it?
OK,
try
this...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐16.wav



Surely
you
heard
that!
OK,
let's
take
it
to
extremes...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐17.wav



Yes.
Over
the
course
of
the
file,
a
400
Hz
sawtooth
wave
is
mixed
in,
starting
from
zero.
In
the
first
example

it
ends
up
only
30
dB
below
the
sine
wave
in
level.
When
you
read
audio
specifications,
you
wouldn't
be

happy
with
distortion
that
was
60
dB
down.
But
did
you
really
notice
that
buzzy
sawtooth
at
minus
30?
It's

amazingly
difficult
to
spot,
unless
you
know
in
advance
what
you
are
looking
for.



How
is
your
sense
of
musical
pitch?

Better
than
you
think
perhaps
...

Try
this...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐18.wav



Now
this...

Example
file:
sine‐401‐19.wav



The
first
example
is
a
sine
wave
at
400
Hz,
the
second
is
at
401
Hz.
Just
1
Hz
of
difference
‐
one
quarter
of
a

percent.
But
if
you
compare
one
directly
with
the
other,
they
are
clearly
at
different
pitches.
OK,
if
it's
not

so
clear,
just
keep
listening.
It
will
come
to
you.

But
now
try
this.
It's
a
high
frequency
tone
so
don't
play
it
too
loud...


Example
file:
sine‐10000‐20.wav



And
this...

Example
file:
sine‐10050‐21.wav




Module
12
Audio
Examples
Notes

It
sounds
around
the
same
amount
of
difference
as
the
previous
example.
It
takes
half
a
percent
of

difference
to
be
clearly
audible.
It
shows
how
good
the
human
ear
is
at
detecting
pitch.
Now,
if
only
more

singers
could
sing
in
tune...



Here's
a
quickie.
You've
heard
it
before...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐oop.wav



Yes,
they
are
out
of
phase.
One
of
the
channels
is
inverted.
This
is
what
it
should
sound
like...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐ip.wav



OK,
that
was
too
easy.
Try
this,
something
changes
during
the
course
of
the
file...

Example
file:
sine‐400‐24.wav



You
might
have
to
listen
again...

Yes,
halfway
through
the
file,
it
starts
to
clip.
Listen
carefully
to
this.
Clipping
is
normally
thought
to
be
a

really
terrible
fault
to
have,
but
many
people
wouldn't
notice
it
in
this
example.
Take
a
look
at
the

waveform
display
in
your
audio
editor
and
you
will
see
clearly
that
it
is
clipped
more
and
more
towards
the

end
of
the
file.

Audio
Masterclass
advises
never
to
allow
clipping
to
occur
in
your
work.



Finally
some
music,
in
three
different
versions
with
three
different
faults...

Example
file:
music‐25.wav

Example
file:
music‐26.wav

Example
file:
music‐27.wav



None
of
the
examples
sounds
bad
exactly,
but
each
has
had
something
foreign
mixed
in.
The
first
has
white

noise
mixed
in
at
around
‐48
dB.
This
would
be
considered
a
terrible
signal‐to‐noise
ratio,
but
somehow
the

music
masks
it.
This
is
what
the
noise
sounds
like,
at
the
same
level
as
it
was
when
mixed
with
the
music...

Example
file:
music‐minus‐28.wav



The
second
has
noise
that
is
frequency‐shaped
to
match
the
characteristics
of
the
music,
mixed
at
a

whopping
‐15
dB!
And
still
it
is
only
just
noticeable.
Here
is
the
noise
by
itself...

Example
file:
music‐minus‐29.wav



The
third
example
has
a
sine
wave
of
487
Hz
mixed
in
at
a
level
of
‐40
dB.
Here
is
the
sine
wave
by
itself,
at

the
same
level...

Example
file:
music‐minus‐30.wav



And
finally
for
comparison,
this
is
what
the
music
should
sound
like...


Module
12
Audio
Examples
Notes

Example
file:
music‐31.wav




In
conclusion,
the
human
ear
is
very
sensitive
in
some
ways,
but
incredible
insensitive
in
others
‐
ignoring

things
that
really
ought
to
stand
out
very
clearly
indeed.

That's
why
to
become
a
good
music
producer
or
sound
engineer,
you
have
to
make
a
special
effort
to
listen

for
things
that
you
would
otherwise
miss.

Remember
that
there
should
always
be
a
'safety
margin'
between
you
and
your
audience
or
clients.
You

would
never
want
your
audience
or
clients
to
hear
any
problems,
so
you
must
put
any
potential
problems

well
beyond
hearing.

And
of
course
looking
at
this
from
a
creative
point
of
view,
as
your
listening
skills
develop
and
you
can
hear

more
and
more
in
your
music,
then
you
will
be
able
to
craft
your
sounds
better.
It
won't
come
easily
and
it

won't
come
quickly,
but
it
will
come.
Definitely!











End
of
audio
examples
notes.




Module
12
Audio
Examples
Notes