Audio Education

Saturday, October 19, 9:00 am — 11:30 am (1E10)

Chair:
Amandine Pras, Digital Audio Arts - University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences - Paris, France

P15-1 Production Processes of Pop Music Arrangers in Bamako, Mali—Amandine Pras, Digital Audio Arts - University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences - Paris, France; Kierian Turner, University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, AB, Canada; Toby Bol, University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, Canada; Emmanuelle Olivier, CNRS Centre Georg Simmel (EHESS) - Paris, France
Bamako, economic capital of Mali in West Africa, saw the recent multiplication of digital studios based on Cubase 5, FL Studio, cracked plugins, a MIDI keyboard, and a small cabin with a cheap condenser microphone and a pop-filter. From videos and screen captures of recording sessions in three of these studios, we analyzed the creative process of four DAW practitioners from the beginning of the beat production to the mastering of the track. We also examined their interaction with the singers and rappers. Our analyses showed that young Malian DAW practitioners constantly revisit their MIDI arrangement and vocal recordings with advanced editing techniques. Locally successful, they have quickly developed a notoriety that enables them to be directive with their clients.

P15-2 Towards a Pedagogy of Multitrack Audio Resources for Sound Recording Education—Kirk McNally, University of Victoria, School of Music - Victoria, BC, Canada; Paul Thompson, Leeds Beckett University - Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK; Ken Scott, Leeds Beckett University - Leeds, UK
This paper describes preliminary research into pedagogical approaches to teach and train sound recording students using multitrack audio recordings. Two recording sessions are described and used to illustrate where there is evidence of technical, musical, and socio-cultural knowledge in multitrack audio holdings. Approaches for identifying, analyzing, and integrating this into audio education are outlined. This work responds to the recent AESTD 1002.2.15-02 recommendation for delivery of recorded music projects and calls from within the field to address the advantages, challenges, and opportunities of including multitrack recordings in higher education teaching and research programs.

P15-3 Withdrawn—N/A


P15-4 Mental Representations in Critical Listening Education: A Preliminary Study—Stephane Elmosnino, University of Technology Sydney - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; SAE Institute - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
This paper reports on a survey of critical listening training offered at tertiary education providers in the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada. The purpose of the investigation is to explore the concept of mental representations in educational contexts, as instructional materials do not always consider this aspect despite a rich research terrain in the field. The analysis shows a wide diversity of instructional methods used, seemingly influenced by course subject matter and institution business model. It also reveals a need to accurately define the concept of critical listening, depending on the context of its use. This study provides the background to a proposed evaluation of the effectiveness of mental representation models applied to new instructional designs.

P15-5 The Generation Gap—Perception and Workflow of Analog vs. Digital Mixing—Ryland Chambers-Moranz, University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, AB, Canada; Amandine Pras, Digital Audio Arts - University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences - Paris, France; Nate Thomas, University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Are sound engineers showing preference for the mixing technology of their generation? We interviewed producer Ezequiel Morfi who owns TITANIO in Buenos Aires and contrasted his opinions with those of four mixers based in Western Canada who were required to use analog-only or digital-only mixing tools when preparing stimuli for this study. To ascertain the myths about which technology sounds superior, 19 trained listeners of ages 17–37 compared analog and digital mixing versions of 8 pop-rock tracks in a double-blind listening test. The main results showed that the analog version of one track was significantly preferred by 79% of the listeners (p=.02), and we observed a slight trend towards the significance of age on preference for the analog format (p=.09).