Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Putting Yourself to Sleep: Ambience

Does anybody else get really sleepy when working on background ambience for outdoorsy levels?  After a couple of hours going through wind and water and bird sounds, I’m ready to have a nap right there in my chair.  There must be something to those relaxing nature CDs after all.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Book recommendation: John Powell's 'How Music Works'

I have a book recommendation!  How Music Works by John Powell.


I picked it up originally thinking it was written by the composer John Powell (responsible for the scores of Happy Feet, Bolt, and How To Train Your Dragon, among many others), but this turned out not to be the case - though there's no explicit mention that they are not the same person, it's hard to imagine any bookseller or author who would be able to resist leveraging such impressive credentials.  Regardless, the story has a happy ending, as I found the book an unexpectedly entertaining and educational read.

The book focuses on the science of music - the history and science behind modern keys, what makes some tones harmonious and others not, how people develop perfect pitch, explains the differences between western and eastern music, and the mechanics of several different types of instruments, and the basics of acoustics, just for starters.  Of particular interest was the section on 'loudness', which explained how the rather messy measure of decibels came about and detailed several better options that were bypassed and are mostly lost to history.

I'd consider it a must-read for any music enthusiast without much formal education, any beginners, or even established musicians looking for a refresher on the theory of their craft.  It maintains a light sense of humour and a conversational tone throughout that makes it an easy read, and keeps to laymen's terms as much as possible, rather than becoming too bogged down in technical nitpickery.

It also dispels some common myths about music, the most surprising being that outside of the minor and major scales, there's no particular mood difference between which key you pick - for example, A flat major is no moodier/happier than, say, D major.  (Obviously choosing major or minor will influence the mood, simply for how the scale is arranged).  I'd long subscribed to this notion myself, so to see the myth broken down was a surprise but rather enlightening - it is in fact a self-perpetuating myth, in that composers will often choose their key for a sadder/happier piece based on this long-held belief.

All in all, not bad for $20 (and probably a lot less if you buy it online/in a country other than Australia).  It's certainly a good deal cheaper than a level 1 course at the Conservatorium of Music.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Great DAW debate

My desktop PC recently died, so with the new PC I've been contemplating new software for home.  I currently use Cubase and Sound Forge combo, and while they have their strengths, neither are quite working out for me.  Now that Pro Tools 9 finally supports any ASIO soundcard (instead of just Digidesign), I've been giving it some serious consideration, despite the comparatively exorbitant cost.

It seems like a no-brainer - Pro Tools is so entrenched in the sound design industry that any other DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) might as well be mud.  The Churchill Trust did a very interesting report on the state of sound design worldwide and how Australia measures up recently, and the DAW section in particular I found interesting: http://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellows/detail/3401/john+kassab

It basically reiterates what we all know - Pro Tools is pervasive, and few others DAWs get a look in, despite the fact that the days where Pro Tools was far and away the industry leader are long gone.  I've sampled a great many DAWs, Pro Tools included (thought not yet the latest version), and the differences between the market leaders grow ever smaller. 

In fact, aside from the branding, the only thing Pro Tools is truly holding over its peers these days is its native plugins, which becomes a moot point if you have one of the external plugin sets such as WAVES. In terms of usability, it's become a bit of a dinosaur - Sony Vegas, primarily a video editor, is more pleasant to use.  In fact, I'd argue that most professional-level DAWs can claim better usability.  And they often offer better value for money, too - Sony Vegas being one example, but there's also Adobe Audition, which in addition to multitrack has quite a robust stereo editor as well - to the point where it has become my favourite application for any audio surgery.

Reaper is one to watch, too.  It's ridiculously small, lean, fast, with an incredibly intuitive interface, and most importantly, dirt cheap - yet can do almost everything you expect of any other multitrack editor.

The question then becomes - in the interest of keeping abreast of the latest Pro Tools, do I continue to perpetuate its market dominance, or do I take the high road (and save some money) on a lesser-known DAW that might very well do almost the same job?

In the end, the issue has probably had more importance placed on it than it deserves.  Good artists are not defined by their tools.  If you've used one DAW to an expert level, it's an easy leap to acclimatise to another. Even if you're using clunky freeware like Audacity, if you know what you're doing, you'll be able to make great sound no matter what.