on 'listening' and 'use your ears'

[SubFunk]

hi guys,

here is something that is bugging me for a long, long time and i feel the need to get it hopefully in an understandable way out of my chest.
this is not supposed to be any kind of lesson, more a very personal need to express what i think about the topic of 'listening' and 'use your ears'

in many, many topics here on the forum many questions are asked about several subjects that are in direct relation to what we perceive trough our ears sonically.
issues, like: "what compressor settings should i use", "how to EQ xyz" "which dither is the best" "should i use 48khz instead of..."
all of those are very valid and do have at times a certain 'rule set' behind them, if we go deep and very advanced into it. (but this is absolutely not what i want to discuss here and now!!)
bottom line is that often people answer with the phrase to 'use your ears' or to 'listen' properly and then to decide what is sounding good to you and what not.
this is the RIGHT answer. period.

everyone, noob or not, having a bedroom with the crappiest acoustics and PC speakers or a super duper studio with high end monitors, everyone can learn to and how to listen and starting to trust their own ears.

when it comes to swimming or cycling or driving a car everyone without hesitation seems to be happy to learn and to start with the basics. step by step.

you do not need to be born with so called 'golden ears' i assure you that hardly any sound or mastering engineer has some!
they simply all did trained their ears, nothing else.
you will most probably ask, oh well all cool, but how?
i tell you, the same way you start learning cycling... just start to be CONSCIOUS and start to pay attention to details... concentrate on one 'sound object' while you change the sound / tweak parameters... important is to try to remember and to recall what you did that changed something you focused on...
and just as with cycling you will get better over time, practice, practice, practice... take a single efx, like an EQ and twiddle just with that one EQ rather then jumping around in between hundreds of VSTs in you library and stick with one sort of material for a while... work with attention to details and conscious. this you can start to learn on any type of speaker or room, even headphones.

that leads us straight to monitors, no you don't have to have the fanciest pair to start that exercise... just as with cycling you don't need to become a lance armstrong right away (and won't anyways) and you don't need his bike either to learn how to keep onto two wheels. once you progress, then yes save up in the meantime and treat yourself with a nice decent pair and maybe if needed some room acoustic treatment...

everyone who buys any sort of gear can do this, no excuse! here was a guy just asking to spend 100$ on how to learn live, i said to use before he does that every available resource for free on the net (there is plenty) stick those 100$ in a pink save up piggy and, voila your fist 100$ towards a decent monitor setup. (that is just an example)

same goes for everything else, of course i understand it's fancy to go and buy nice synths and plugs and controllers and gadgets, all very nice to have, but keep a chain of importance in mind, MONITOR investment first, it is one of the most vital pieces of gear you ever will invest in. ever. period.

why i all say this, well probably because i am sick and tired to hear any 'Pro' mumbo jumbo, 'golden ears' nonsense and the like of excuse not to learn how to listen and trusting your own ears and to invest into the importance of good monitors first before going and buying the third fancy midi controller in your collection.

use your [damn] ears, it's music we are talking about. train them, they are worth an investment.

cheers
axel

p.s. as this was written with a high amount of emotion, i might have forgotten to mention the one or other thing or explain better my point of view.

feel free to criticise or discuss.

btw, i feel better now, thank you.

[UKRuss]

But, how can I make my kick drum, like, the loudest in the whole worldz?

[LoopStationZebra]

what compressor settings should i use

Lots of choices here, but all of the Ableton ones are shite.

[SubFunk]

But, how can I make my kick drum, like, the loudest in the whole worldz?

LOL

[LoopStationZebra]

But, how can I make my kick drum, like, the loudest in the whole worldz?

Shit Russ, I was just wondering the same thing.

[SubFunk]

what compressor settings should i use

Lots of choices here, but all of the Ableton ones are shite.

on the very serious side, try them... most of them are available as demos (nearly everything, if we speak software), use them on the same material and start low and slow with settings, work your way consciously and slowly up... and listen... well, exactly listen!, oh yes, that is one of the other points, to become good and experienced there is some WORK and TIME effort involved. something most people seem to want to get around. (don't mean you now with that in particular, but it's a general point, laziness... of course it's valid to ask for tips, what is good and what not, but i guess you get my general point)

[UKRuss]

Don't mean to hijack this into a compresor discussion but I really am having some great results using the Abes compressor on a return track, set to crush, then blending the uncomp'd with the crushed a la New York stylee.

Sounding madphat. I know becasue I used my ears and they is tell me things is good!

[SubFunk]

^^^ besides it's about trusting your ears and how to get there... and not about what is 'the best xyz plugin' or 'how to make that sound good'

so i see, it did not came across, energy wasted.

keep on not listening for yourself. oh well...


p.s. i am certain those are jokes, though.... guess i need to get into the mood again

i am just totally frustrated at times about this topic.
well, i really feel better that i got it of my chest.

[UKRuss]

I did get what you were saying and you are of course, right.

I agree too, it's not about the best plug vs hardware all that shite. Abes compressor is perfectly fine if you know what you're doing with it and thats all about the ears, although different plugs do have different characteristics of course.

Again, which one is good/right/fits in the mix etc. is all about your ears.

I like ears.

[andydes]

My ears are a mess (at least 80% hearing loss on one side plus horrible tiniuts).

I'm boned.

[ethios4]

+1

I don't have 'golden ears' by any means, but I've trained my ears quite a bit over the years. In fact, I am almost deaf in one ear and have a small amount of hearing loss in the other ear, and yet I can hear much more detail and depth than friends who have perfect hearing. That's all from lots of deep listening and ear training.

[SubFunk]

Again, which one is good/right/fits in the mix etc. is all about your ears.

I like ears.

precisely they are all and everything we have to perceive sound and music (ok your body catches some of it, too)

so pay some attention to them, train them, spend some effort.

[SubFunk]

.80. once posted a very nice video about a workshop on 'listening' http://www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie ... isten.html

it does show some beautiful aspects of ear training and the consciousness of listening.
it's 'seen' from the view of a musician but the focal point of how to be conscious with your ears does remain the same.

Edit: oops i wanted to edit, but instead i messed the original post up here... sorry.

[ChiDJ]

Great Post Axel!

Agree 100%. Monitors first! It's all about training your ears.

[kb420]

btw, i feel better now, thank you.

Your welcome. I guess that's all that really matters.

Sounding madphat. I know becasue I used my ears and they is tell me things is good!

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/2868571/