on 'listening' and 'use your ears'
Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:10 pm
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.
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.
