MUSC WEEK 2 Adobe Audition

Multitrack and Edit views  Multitrack View  Working with clips – basic manipulation  Dragging – use the right mouse button  Copying – use Ctrl and drag  Deleting sections – left click, drag to select a region then press DEL  Trimming – hover the mouse on the clip boundary then click and drag  Looping (once you have defined a WAV file as a LOOP using WAVE PROPERTIES (Ctrl-P)) – hover the mouse on the clip boundary then click and drag Two envelopes in the track display A. Volume envelope B. Pan envelope Automation 1.click on an envelope to add a node, then drag to adjust 2.to remove a control point, drag it off the clip 3.Hold Ctrl OR Alt while dragging to select nodes. Then you can adjust multiple nodes simultaneously Cues (markers) – add by pressing F8 Double click clips to enter the Edit View

EQ / Filters  Natural sounds are a composite of thousands of different frequencies. The same musical note can be produced with infinite variation of tone due to the subtle variation of “overtones”. EQ is used to emphasize or reduce certain qualities in a sound by boosting or cutting certain frequency areas.  There are a number of different types of EQ; 1. Graphic EQ 2. Parametric EQ 3. Notch Filter 4. Sweepable EQ / Tone control (one knob) 5. Tone control (“bass” and “treble” knobs) 6. Shelving filters 7. High pass and low pass filters

Graphic EQ Graphic EQ allows control/alteration of one variable: Gain Note that six out of ten faders are for frequencies 1000Hz and below! What about the remaining 19000Hz in the human hearing range (20Hz to 20000Hz)? The keyboard of a piano can help us to understand our perception of the frequency spectrum. The interval between “D” and “E” in the bass register sounds the same as that between “D” and “E” in the upper register. However, the difference in frequency is much greater for the higher pair of notes. D1=36.71Hz, E1=41.2Hz, D7= , E7= We need more detailed EQ for lower frequencies because the human ear can more easily distinguish them.

Parametric EQ Parametric EQ allows control/alteration control of 3 variables: Q, Frequency, Gain

(n=bandwidth in octaves) All equalizers with peaking filters have three variables: Frequency - centred at the middle of the filter’s bell curve Q - this refers to the width of the bell curve. Q is a number that is inversely related to the bandwidth. The higher the Q, the narrower the bandwidth. A high Q means that only a few frequencies are effected, whereas an low Q affects many frequencies Gain - this determines by how much the filtered sound is boost or cut

filter typecontrollable variables Graphic EQGain Parametric EQQ, Frequency, Gain Notch FilterFrequency, Gain Sweepable EQFrequency Tone control (one knob)Frequency Tone control (“bass” and “treble” knobs) Gain Shelving filtersGain and Frequency High pass and low pass filtersFrequency (sometimes Q also)

To find EQ in Adobe Audition; Open up a CD recording, or create your own recording and experiment with filters. Filters can be used to make a recording sound different, for example; 1)To improve the clarity of a vocal recording 2)To reduce the harshness of a close mic recording 3)To boost the bass in a mix 4)To reduce the volume of a hum or resonant frequency

Recording the voice  When recording a voice-over there are a number important aims; 1. optimise clarity 2. ensure clear and undistorted consonants 3. maintain the warmth of the speaker’s vocal tone 4. minimise “popping” and excessive “ess-iness” 5. maximise the signal to noise ratio  Many of these objectives can be achieved by careful microphone placement and use of a “pop filter” From n.b. a more detailed survey of microphone types, functionality and construction will be undertaken in week 6 of this course. See the MUSC1010 website under “Reference” for more tips on recording vocals

1.EQ  to enhance those qualities in the recording that you find pleasing.  to attenuate aspects of the sound that problematic. 2.COMPRESSION  to balance the dynamics (louds and softs become less exaggerated).  to improve the “presence” of a vocal recording. 3.REVERB  add spatiality to the sound. You can make it sound as though it was recorded in a room, or a hall or a cathedral, etc.. Once you have made the best possible recording of your voice there are post-production techniques that can help to improve the sound.

COMPRESSION (dynamics processing) use compression to;  Reduce dynamic variation in a track, thereby making “ louds ” and “ softs ” more present to the ear.  make a vocal recording more present/intimate  limit dynamic range of a recording and therefore enable louder overall level. (this function is usually incorporated into a “ limiter ” )  Create pulsing volume effects with recordings ThresholdRatio Attack timeRelease time Compression Variables