Audio Recording Essay

A 1000 word comparative analysis paper focusing on one album. Students should describe the general approach to the recorded sound aesthetic of the album using the systems and language developed during technical ear training exercises. The sound aesthetic of the album should be compared to one similar release by the same artist/ensemble or by another artist/ensemble in the same genre. The paper should include metadata for the album (artist, album, label, release date, production personnel, etc.), information to access the recording (streaming service link, upload link, etc.), and a diagram of the spatial image. Students will be evaluated on the completeness of the metadata, depth and clarity of the analysis, presentation of the diagram, organization and structure of the writing, grammar, and spelling. Analysis Framework Start with sound scene decomposition. Identify all the sound sources you can hear in the recording. Group those sound sources where appropriate such that we have 3 levels of detail: The recording as a whole Groups of similar sound sources Each individual sound source Consider analyzing each source, each sound source group, and the recording as a whole along the following attributes: Balance:Adjusted with: Fader Measured in: dBDynamic Range Adjusted with: Compressor Measured in: N/A (small, medium, or large dynamic range) Tone ColorAdjusted with: EqualizerMeasured in: Hz and dB Spatial Image  Adjusted with: Pan potMeasured in: N/A (left to right, close to far, point source vs stereo width) Sense of Space  Adjusted with: Reverberator/ReverbMeasured in: Reverb time = seconds, liveness = wet to dry Special Studio Effects Doubling/Layering Pitch Correction Rhythm Quantization