1 / 38

DIGITAL SOUND I

DIGITAL SOUND I. Topical Outline, Summer 2010. I. AUDIO THEORY. Analog concepts. Overview, frequency/amplitude general description of audio phenomena, cyclic nature of sound in context of world. Mapping sound to 2 dimensions, understanding wave shape.

edolie
Download Presentation

DIGITAL SOUND I

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. DIGITAL SOUND I • Topical Outline, Summer 2010

  2. I. AUDIO THEORY

  3. Analog concepts • Overview, frequency/amplitude • general description of audio phenomena, cyclic nature of sound in context of world. Mapping sound to 2 dimensions, understanding wave shape. • General working definition of ‘sound’: ‘perception of energy transmission through a medium via the ears’ • Measurement of frequency & amplitude, harmonics and Fourier 1-1

  4. Digital concepts • understanding digitizing: sample/hold, clocks, samples, bit depth, SR, file types • Nyquist frequency: SR/2, why? • How does bitdepth relate to s/n ratio • File headers • Meta data 1-2

  5. II. CONNECTIONS/CABLES

  6. Unbalanced: • RCA • BNC • 1/4” ‘phone’ (TS), 1/8” ‘mini’ (TS) • Balanced • XLR • 1/4” ‘phone’ (TRS), 1/8” ‘mini (TRS) Note: TRS can be used either as a balanced mono or an unbalanced stereo connector, depending on the device. Pin blocks 2-1

  7. Analog concepts • concept of balanced/unbalanced • Signal path: process of transduction from source through storage to destination 2-2

  8. Digital concepts • digital interfaces: AES/EBU, S/PDIF. SDI • AES: Audio Engineering Society: ‘Pro’ • S/PDIF: Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format: ‘consumer’ • AES uses XLR connectors • S/PDIF typically uses RCA, can also use fiber optics • SDI: Serial Digital Interface • Most recent, can transmit HD, SD video and audio on one BNC connector, very versatile. 2-3

  9. III. MICROPHONES

  10. Analog concepts Principles pickup patterns omnidirectional unidirectional bidirectional cardioid supercardioid (shotgun) hypercardioid PZM lavalier 3-1

  11. MICROPHONES, cont. • Impedances • Lo Z • Hi Z Dynamic vs. condensor Phantom Power 3-2

  12. Digital concepts • USB mics, USB & FW digital interfaces • Digidesign • M-Audio • Mackie • Metric Halo • (ad infinitum) • FW 400, 800, eSATA, optical 3-3

  13. IV. RECORDING BASICS

  14. Analog concepts • getting the best recording • level setting ('0' level) • Tools (scopes, tone generators etc.) • Digital concepts • recording via external devices • Zoom H2, H4; Marantz; Tascam • dvcam caveats • Optimum settings 4-1

  15. recording via cpu • Audacity (free download) • Sound Track Pro • More full featured, bundled with Logic Pro Tools Most market share, always tied to hardware At least 10 equally powerful apps on the market, pick based on your UI prefs and feature set.stp 4-2

  16. V. MIXERS & OUTBOARD GEAR

  17. Analog concepts • Mixers: Many in, few out • Input stage • Output stage • Aux busses • Getting the right levels • Mic/line 5-1

  18. Digital concepts • digital mixers • flying faders • midi control • virtual busses • digital i/o • control surfaces 5-2

  19. VI. AUDIO EDITING

  20. Analog concepts • brief history/comparison of old vs new techniques • Tape-based editing, splicing • Digital concepts • Organizing assets • Projects vs. files • Destructive vs. non-destructive • Playlists Audacity Soundtrack Pro 6-1

  21. audacity • Free! • Primarily for destructive editing • Some multitrack capability • Uses ‘session/export’ model 6-2

  22. Soundtrack Pro • Not free! • (great student price though) • Comes bundled with Logic Studio • Full featured destructive editing 6-3

  23. VII. MIDTERM • create a 2 minute digital file that involves sound you've recorded and edited. Proper attention should be paid to sound quality, pleasing use of fades, clean endings and transitions

  24. VIII. EQ & CRUCIAL DSP TECHNIQUES

  25. Analog concepts • harmonics review • types of filters • low pass (LPF) • hipass (HPF) • bandpass (BPF) • band reject (BRF) • peak/notch • lo shelf • hi shelf • resonance (Q) 8-1

  26. Digital concepts • digital eq, filters • Broadband Noise Reduction exercise: make a recorded voice sound like telephone. Then improve quality of a telephone recording. 8-2

  27. IX. DSP FX TECHNIQUES

  28. types of fx • Reverb • Delay • Chorus • Flange • Phase shift • Ring modulation • Real time vs. non real time, advantages/disadvantages 9-1

  29. DIGITAL • Digital examples of each fx type • Survey of available fx in Ableton, Logic, Soundtrack, Audacity 9-2

  30. X. MIDI

  31. brief overview of midi, historical, hardware, spec. • Reason for midi • Numerous digital synths, many manufacturers • Need for open source communication protocol • Most successful cross platform language ever developed (imo) 10-1

  32. external synths • Advantages: • work as stand alone devices • dedicated soundmaking hardware • Disadvantages: • can get kludgy • limited upgrades 10-2

  33. Software synths • Advantages: • Integrated into operating system • Only limited by cpu power/memory • High upgrade capability • Infinite presets Disadvantages: has to share system resources tied to cpu, no stand alone no dedicated sound engine 10-3

  34. sequencing • Ableton • Best suited for live, interactive • Extensive softsynth library • Flexible fx chaining Logic Best for sequencing steeper learning curve even bigger library very extensible software synths 10-4

  35. XI. MAXMSP, Supercollider etc.

  36. Max/MSP/Jitter • Created as an alternative to the sequencer approach to midi • Fully interactive and extensible • Not 100% open source • now integrated fully into Ableton • MSP: added DSP capability to Max interface • Jitter: added realtime video processing capability to Max interface 11-1

  37. Supercollider • Created by James McCartney • Fully open source • Steep learning curve, limited UI (but not that limited once you know what you’re doing) • Superior sound quality to MSP • One of many line-code based DSP packages (Csound, RTCMix, Chuck, Jsyn) 11-2

  38. XII. FINAL • A piece (no more than 5 min. necessary) showing application of principes learned, including live recording, audio enhancement, use of FX, multitrack timeline, etc.

More Related