TheAudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourse

MODULE01:AUDIOEXAMPLES

WARNING:Someoftheaudioexamplesinthismoduleconsistoftonesrecordedatahighlevel.
LoweryourmonitorlevelBEFOREplayback.

Togetthebestoutoftheaudioexamples,youshouldloadthemintoyourdigitalaudioworkstation
softwareorsystemsothatyoucanaccessanyofthefilesquicklyandeasily,andalsobeabletoplay
convenientlyanypartofafile.

Ifyouhavepurchasedtheonline/downloadableversionofthecourse,mostoftheaudioexample
filesareinAACformat.Mostdigitalaudioworkstationscanimportthesefiles,otherwiseyoushould
useconversionsoftwaresuchasiTunes.Someoftheaudioexamplesarein.wavformat.Thishas
beendonewheretheAACencodingprocessfailstodemonstratethepointthatweneedtomake.

Sinewaves

Thefirstsetofexamplesconsistsofsinewavetones.Asinewaveisthesimplestpossibleaudio
signal.Everysoundthatyouhearcanbeconsideredasconsistingofacollectionofsinewavesof
differentfrequencies,amplitudesandphaserelationships.

Inaudio,wecommonlyusea1kHz(1kilohertz=1000Hz)toneasareferencebecauseitis
subjectivelyhalfwayintheaudiofrequencyband.

Examplefile:1kHz20dB.wav

Thelowestfrequencythatwenormallyconsidertobeintheaudiorangeis20Hz.

Examplefile:20Hz20dB.wav

Youprobablywillnotbeabletoheara20Hztone,notunlessyouhaveloudspeakerswithan
exceptionallygoodlowfrequencyresponse.Ifthereisdistortioninyoursystem,youmaybeableto
hearfrequenciesthataremultiplesof20Hz,butthesearegeneratedbythedistortion.Theyarenot
presentinthefile.

Theupperlimitoftheaudiorangeisnormallyconsideredtobe20kHz.However,fewpeoplecan
hearfrequenciesthathigh.

Hereareafewhighfrequencytonesthatwillallowyoutotesttheupperlimitofyourhearing.You
shouldadjustthelevelsothattheprevious1kHzfileiscomfortabletolistento.

Examplefile:10kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:11kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:12kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:13kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:14kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:15kHz20dB.wav

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
Examplefile:16kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:17kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:18kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:19kHz20dB.wav
Examplefile:20kHz20dB.wav

Ifyoucanhearallofthesetones,welldone!Itislikelyhoweverthattheupperfrequencylimitof
yourhearingislessthanthis.Nowyouknowroughlywhereyourlimitlies.Expectittogetloweras
yougetolder.

Squarewaves

Thesinewaveisthesimplestaudiowaveform.Otherwaveformsaresimpletoproduce,butcontain
complexfrequencies.Thesquarewaveiscommonlyusedasatestsignal.

Hereisasinewaveat440Hz...

Examplefile:440Hz20dBsine.wav

Hereisasquarewaveat440Hz...

Examplefile:440Hz20dBsquare.wav

Thedifferencebetweenthetwoisclearlyaudible.Thesinewavehasonlyonefrequency
component.Thesquarewavehasadditionalcomponentsatoddwholenumbermultiplesofthe
fundamentalfrequency.Thusithasamuchbrightertimbre.

Hereisanothersinewave,at10kHz(youhaveheardthisonebefore)...

Examplefile:10kHz20dB.wav

Now,hereisasquarewaveatthesamefrequencyof10kHz...

Examplefile:10kHz20dBsquare.wav

Itisveryunlikelythatyoucantellthedifferencebetweenthe10kHzsinewaveandthe10kHz
squarewave.Andifyoucan,itisprobablybecauseofdistortiongeneratedinyourequipment.

Thereasontheysoundthesameisthatthenexthigherfrequencycomponentofthesquarewave,
abovethefundamental,is30kHzandthereforeoutoftherangeofhumanhearing.Inanycase,the
digitalencodingusedwillfilteritoutbeforeitcausesanyproblem.

Noise

Wealsoquitecommonlyusenoisesignalsfortestingpurposes.Therearetwomainkinds...

Whitenoiseisatotallyrandomsignalandhasfrequencycomponentsthatareequalinlevelallthe
wayacrosstheaudiorange.

Examplefile:noisewhite20dB.wav

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
Itisalsooftenusefultousenoisethathasequalenergyineachoctaveorthirdoctavebandof
frequencies.Thisiscalledpinknoise...

Examplefile:noisepink20dB.wav

Phase

Inastereosignalitisimportantthatthetwochannelsareinphase.Thismeansthatthe
loudspeakerspushandpulltheairinstepwitheachother.Iftheconnectionstooneofthe
loudspeakerswereswapped,thentheywouldbeoutofphaseandonewouldpushastheother
pulls,andviceversa.

Hereisa440Hzsinewavetonethatisinphaseinbothchannels...

Examplefile:440Hz20dBinphase.wav

Andhereisthesametone,butoneofthechannelsisinverted...

Examplefile:440Hz20dBoutofphase.wav

Thiseffectneverhappensinnature;onlyinsoundsystems.Thehumanhearingmechanism
thereforehasnomeansofinterpretingthisproperlyanditjustsoundsodd.

Thesamecanapplytomusic.Hereisamonomusictrackwheretheleftandrightchannelsarein
phase...

Examplefile:musicmonoinphase.wav

Andhereisthesametrack,monobutoutofphase...

Examplefile:musicmonooutofphase.wav

Aninterestingthinghappensiftheoutofphasesignalsaremixed.Inthisexampletheinverted
channelisslowlyfadedupoverthefulldurationofthetrack.

Examplefile:musicmonooutofphasesummed.wav

Astheinvertedchannelisfadedup,itcancelstheotherchannelhenceitgetsquieterandquieter.
Eventuallyitcancelscompletelyrightattheend.

Thesamecanbetriedwithstereomusic.Hereisthesamemusic,instereoandinphase...

Examplefile:musicstereoinphase.wav

Andwithoneofthechannelsinverted...

Examplefile:musicstereooutofphase.wav

Theoutofphaseisnotquiteaspronouncedaswhenthechannelswereidentical(butoneinverted),
butitisclearlyanundesirableeffect.

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
Finallyonthispoint,theoutofphasestereochannelsaremixed,onceagaintheinvertedchannelis
fadedupgradually...

Examplefile:musicstereooutofphasesummed.wav

Thisisinterestingbecauseattheenditdoesntcancelcompletely.Onlytheelementsthatwere
identicalinthetwochannelscancel.Thethingsthatweredifferentremain.Thiscanbean
interestingwaytogaininsightintothesoniccomponentsoftracks.

Clipping

Clippingisaseriousfaultinanaudiorecording.Clippingoccurswhenithasbeenattemptedto
increasethelevelabovethemaximumlevelallowed.Whathappensisthatthetipsofthewaveform
areshearedoffcompletely.Thiscausesdistortionthatisoftenextremelyintenseandunpleasant.

WARNING:Thenextsevenexamplesareveryhighinlevel.Turnyourmonitorleveldowntolistento
thesefiles.

Thefirstexampleisatonethatisatashighalevelasthesystemwillallow.Wecallthis0dBFS(FS
standsforfullscale).(Theclippingexampleshavebeenloweredinlevelslightlyaftertheircreation
sothattheshapeofthewaveformmaybemoreclearlyvisible).

Examplefile:clipping+0dB0dB.wav

Thissignaliscleanandunclipped.Butifthegainisraisedevenbyjustonedecibel...

Examplefile:clipping+1dB0dB.wav

Thesoundisnowharsherbecauseofthedistortioncreated.Inthefollowingfiles,thegainis
increasedonedecibelatatime...

Examplefile:clipping+3dB0dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+4dB0dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+5dB0dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+6dB0dB.wav

Forconvenience,thesefileshavebeencopiedatalowerlevel.Theamountofclippinghoweveris
thesame...

Examplefile:clipping+0dB20dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+1dB20dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+2dB20dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+3dB20dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+4dB20dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+5dB20dB.wav
Examplefile:clipping+6dB20dB.wav

Asclearlyaswecanhearclippingontones,itissometimesnotquitesoevidentonmusic.However,
clippingistiringtolistento,evenifnotimmediatelyobvious.Thenextfewexampleswill
demonstrateclippingonmusic.

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
Hereisamonomusictrackthathasbeencompressedandnormalizedsothatitliesonandcloseto0
dBFS.Itisnotclipped...

Examplefile:musicunclipped.wav

Inthenextsixexamples,thelevelisincreasedonedecibelatatime...

Examplefile:musicclipped+1dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+2dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+3dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+4dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+5dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+6dB.wav

Youwillclearlybeabletohearthemusicgettinglouder.Butcanyouhearitgettingharsher?Thisis
easiertoappreciateiftheleveliscorrectedeachtime.Inthisway,thelowerlevelsinthefilethat
werenotclippedremainthesame.Youwillnoticefromyourwaveformdisplaythatthepeaklevel
goesdowneachtime,butthesubjectivelevelwillremainthesame.

Examplefile:musicunclippedcorrected.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+1dBcorrected.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+2dBcorrected.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+3dBcorrected.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+4dBcorrected.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+5dBcorrected.wav
Examplefile:musicclipped+6dBcorrected.wav

Nowyoushouldclearlybeabletohearthesteadyincreaseinharshnesscausebyclipping.Thenext
examplealternatesbetweentheoriginalversionandtheversionthatisclippedby6dB,then
correctedinlevel...

Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonalternating.wav

Hereisanothermethodofcomparison.Inthefollowingexamplestheunclippedversionsareinthe
leftchannelandtheclippedversionsareintherightchannel.Whatyouwillhearisasteady
degradationofthestereoimageastherearemoreandmoredifferencesbetweenthechannels.
Also,youwillhearthehighfrequenciespulltotheright,becausethereisincreasedhighfrequency
energyintheclippedversions.

Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+0dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+1dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+2dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+3dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+4dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+5dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparison+6dB.wav

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
Still,thedifferencesmightnotbeobvious.Theyarethereandtheyareaudible,butyouhaveto
listencarefully.Buthereisademonstrationthatwillleaveyouinnodoubtoftheeffectsofclipping,
andwhyitisabadthing.

Inthisdemonstration,theclippedversionsaresubtractedfromtheoriginal,leavingonlythe
differences.Whatyouhearisascloseasitispossibletogettoisolatingtheclipsthemselves.Thisis
whatyouarehearinginaclippedmusicfile,anditshouldbeveryconvincingastowhyclipping
shouldbeavoided...

Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+0dB.wav
(Thisfileissilentasthecancellationisperfect.)

Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+1dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+2dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+3dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+4dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+5dB.wav
Examplefile:musicclippedcomparisonphase+6dB.wav

Theeffectsofclippingshouldnowbeveryclearlyevident.

Frequencyresponse

Nearlyalldigitalandelectronicequipmenthasafrequencyresponsethatisperfectallthewayfrom
20Hzto20kHz.Equipmentthatincorporatesmechanicalcomponents,suchasmicrophonesand
loudspeakers,arenotusuallysogood.

Hereisamusictrackthathasagoodbalanceoffrequenciesacrosstheaudiorange.Thisisasthe
trackwasrecorded,withoutanymastering,sothatcomparedtoaCDitmightsoundalittleonthe
dullside,butitisinfactjustrightatthisstageoftherecordingprocess.

Examplefile:musicflat.wav

Nowhereisthesamemusicbutwithalossoflowfrequencies...

Examplefile:musiclowlf.wav

Andthesamebutwithalossofhighfrequencies...

Examplefile:musiclowhf.wav

Onceagain,itisinterestingtosubtractthesefilesfromtheoriginalsowecanhearexactlywhatthe
differencesare.

Thenextexampleisthepoorlowfrequencytracksubtractedfromtheoriginal...

Examplefile:musiceqlfcomparison.wav

Inthiswecanhearthelowfrequenciesthatwerelost.Theyrepresentquitealotoftheenergyof
thetrack.

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
Hereisthesameathighfrequencies...

Examplefile:musiceqhfcomparison.wav

Inthiswehearthehighfrequenciesthatwerelost.

Digitalaudiobitdepth

TheresolutionofaCDqualitydigitalsignalis16bits.Inotherworks,theoriginalanalogsignalis
resolvedto65,536differentlevels.

Hereisatrackrecordedto16bitresolution...

Examplefile:music16bit.wav

Itisusefultoknowwhatlowerresolutionssoundlike.Youwouldneveruseasystemwith12bit
resolution,butifyourecordedatverylowlevelona16bitsystem,thiscouldhappenbyaccident.
Thisiswhatitsoundslike...

Examplefile:music12bit.wav

Itdoesntseemtosoundmuchdifferent,althoughifyoulistencloselyyouwillhearthatthenoise
levelishigher.Hereisthesametrackat8bitresolution...

Examplefile:music8bit.wav

Onceagain,thenoiselevelisalittlehigher.Butifwedropdownto4bitresolution,wecanreally
hearthedifference...

WARNING:Thistracksoundsextremelyunpleasant.Youmaywanttoturnyourmonitorleveldown.

Examplefile:music4bit.wav

Wecangofurther,to2bit...

Examplefile:music2bit.wav

Andevento1bitresolution...

Examplefile:music1bit.wav

Itisamazingthatthereisanyaudioleftatallatsuchalowresolution.Whatwecanhearheremost
ofallistheverygrainyandunpleasantqualityofdigitalnoise,whichiswhyweseektouseasgooda
resolutionaspossible,preferably24bit.

Analogtaperecording

Analogtaperecordershavetheirownpeculiarnoisesanddistortions.Thesedaysofcourseitis
possibletomakearecordingentirelywithoutanalogtape.Butsomuchofthehistoryofrecordingis
entwinedwiththeanalogtapesound,itisextremelyusefultohaveafeelforwhatitactuallydoes
soundlike.

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples
First,sometones.Thetonesstartatalowlevelandgetlouder.

WARNING:Loudtones.Youmaywanttoturnyourmonitorleveldown.

Examplefile:440Hztape0VU.wav
Examplefile:440Hztape+3dB.wav
Examplefile:440Hztape+6dB.wav
Examplefile:440Hztape+9dB.wav
Examplefile:440Hztape+12dB.wav
Examplefile:440Hztape+15dB.wav
Examplefile:440Hztape+18dB.wav

Thefirstthingthatcanbenoticedonthelowestlevelfileishowunsteadythetoneis.Thisisnormal.
Infact,thisisquiteagoodrecordinginthisrespect.Manyanalogrecordersaremuchlesssteady.
Alsoyouwillbeabletohearanalogtapenoise,andthatthechannelsaresubtlydifferentcausing
shiftsinthestereoimage.

Asthelevelgetshigher,distortioncreepsinprogressively.Thereisnoclippingpointasthereiswith
digitalsystems.Itisuptotheengineertodecidehowmuchdistortionistoomuch.

Someengineersliketheanalogtapesound,particularlyondrums.Hereisarecordingofdrums
madeentirelydigitally...

Examplefile:drumsdigital.wav

Andhereisthesamefilecopiedtoanalogtapeatamoderaterecordinglevel...

Examplefile:drumstapelevellow.wav

Toanexperiencedengineerthedifferencesareimmediatelynoticeable.Thesoundisfullerand
stronger.Thepeakshavebeensquashedratherthanclipped,whichisamuchmorepleasant
experienceforthelistener.

Justtogetarealfeelingforthishowever,itisworthwhilelisteningtoanexamplethatgoesjusta
littleoverthetop.Inthisexampleyouwillhearsomeunpleasantsoundsmixedinwiththenice
ones,butthecharacteristicsoftapeshouldbeveryevidentandimprintedinyourmind...

Examplefile:drumstapelevelhigh.wav

Summary

Inthiscomponentyouhaveheardmanyoftheintrinsicfeaturesofaudio,andalsosomeofthe
artefactsproducedbyourrecordingsystems.Successfulrecordingdependsontheabilitytocapture
acleanandaccuratesignal,andalsoontheartistrytousethesoniccharacteristicsandpotential
shortcomingsofthevariousequipmenttypestobeneficialeffect.

AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule01AudioExamples