Some of you may know that music is a deep passion of mine. In 2019, I was invited to Patchwerk Studios to write and produce for an NFL Super Bowl segment, which in popular opinion, came out spectacular! There is no ceiling to musical aptitude. One of the reasons being is that there are so many elements to creating appealing music.
My weakest area of music creation has been one of the final steps that the average person may not even realize exists; Sound Engineering. Sound Engineering is what makes the music palatable. Engineering, commonly known as mixing, is about adjusting frequencies and volume levels to create the optimal product. Think of it like baking a cake; you have all the separate ingredients, but you use different amounts of each ingredient and they each must be utilized in a specific order. Some bake cakes worthy for weddings, and others bake cakes worthy for the trash bin. It’s no different when it comes to baking a song, except imagine that you’re blindfolded, and you must rely on your ears to bake the cake. A great Sound engineer could cost you $1000 plus dollars to mix one song. Believe it! Because I didn’t have that type of budget, I needed to find away to become a better chef.
One day, I was at Patchwerk Studios and I expressed my situation to a Grammy nominated audio engineer. He told me about a website called SoundGym.co that trains your ears by playing “sound games”. The first step is a test to get your baseline. I failed miserably (in my opinion.) Once you have your baseline, they allow you to play the same three games once per day for free. If you purchase the subscription, they give you unlimited access and you can train until your ears fall off.
Even if you know nothing about sound engineering, I recommend that everyone at least give it a try because the games are fun and it’s always humbling to find out how little you know. Happy training!
Kevin JackmanGrowing up in Long Island, New York, Kevin ventured to the Florida Institute of Technology to begin his college career. While attending school, Kevin created and managed his own website that helped college students raise their GPAs and do better academically. Enthralled with technology, Kevin has found his home with the team at Network 1.
kjackman@network1consulting.com or 404.997.7654
Network 1 Consulting is a 21-year-old IT support company in Atlanta, GA. We become – or augment – the IT department for law firms and medical practices. Our IT experts can fix computers, but what our clients value most are the industry-specific best practices we bring to their firms. This is especially important with technology, along with regulations and cyber threats, changing so rapidly. We take a proactive approach to helping our clients use technology to gain and keep their competitive advantage.
