Sound by Design
The concept of “sound design” and how artists, producers, and engineers can collaborate with vision.
Before we talk music: I have been watching the events around the world with a growing feeling of frustration and helplessness. The siege of Gaza is continuing to kill women, children, and civilians, pushing an entire civilian population into a humanitarian crisis. The political establishment of the United States remains in support of the occupying power. This in combination with an election cycle that, on the national scale, is offering very little in terms of new ideas, voices for the oppressed, belief in the power of change or the potential for peace and justice around the world. In such dark times, I often simply don’t know what to say. It was an inspiration recently seeing DJ Voices sampling music and texts of liberation and raising awareness in a scorching New Year’s Day set. So many artists, journalists, and community figures have been speaking up with courage, honesty, and compassion for the suffering of others, yet more are needed to join the chorus…
As artists it can seem frustrating and impossible to square the circle between our own creative practice, our sense of beauty, our parties and shows and songs — as people around the world are oppressed, displaced, and dying. I don’t have an answer to this quandary. Reading Thich Nhat Hanh has introduced me to a Buddhist idea that the route to world peace begins with inner peace. I believe that there is a magic that happens when artists speak their values, cultivate their communities, and work to influence the public conversation.
If you have a podcast or other recording project that speaks to the ongoing crisis in Gaza, I will extend the invitation to use our Ridgewood studio for a free session between now and 1/26. Contact me: @patterandhum or patterandhum@gmail.com.
At the studio I’m lucky to be working with some incredible artists and producers; creating sound design for a new theater production; and developing an original album of piano music. Travel, work, and family are keeping me busy in the upcoming month but I’m always available to consult with artists, and I’m opening up bookings now for March. *Producers and engineers - if you need a professional space for mixing, acoustic or vocal recording, I have a special deal running for “no-engineer” sessions.* Below, enjoy an essay that I’ve been working on relating the concept of sound design to producing records.
What is Sound Design in Music?
TLDR: Approach your production with a defined vision, for maximum awesomeness.
In a film, game, or theater production, “sound design” already has a couple of meanings. It can refer to the creation of original sound effects—but it’s also applied to the concept of how effects, dialogue, music, and ambiences are integrated into a soundscape. It is both a technical and creative practice encompassing questions of emphasis, structure, texture, tone, pacing, material, space, and emotion, all in support of a storytelling experience.
Yet in the production of music, I most often hear “sound design” construed more narrowly. Sound design might refer to just one step in the production process, when the details of a particular instrumental sound are being hammered out. “Creative” sound design implies a particularly wacky or custom synthesizer patch or guitar effect chain. Sure—programming a synth or tweaking an effect chain is sound design. But what’s lost in this narrow definition is the bigger question of why we are digging into the details of the sound world.
Design (n) purpose, planning, or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact, or material object. (Oxford)
With a specific intention in mind, we can better navigate the overwhelming variety in today’s digital production toolkit. Specific choices can click into place within the greater design. We’re painting a picture or tell a story with the sum total of production choices.
Many songs today are produced with composites of different instruments recorded at different times or by different means, mixing analog and digital sources, live and programmed instrumentation. What’s the binding thread? How do all these sounds relate to each other, and to the song?
In a well-produced song, every element—groove, harmonies, texture, space, and more—should help support the story that the artist is conveying with their lyrics and performance. Sound design in music is a collaborative process. It’s not necessarily the responsibility of a producer alone to craft an entire sound world - although some do. Artists, engineers, arrangers, band members, or session players can and should contribute to the overall design.
Communicating the Design
Musicians are often allergic to analysis. Why talk circles around the thing when we can just do the damn thing? And they have a point. Time is precious in the production process and miscommunications happen all too often.
So how can artists, producers, musicians and engineers communicate their design vision? First, keep it simple. Start with the broad strokes. Most great concepts can be introduced in a single sentence that focuses on one or more of these four elements:
A. Style
You can name check one or two familiar genres, styles, decades, or artists that are inspiring the design - the more specific the better. If inspiration is coming from the films of Wong Kar Wai, or from Chicago House music, mention that.
B. Place
Will this recording evoke a specific place? Is it a physical space, or a state of mind, a listening space or a performing space? Are there intersecting spaces here?
C. Character
Who is singing/performing? Who is evoked in the lyrics? What role do supporting elements play in the story?
D. Story
What’s the story in the song, how are lyrics providing an overarching frame? And what’s the story of the song for you - how did you come to write it, how are you reacting to it now in the moment, and what’s vital to you about it?
Example: We are in a nu-disco inspired dance club where the lights are dimming and a spotlight is shining on the singer, a tragic/romantic torch singer telling a story of heartbreak and redemption.
Now we know that we want club or dance influence in our production, but with darker/softer textures and possibly slower tempo; 1980’s influence via disco (but updated to contemporary technology), and plenty of space in the production for a powerful, emotional lead vocal.
Example: This track is a meditation on losing a friend, taking place in an abstracted memory space where trip-hop-influenced samples are corroded and reduced to emotional gestures.
A poetic description like this can help orient a project and convey to a mix engineer aspects that could be counterintuitive on first lesson - excessive distortion, spatial effects, or sounds that are buried in reverb - but may in fact be informed by design choices.
Finally - don’t forget your references. Being able to compile a few examples of production that is inspiring to you on some level — and explain to the listener how or what elements are inspiring — can be the key element of getting a production team on the same page.
“Now Reading” and “Now Listening” will return next month - in the meantime, let us know what you’re reading, what you’re hearing and what sounds are exciting you at the beginning of a new year!
Sincerely,
Harrison