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Nicole Thorp
Ever since i received ProTools a couple months ago I've been spending a ton of time trying to get to know the program and now i finally feel like i have a good understanding of how it works. That said, the last three weeks or so Pierre has been giving me mixing tips and advice on how to go about the mixing process, the basics and foundation of how to get started. Mixing is still a pretty daunting task to me but i know that with time and experience it will get easier and feel more natural. The lesson this week covered a fundamental part of mixing, Equalization.
Basically, me and Pierre sat at the console (I'm ecstatic every time the console is involved in a lesson) and pulled up the demo session of the band that me and Pierre worked with the previous week, Hellarockher, and Pierre gave me a mixing tutorial that involved the use of EQ. I learned that EQ's are used to add or take away frequencies, or in other words highlight and take away frequencies. Ever since i got ProTools i had been experimenting with the stock EQ's but now i had a better sense of what they actually did. Concepts that i read in the chapter like center frequency, bandwidth, and cut/boost were were now making more sense. I also got to examine the outboard EQ's and ask Pierre questions about those too which was great. This lesson was a basic introduction to equalizers and how they are used in terms of mixing but it was so important because the use of them are a part of the basics of mixing.
I also got to assist with another session that took place at the studio, a tracking session for a band that was a fusion of rap, reggae, jazz, and rock. It was a really cool combination to listen to. I did the basics of running cables and helping place mics and then sat back and observed. One core idea that i focused on in this session was routing, i really paid attention to how things were routed and how the setup worked in terms of signal flow and how each signal bounced off one another for example: how the headphone mix for the band was routed from ProTools and out of the patch bay. I also helped around the Rehearsal Works facility, they had a live show happening that night so me and Bo helped the live sound engineer get set up and got the mics for the drums. Whats really cool about being at the Foundry Studios is the fact that it is also a rehearsal facility. I've been introduced to a ton of different types of instruments and different variations of gear like guitar cabinets. Being around the facility has taught me things i didn't know before like how to change a drum head or how to properly clean a guitar. Being around musicians is probably the best part but at the same time I've enjoyed learning the technical side like how to fix the gear or getting to see the process of setting up for live shows.
Gerald my student services advisor had called me and i was glad that i could tell him that things are going great and I'm still very much so enjoying the program. As always I'm looking forward to more and continuing this journey; I've learned a lot, I've met some great people, and i have gotten my start in audio. There's so much more to come but I'm going to continue to work hard and be committed to the program, having a career in recording is the only career I've ever allowed myself to think about because nothing else excited me or felt right. The more i get into it the more I'm seeing that it's right for me, I'm definitely thankful.
