Lesson: Audio Engineers: Sound Weavers
Contributed by: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder
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Figure 1. An audio workstation used to manipulate and enhance sound. click for copyright |
Summary |
Engineering Connection |
Contents
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| Grade Level: 3 (3-5) | Lesson #: 1 of 3 |
Lesson Dependency  :None |
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| Keywords: audio engineering, sound, music, movies, sound waves | |
| Reviews: Read Reviews | Be the First to Write a Review | |
Related Curriculum
| subject areas |
Science and Technology |
| curricular units |
Sound |
| activities |
Musical Images |
Pre-Req Knowledge (Return to Contents)
Students should understand that sound travels in waves and has a direction of travel. This lesson would work well accompanying a science unit on sound or waves.
Learning Objectives (Return to Contents)
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Relate audio engineering to music and film.
- Explain that audio engineers manipulate sound by using their scientific knowledge of sound.
Introduction/Motivation (Return to Contents)
Have you ever noticed that the music coming from your MP3 or CD player sound so clear? Musicians put a lot of effort into creating a perfect tune, and, likewise, much effort is put into recording it just as perfectly. In what sort of room should the recording take place? What material should be on the walls in the recording studio? At what angles should these walls face? Where should the microphones be placed to pick up the best sound? How loud should the musicians play? These and other questions all refer to different variables — something that can be changed — that audio engineers consider. Audio engineers weave these different variables together to create a tapestry of sound.
Audio engineers work in music recording studios and work on the audio portions of films. Perhaps the singer in a band wants an echoed voice or maybe the drums are too loud and need to be "turned down." Audio engineers can adjust these variables. They can also create new sounds and add them to the music mix, such as a strumming guitar layered into the background.
Academy Award winner Tom Johnson is an audio engineer who created the sounds of the pod-racers of Star Wars Episode I. What other components of that movie do you suspect he worked on as part of his job? (Possible answers: sound levels of the dialogue, sound of the light sabers, the starship doors opening and closing, etc.)
What do audio engineers rely on everyday to make sounds? Yes, you're right — the physics of sound. This includes knowing how sound waves travel and specifically how they change as they travel through air and bounce off different objects. Audio engineers know all about how sound travels. They use this knowledge to create sound effects for music and movies.
Lesson Background & Concepts for Teachers (Return to Contents)
The first audio engineers strived to capture the perfect sound for a play-back that was indistinguishable from a live performance. From the time sound was first recorded by Thomas Edison's spinning cylinder in 1877 to the formation of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) in 1948, giant leaps in technology have been made to enhance sound. The most important event leading to the formation of the AES was in 1947 when electrical engineering graduate Jack Mullin successfully demonstrated a device that recorded sound onto a strip of magnetic plastic tape. Mr. Mullin was chosen to record Bing Crosby's radio show — an opportunity that produced unprecedented sound quality and playing time.
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Figure 2. Jack Mullin's Ampex tape recorder (center table). click for copyright |
While realistic sound quality remains a strong ambition, new areas of interest have since emerged in audio engineering. Current contemporary audio engineers add intensity, drama and other artistic effects to sound. Others create new technology that allows musicians and sound designers to create innovative sounds that have never been heard before. Indeed, the horizon of sound possibilities for film and music makers is almost endless thanks to the creative work of audio engineers.
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Figure 3. A modern recording studio. click for copyright |
Vocabulary/Definitions (Return to Contents)
| Audio Engineer: | A person who records and creates sound and sound technology. |
| Microphone: | A piece of equipment that collects sound. |
| Sound Studio: | A room where sound is recorded and produced for either music or film. |
| Variable: | Something that can be changed. |
Associated Activities (Return to Contents)
- Musical Images - Students learn about the concept of musical images and simulate audio engineering by modeling the position of microphones over a drum set to create a desired musical image.
Lesson Closure (Return to Contents)
Ask students who benefits from the work of audio engineers. (Possible answers: musicians, filmmakers and the general public.) Remind students that they are part of the general public. Ask them what audio engineers need to know to help adjust sounds until they are what the musicians and filmmakers desire. (Answer: They use their knowledge of the physics of sound, or how sound travels and how sound changes as it bounces off of objects.) Ask them to think of a movie or song with sound effects that they especially like. Have several of them share their thoughts with the class. Finally ask: "Who helped create that amazing sound?" Everyone answers: "Audio engineers!"
Assessment (Return to Contents)
Pre-Lesson Assessment
Discussion Question: Solicit, integrate and summarize student responses.
- Why does the music coming from your radio or MP3 player sound the way it does?
Post-Introduction Assessment
Observation: Ask students to comment on the following question:
- Has your voice ever been recorded? Does it sound like you?
Brainstorming: As a class, have the students engage in open discussion. Remind students that in brainstorming, no idea or suggestion is "silly." All ideas should be respectfully heard. Encourage wild ideas and discourage criticism of ideas. Have them raise their hands to respond. Write answers on the board. Ask the students:
- What are the kinds of questions an audio engineer might need to ask in order to set up a sound image for a song recording? Some examples include: In what sort of room should the recording take place? What material should be on the walls? At what angles should these walls face? Where should the microphones be placed? How loud should everyone play?
Lesson Summary Assessment
Vocabulary: Ask the students to write down the vocabulary words and definitions on a sheet of paper or in their science journals.
Where are they?: Ask students and make a class list on the board of all the different places where an audio engineer might work. Possible answers include: recording studio, movie studio, television studio, auditorium, concert hall, etc.
Lesson Extension Activities (Return to Contents)
Internet and/or Library Research: Have students research Jack Mullin, the person who brought America tape recording technology. Answer the question: How did he arrive at his unique technology? (It's an interesting story!)
Journal Writing: Consider the following question. How do you think musicians, filmmakers and the general public benefit from technology to record sound? Does one group benefit more than another?
References (Return to Contents)
Audio Engineering Society Historical Committee, "Audio Engineering History: Timeline," June 12, 2008, accessed July 3, 2008. http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/audio.history.timeline.html
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Forensic Science Communications, "Equipping the Modern Audio-Video Forensic Laboratory," April 2003, Volume 5, Number 2, accessed July 3, 2008. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/april2003/lacey.htm
The Library of Congress http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/mi/motown_1
Morton, David L., Recording History, The History of Recording Technology, "The Era of Tape Recording," 1998-2006, accessed July 3, 2008. http://www.recording-history.org/HTML/musictech6.php
Contributors
Michael Bendewald, Malinda Schaefer Zarske, Janet YowellCopyright
© 2008 by Regents of the University of Colorado. This digital library content was developed by the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program.Supporting Program (Return to Contents)
Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at BoulderLast Modified: September 26, 2008