As I wait for my flight I find myself attentively listening to the myriad of tones, frequencies, echoes, rhythm and just plain old noise that is the ambience of an international airport. Music is all around us. Well, at the very least, it could be the intro to a song!
But what amazes me is how audible and well-mixed everything sounds to my ears. It’s almost peaceful, though probably close to 90 dB if not more. Not just the drone of low-end hum, nasally mids, or piercing highs, but a well balanced and full sounding mix made up of hundreds of random sounds and anonymous voices.
How the heck does that happen, while I have to fight for it every time I sit down to mix just a couple of tracks in a song? Some might say it’s just a great room with really awesome mic placement!
Do you want something to do while you’re whittling the time away waiting in an airport? Try my favourite game of “What’s that Frequency?” Is that 200 or 300 Hz? Is that 1 or 1.5 k? Oh yes, I’m right. I win!
Anyway. Just thought I’d share a thought today. On the plane now and about to leave the safety of solid ground. Happy trails!