Jacob Bolling

Smith

October 9, 2020

Research Paper: Producing, Audio Engineering, and Sound Engineering.

A career in music production and engineering is a creative industry job that is highly

sought after with high risk and high reward for all; this career is particularly admirable due to the

mesh of creativity and technical skills, and allows for variable work areas and schedules, meeting

interesting people, and forwarding music scenes and their successes.

The intertwined use of both the creativity and technicality of the career makes it hard not

to admire the skill it takes. “Music theory and an understanding of how songs are constructed

and created is definitely a major component of the music producers’ duties and responsibilities…

Many of today’s successful producers and songwriters have taught themselves by listening to

and breaking it down into sections and tracks. Learning how recording studios and DAWs work

are also essential things to understand” (recordingconnection.com). This quote states how the

creativity and technicality in the music production and engineering career are in tandem: with the

technical skills of digital audio workstations and musical equipment, as well as the creative

self-teaching of music theory and instrument playability. These skills, as part of an art form, are

subjective in the way they are used, but are objectively admirable within any extent of their use

and perception.

With the increasing rise in popularity and maneuverability of home studio software in

audio engineering and production, the work space can be anywhere at any time. An example of

this would be this quote: “Once all of the audio has been recorded, it's the job of the recording

engineer to edit and mix the audio, also known as audio post-production. The mix is where the
engineer takes all of the individual audio tracks -- instruments, vocals, other sound sources -- and

assembles them into a balanced, musically appealing whole. Today, mixing is done almost

exclusively on a computer with audio editing software like Pro Tools” (howstuffworks.com).

Another quote that is pertaining to variable work areas is “Audio engineering technicians work at

various locales, including recording studios, radio or television stations, motion picture

companies, editing and post-production houses, live theaters and commercial studios”

(study.com). These quotes state various work locations, and provide an example of a software

used by audio engineers.

This career allows for someone to meet a famous band musician, or even help create their

careers. There are many things an audio engineer can, but not limited to, do as stated by this

quote: “Before recording begins, engineers talk with producers and performers about the desired

production sounds. They prepare for live recording sessions, placing microphones and other

recording equipment and using computers to program equipment. They then record speech and

music, or reproduce or copy sound recordings. For recordings made for movies, videos or TV

shows, studio engineers synchronize dialogue, music and sound effects with visuals. With music

with instruments and vocals recorded separately, they combine sounds during mixing or

postproduction” (work.chron.com). Another quote illustrating this is “Sound engineers: confer

with producers, performers, and others in order to determine and achieve the desired sound for a

production such as a musical recording or a film, mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound

effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards, record

speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment, regulate

volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles, reproduce and

duplicate sound recordings from original recording media, using sound editing and duplication
equipment, separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, then combine sounds later during the

mixing or post-production stage” (job-descriptions.careerplanner.com). These quotes show what

an audio engineer would do for their client or clients, and their responsibilities.

Audio engineers forward music scenes by perfecting or creating new auditory techniques

and helping bands or artists create their sound, which could influence the creation, or at least full

realization, of a subgenre. The behind the scenes work these engineers produce is responsible for

the vast majority of sounds and niches within genres.

In conclusion, audio engineering and production is a career path that is extremely creative

and highly sought after. This career is difficult to break through, and requires lots of hard work

and risk, making it a truly remarkable and respected choice of career. The people in this career

push the genre sounds and breakthroughs, and provide many opportunities and experiences.
 Works Cited

Alyson, Jennifer. “Studio Engineer Job Description & Qualification.” Chron.com, n.d. Web. 6

October 2020.

“Audio Engineering Career Information and Job Duties.” Study.com, 2019. Web. 6 October

2020.

Roos, Dave. “How Recording Engineers Work.” HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 6 October

2020.

“Sound Engineering Technician.” Careerplanner.com, n.d. Web. 6 October 2020.

Swift, Liya. “What education do you need to be a music producer?” Recordingconnection.com,

2019. Web. 6 October 2020.