What is Audio Compression?

Choose the correct form of the verb:

Audio compression is the process of (to reduce/reducing) a signals dynamic range.

Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal.
You need (to reduce/reducing) the dynamic range of most signals for them (to
sound/sounding) natural on recording.

Imagine a whisper and a scream on the same audio track if they were the same
difference in loudness as they are in real life it would be pretty distracting. Compressors work
by (to attenuate/attenuating) the loudest parts of your signal and (to boost/boosting) the
result. After compression the quieter parts of the signal are more apparent since the dynamic
range has been reduced.

(To understand/understanding) compression we have to talk about transients and

dynamics. Transients are the initial high-energy bursts at the beginning of a sound they give
our brains a lot of information about a sound’s quality. Dynamic signals are a mix of transients
and their decay. Compression should be used (to strike/striking) a balance so that both the
louder and quieter parts of your sound can be heard clearly.

When you're (to dial/dialing) in a compressor you have (to listen/listening) for the
signals dynamics not its timbre, as you adjust your settings, ask yourself: What parts of my
signal are (to become/becoming) more apparently loud, what's happening to my transients
and dynamic range? Is it obvious where the gain production is (to occur/occuring), am I ( to
make/making) things worse? Most common settings on a compressor are threshold: ratio
attack and release.