MTF WEEK 4 CRITICAL LISTENING

This week’s session was almost entirely focussed on critically listening to “pop”* recordings and discussing the production attributes of them. Both Daves seem keen for us to understand that there is no “right way” or “wrong way” to produce, in the final analysis the recording either sounds good or it doesn’t, irrespective of the production techniques employed. I should qualfy the phrase “sounds good” in this context, as there are certainly different levels of listening. One wouldn’t necessarily expect the same level of critical listening from the average pop music CD purchaser as one would from a professional sound engineer. So why are we striving for maximum quality in every project when the final market might be say, AM radio? I think it’s because no matter what market you are producing your recording for, you never really know what system the music is going to be played on. So the Kylie recording which sounds OK on your crappy home hi-fi may not so sound so good on your extremely expensive professional sound system. Also, if someone is paying you top dollar to produce their music, then surely you owe them the best that you are capable of. The other lesson I learnt this week is that going to a reputable studio is no guarantee of top quality production, there must be more to the process than simply spending money and this is probably where the producer, and specifically the producer in partnership with the engineer, comes into play. If the band in question has no producer and has a vague idea of their own role as self-producers, then the end result might not be all that they are hoping for.
*I use the word “pop” here in the broad sense of “popular” music of all genres.