Analyzing Multitracks: Emotional Assessments and Salient Takeaways

Choose one song from the four multitracks in this lesson. Keeping in mind the engineering considerations presented in this lesson (frequency footprint, spatial placement, dynamic characteristics and envelope), answer the following questions:

QUESTION #1

Drawing from your listen to the final, multitrack of your chosen song, what were your emotional assessments throughout each one of its sections? Please list the sections of the song and your assessments next to them; for example: INTRO: Aggression and Passionate / VERSE: Creepy and Awkward / CHORUS: Epic and Liberating, etc.

QUESTION #2

Referencing your initial emotional notes from question #1, speculate on how the different sound characteristics and engineering considerations you heard in the multitrack mix stems are directly contributing to the resulting emotions. As you listen, pay special attention to the emotional results of each sound's frequency footprint, spatial placement, dynamic characteristics and envelope of the sounds in the production. You are also encouraged to go beyond these topics and analyze the impact you hear in regards to quantizing, tuning and the overall audio editing processes. In your analysis, please follow the format below and be as detailed and thorough as possible:

INTRO: The song feels aggressive and passionate due in large part to the performance, envelope and frequency extension of the drums, which to my surprise was actually a two-bar loop, instead of a played-through performance. The "dry" kick and the cymbals cover the low and high frequency extremes of the spectrum (~30 Hz and 20 kHz), respectively and their sound envelope has a distinct sharp, punchy attack and a very short decay. These drums also emotionally envelope the listener, covering the entire spatial canvas, from hard left to hard right. With the I can see, from the multitrack, that the drums are also tightly quantized to the tempo grid, which adds to their secure, "weighty" feel. The electric bass . . .

VERSE: The song takes an emotionally tense, creepy, and awkward turn, which is again a result of the drum performance and their now limited frequency extension (400Hz to 10kHz) and narrow mono spatial collapse. I hear the lack of "dry" kick and snare tracks and instead, a mono room mic carries most of the drum sound, changing its envelope to a considerably longer decay. It's also interesting to hear that the emotional tension heard, is due in part to the change of snare sound in this section, which not only features a longer decay but is tuned to a note that is actually dissonant to the key of the song! While the drums continue to be tightly quantized to the grid, the newly added percussion rhythmically sways from the tempo grid, creating a woozy feeling of tension and awkwardness. The electric bass . . .

QUESTION #3

What are your most salient takeaways from this exercise in regards to the emotional consequences of the different sound characteristics (frequency footprint, spatial placement, dynamics and envelope)? How can the awareness and use of these topics help your own productions? Please explain in thorough detail.