AN OBSERVATION OF AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER

Natalie Thompson observed the studio session as a means of understanding the unique nature of audio education. And it certainly is unique!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Class: Two-year HND Sound Engineering Course Subject: Recording Techniques B.

It is one module of the course.

Duration: 3 hours, once a week (students split into smaller groups and attend at different sessions)

Location and Equipment: Recording Studio, which was equipped with the following:

Central control room tie-lined to 4 acoustically isolated performance/recording spaces,
Allen & Heath GS3 - 32 channel mixing console with MIDI mute automation,
Fostex G24 - 24 track analogue tape machine,
SoundScape Digital audio multitrack recording system,
8 Noise gates, 12 Compressors, 4 graphic EQ units,
Bel Digital Delay, SMPTE synchronisation,
Various selection of microphones,
Foldback links throughout, Lexicon MPX1,
Lexicon Alex multi effects, Yamaha SPX 90,
Beyer DT 100 Headphones and chairs.

Students: 5 in total (2 females and 3 males).

Ages were early twenties and they came mainly through the A’Level progression route.

Examining Body: Plymouth University

Aims: Studio sessions are intended to give the students an opportunity to experience what it is like to work in a real commercial recording studio and so this particular lesson is run with that aim in mind.

Objectives:

§ To develop the students understanding of the philosophy of a recording session
§ To enable the student to explore recording techniques
§ To give the student exposure to real commercial situations and the problems encountered
§ To develop inter-personal skills and man management techniques

THE SESSION

INTRODUCTION

Although my chosen field of teaching is going to be more computing related, I chose to observe a lesson in the recording studio because I teach one of the modules (Personal and Professional Development) on the HND Sound Engineering Course and I thought that it would give me a good insight into what actually goes on in there, as well as the opportunity to observe the lesson.

I approached the tutor both formally through an email and informally, in conversation. I also asked for his permission to take notes during the session and I assured him that the report will remain confidential.

THE CONTENT/PLAN OF THE SESSION

The lesson commenced with four students present (two males and two females).

4.30pm Tutor led: The register was taken and the aims and objectives of the lesson were briefly discussed, as detailed above. The students were in the middle of working towards an assignment and this was the main objective of this lesson (as they don’t have studios at home).

For their assignment they needed to submit a record of their recording sessions. The CD needed to contain at least two different tunes, each at least 3 mins in length, that they have personally recorded. The tunes could not be jointly submitted (i.e. each student needed to have their own tunes), however they were permitted to work together on the tracks.

4.40pm Group Activity: The Group listened to each individuals recordings so far and discussed how they could possibly be improved upon.

5.00pm Two of the students went into a different room in order to practice their instrumental music before they were ready to record. This left the two female students, who together with the tutor as a guide, analysed one of their vocal recordings and discussed how to improve upon it, whilst using the equipment to modify it.

5.15pm Another male student arrived. The tutor spoke to him privately concerning his worries regarding his attendance record and checked with him that he was aware as to what was required for his assignment.

5.30pm One-to-one tutorial: Two of the students (one female and one male) then left the session in order to work upon the female’s track as she needed the male student to provide a guitar instrumental for it. They went to conduct this in one of the other sound rooms. This left the tutor and one female student, who worked together on recording her CD.

Together they had an in-depth discussion on compression and how to compress the vocals and how to incorporate the instruments onto the track.

6.15pm Break

6.30pm Group Activity: At this point the other students rejoined the group and played their recording so far. Again there was another group discussion as to the effect that they were after and how they could improve upon it.

7.30pm The Session was summarised and the learning outcomes were discussed. The students were praised for their work.

ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOSITION AND STANDARD OF THE STUDENTS

The lesson was based around student activity, which was due to the nature of the lesson.

It was very evident that the objectives of the lesson had been achieved, as the students had to play back their music at the end of the session and state whether or not it had improved and what they thought of it.

There was also a lot of group activity in the form of discussions and helping each other and good use was made of the students existing knowledge. Their motivation was self-evident in their approach to handling certain tasks. The lesson was very “alive” and the students seemed very happy to be there; with one student wanting to stay later if it had been possible.

The placement of the lesson within the module and the course

The lesson is part of a module, which is worth 10 credits of a total of 240 credits for the two-year course (4 semesters/terms). The lesson was part of a module called Recording Techniques B and these students were into Semester 3; it followed on from Recording Techniques A, which the students studied in Semester 2 of the course.

ANALYTIC REPORT OF THE SESSION

Environment

The organisation and layout of the room was very appropriate for the lesson as it needed to be conducted within a Recording Studio, which contained all the equipment necessary for them to carry out their assignments. The students needed to be able to listen very carefully to the music and the Studio has the added benefit of soundproofing so that they can’t be distracted by outside noise. The room was, however a little small, but this wasn’t an issue as the session was conducted in small groups.

Preparation

The tutor did not have a written lesson plan, however the lesson was conducted in a methodical way. The tutor informed me that it was difficult to plan for these lessons as it is very dependent upon the stage that the students have reached and where they are experiencing difficulties.

The tutor

The level of approach that was adopted by the tutor was very suitable for the group as it was one of a guide rather than that of instructing them. The students were at a stage where they needed to think about their track for themselves, listen to the music and try and deal with any problems that they encountered themselves or within their group – just as they would have to in a real recording studio.

The quality of the questioning was very interesting to watch. The tutor asked the students questions first regarding the music, i.e. it’s tone etc and if there was no reply or it was evident that the student wasn’t sure, then it was put to group discussion and then suggestions were given by the tutor.

The teacher spoke very clearly. If it was evident that a student had not understood then the tutor tried to re-word the question or suggestion. The teacher’s relationship with the students was generally one of friendliness, approachability and he came across as being very helpful.

CONCLUSION

I found the observation to be very helpful and informative. The students were encouraged to be able to think for themselves and problem-solve and good use was made of their existing knowledge.

I intend to try and incorporate this into my teaching lessons in the future.

Jan 2002

Natalie Thompson