I have been investing quite a bit of time lately to studying various philosophy, religion and new age disciplines and I’d like to share with you some of the practical insights I have had in regard to utilizing some of these techniques in the world of audio.
Recently I have learned about a Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese scientist who, with the use of high-speed photography, has shown the effect of thought on the formation of water crystals. In his experiments he takes these photographs while he has people directing either positive or negative thoughts to the water as it is freezing. The resulting photographs of the crystals show the outcome of both positive and negative thought in the development of each crystal.
Positive vs. Negative
The positive thoughts of love and appreciation create beautiful symmetrical crystals while the negative thoughts generate abnormal and odd-looking shapes in the crystals. While Dr. Emoto’s theories and experiments are widely disputed and have as yet to produce a final scientific result, his experiments pique the curiosity and do make me wonder how much our thoughts actually affect what we do and how we do it.
I have also read about a film crew that went to the Brazilian rain forest in search of medicinal herbs (take it easy) and they encountered a shaman who, after taking some time, finally opened up to them and showed them certain herbs, roots and barks that are able to cure a variety of ailments. The shaman allowed them to observe his treatments and included the team in the preparation process of the plants. But when the researchers brought the plants back to the United States and tried to recreate the results in a laboratory environment, their results were less than satisfactory.
Same Steps, Different Result
Video analysis of the substances that the shaman created showed that they were doing exactly the same preparation in the lab as the shaman did in his hut, but without the same results. This led the researchers to believe that it was somehow the shaman himself that actually activated the curative properties of the plants by infusing them with his thoughts, energy or spirit.
Being that we, as engineers, are in a technical field, there are many hours spent thinking about, writing about and discussing the practical aspects of what we do. This magazine is devoted to the tools of the trade as well as to understanding the techniques of those engineers that use said tools.
As engineers, we need to understand the tools we are using and hopefully, as we gain more insight into the equipment and physics of sound, we can translate these revelations into great and satisfying mixes. I have witnessed a variety of competent engineers using the same equipment and getting completely different results. I have also seen some engineers who mix in very unconventional ways and still get a decent result.
One engineer I know always has a problem with one piece of gear or another. One day it might be a speaker and the next day a channel on the console. In one instance a piece of outboard gear would not work for him, cables would fail and microphones would be bad, but the interesting thing is that when we took the equipment back to the shop and put it on the bench (without the engineer in question being present), it would work just fine.
We finally decided that it was the engineer himself who had his own internal electrical energy that would negate certain pieces of equipment. We had no other logical explanation.
A Trade and an Art Form
As with any other profession, what we do is both a trade and an art form. A photographer uses their camera; a musician uses an instrument, the painter a uses a brush and we use a console and speakers to express ourselves. The best of us don’t just set levels and read meters; we define the bands we mix by what we put into it.
While it is possible to mix any kind of music, it does help to have an understanding and love for the music one is mixing. We all have our favorite types and styles of music as well as musical heroes we enjoy working with and while we are not creating the music, being behind the console and mixing the band is as close to be the fifth Beatle as one can get.
If our thoughts are in the right place we construct the space and texture between the various instruments thereby defining the sound to the listener. We instill the space with clarity of sound and give meaning to each note played. If our thoughts are pure we have the ability to lift the music to new heights by inspiring the musicians to play their best.
Good vs. Great
It is within our capacity to make a good show a great show, but our intent needs to be just right. If we stay focused and selflessly give of ourselves we can transcend the console, the processing and the speakers and connect directly into the universe of sound and bring lucidity and understanding to a world of chaos and suffering. It is within our grasp to save the world one dB at a time.
If we can indeed change a deformed ice crystal into a perfectly symmetrical crystal by sending it love, then by all means send love through your DCAs and beautiful thoughts from your matrixes. Send understanding down your drive lines and compassion from your auxiliary sends. Be the shaman and infuse your processor with healing qualities that will cure all who stand in the presence of your sound.
Reject the trappings of your ego and let the sound flow through you, stay detached from the evils of compression, but be generous and give freely of your effects. Connect to the force and true happiness is in the mix. One last thing to remember is that after the show you should try to refrain from packing the truck or lifting any heavy pieces until you have had at least eight hours to sleep it off.
