Stop what you are doing now and shout as loud as you can 'ECHO!'
You might think I'm insane and I'm sure the more reserved of you, or those sitting in Starbucks will resist my invitation. At some point, we've all allowed the curiosity of a three-year-old to be replaced by reservation, the fear of embarrassment, or just good old-fashioned grown-up behaviour. I think many of us are poorer for allowing that to happen.
At some point in the last 12 months, my baby daughter has taken it upon herself when visiting a new space of doing what I suggested you do. We park the car, I get her out of her car seat and then plonk her down on the ground. Within seconds she's shouting at the top of her voice 'ECHO!'
I think it first started when we parked in a concrete underground car park, and she realised there was something different about the acoustics. To test her theory, she shouted echo at the top of her voice. As the sound reverberated around the space, she did it again, and again. We then spoke about why her voice sounded different.
Since her first foray into the science of acoustics, my daughter has taken it upon herself to do it every opportunity she can. Sometimes we get odd looks from those around us, or on some occasions a glare from someone who thinks I should tell my kid to stop being one, but I'm not stopping her, in fact sometimes I join in...from the mouth of babes and all that.
This week I went out for dinner with my wife, and during the evening I did what you do more often when you celebrate your 52nd birthday, and visited the toilet. For my American cousins, that's what you call the bathroom or the restroom, but as I'm yet to attend a public toilet that has either a bath or a sofa in it I'm sticking to my anglicised nomenclature.
Anyway, while in the room doing what comes naturally (and more often) I coughed and heard a nice reverb. I glanced around to check to see if I was alone and then shouted 'ECHO!' It was a great sounding room and had I a vocalist who didn't mind the smell of week-old urine then I would have considered making a recording in there.
Before we record, we listen. Or at least we should.
How many of us really know what a bass drum is supposed to sound like? I mean before it has been through more processing than spreadable cheese. Or for that matter how many of us have experienced a symphony orchestra, a choir, a guitar, an African percussionist, or a flute? Modern musicians are presented with so many 'completed' sounds and I wonder how often each of us stops to wonder how close to the real thing that facsimile is? Of course, it could be said that as long as the sound fits the work then who needs a history lesson and it's a fair point, but knowing how something should really sound is not the same as choosing something for its particular character. In Birmingham we have a saying that when someone is doing DIY they may use a 'Birmingham screwdriver.' It means a hammer! I've seen plenty of people putting screws in with a hammer and it might work, but any professional worth their salt should know what tool to use for what job.
Knowing how things sound for real should be a fundamental requirement of anyone presssing record or mixing... surely?
But it's not just music; for those working in film and TV sound, how many of the 'real-world' sounds that you mix have you ever heard for real?
Or let's get down to the basics, how many of us know what 1kHz sounds like, or 100Hz, or who understand what harmonics are used when a bass guitar is playing in D, if we don't then we'll be cutting and boosting the wrong frequencies.
I'm not writing this to suggest you don't know, but I am asking myself and anyone else who wants to consider these fundamental questions about the nature of sound. I suppose what I'm asking is when did we last shout 'ECHO!' or even stop to listen to how things around us sound?
Encouraged by the inquisitive nature of my little one, when out walking in the woods with my dog recently, I stood next to the river that runs through it and spent some time listening to how it sounded in both my left and right ear. Of course, when designing the sound for picture, there's a variety of scenarios to consider when mixing something like a river, such as a viewer's point of view in relation to the scene and the nature of the shot, but I hope you take my point.
It's so easy to make assumptions both in music and post-production audio, and I know that I'm guilty of that. Ever decreasing budgets and tighter deadlines don't afford us the luxury of the research we would like to do if we could, but I'm determined to listen more to the world around me.
I'm fortunate to know some of the smartest people in this industry, but it took my three-year-old bundle of joy to remind me to listen.
Next time you find yourself in a new space, breath in as deeply as you can and shout at the top of your lungs 'ECHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'
Go on I dare you!