The lecturer in music introduced, explained and demonstrated an original and innovative student-led listening exercise that helps students visualize sonic locations of the aural components of a commercial music production.
Clay Stevenson, a lecturer in the Department of Music, presented on an innovative critical listening exercise at the Association for Popular Music Education Annual Conference on June 4 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass.
Stevenson’s presention was titled “The 4D Listening Exercise.” The 4D Listening Exercise is designed around a three-dimensional visual grid that represents the various listening fields within a stereo audio production, i.e. amplitude, frequency and stereo imaging. For each section, part, or movement of a composition, students apply relative placements for the aural components of a recording. The components themselves are the forth dimension in The 4D Listening Exercise and are represented by pictures or icons that denote their respective timbres. The result is a visual representation of a commercial mix/production. This “transcription” of a mix/production forces students to critically evaluate the practices of professional mix engineers/producers. By using this nuanced approach to listening students become better informed about how to craft their own productions in more commercially viable ways.
The Association for Popular Music Education is a national organization with the goals of promoting and advancing popular music at all levels of education both in the classroom and beyond.