An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization,

dynamics processing Dynamics (from Greek language, Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power (disambiguation), power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics) ** Aerodynamics, the study ...

and

audio effects Audio effect may refer to: *Audio signal processing, effects applied to sounds in music production and performance *Effects unit, a device that processes sound *Sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or en ...

, mixing, reproduction, and

reinforcement In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...

of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

pre-amp A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier ...

knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer... the nuts and bolts." Sound engineering is increasingly seen as a creative profession where musical instruments and technology are used to produce

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

for film, radio, television, music and video games. Audio engineers also set up, sound check and do live sound mixing using a

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic inst ...

and a sound reinforcement system for music concerts, theatre, sports games and corporate events. Alternatively, ''audio engineer'' can refer to a

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

or professional

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who holds an engineering degree and who designs, develops and builds audio or musical technology working under terms such as

acoustical engineering Acoustical engineering (also known as acoustic engineering) is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It includes the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typical ...

, electronic/electrical engineering or (musical)

signal processing Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as audio signal processing, sound, image processing, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniq ...

Research and development

Research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

audio engineers invent new technologies, audio software, equipment and techniques, to enhance the process and art of audio engineering.Daley, Dan
"The Engineers Who Changed Recording: Fathers Of Invention"
''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...

'' magazine, October 2004 They might design acoustical simulations of rooms, shape algorithms for

audio signal processing Audio signal processing is a subfield of signal processing that is concerned with the electronic manipulation of audio signals. Audio signals are electronic representations of sound waves—longitudinal waves which travel through air, consisting ...

, specify the requirements for

public address A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

systems, carry out research on audible sound for

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

manufacturers, and other advanced fields of audio engineering. They might also be referred to as acoustic engineers.

Education

Audio engineers working in research and development may come from backgrounds such as

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

broadcast engineering Broadcast engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering are also essential par ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

. Audio engineering courses at university or college fall into two rough categories: (i) training in the creative use of audio as a sound engineer, and (ii) training in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

topics, which then allows students to apply these concepts while pursuing a career developing audio technologies. Audio training courses provide knowledge of technologies and their application to

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s and

sound reinforcement system A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds ...

s, but do not have sufficient mathematical and scientific content to allow someone to obtain employment in research and development in the audio and acoustic industry. RogStudioLongshot

Audio engineers in research and development usually possess a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

or higher qualification in acoustics, physics, computer science or another engineering discipline. They might work in acoustic consultancy, specializing in

architectural acoustics Architectural acoustics (also known as building acoustics) is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a building and is a branch of acoustical engineering. The first application of modern scientific methods to architectura ...

. Alternatively they might work in audio companies (e.g.

headphone Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...

manufacturer), or other industries that need audio expertise (e.g.,

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

manufacturer), or carry out research in a university. Some positions, such as

faculty (academic staff) Academic personnel, also known as faculty member or member of the faculty (in North American usage) or academics or academic staff (in British, Australia, and New Zealand usage), are vague terms that describe Teacher, teachers or research staff of ...

require a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

a ''Toningenieur'' is an audio engineer who designs, builds and repairs audio systems.

Sub-disciplines

The listed subdisciplines are based on PACS (

Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme The Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS) is a scheme developed in 1970 by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) for classifying scientific literature using a hierarchical set of codes. PACS has been used by over 160 international jou ...

) coding used by the

Acoustical Society of America The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary orga ...

with some revision.

Audio signal processing

Audio engineers develop

algorithms to allow the electronic manipulation of audio signals. These can be processed at the heart of much audio production such as

reverberation Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

or perceptual coding (e.g.

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

Opus ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

). Alternatively, the algorithms might perform

echo cancellation Echo suppression and echo cancellation are methods used in telephony to improve voice quality by preventing echo from being created or removing it after it is already present. In addition to improving subjective audio quality, echo suppression i ...

, or identify and categorize audio content through

music information retrieval Music information retrieval (MIR) is the interdisciplinary science of retrieving information from music. MIR is a small but growing field of research with many real-world applications. Those involved in MIR may have a background in academic musicol ...

acoustic fingerprint An acoustic fingerprint is a condensed digital summary, a fingerprint, deterministically generated from an audio signal, that can be used to identify an audio sample or quickly locate similar items in an audio database. Practical uses of aco ...

Architectural acoustics

Architectural acoustics Architectural acoustics (also known as building acoustics) is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a building and is a branch of acoustical engineering. The first application of modern scientific methods to architectura ...

is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a room. For audio engineers, architectural acoustics can be about achieving good speech intelligibility in a stadium or enhancing the quality of music in a theatre. Architectural Acoustic design is usually done by acoustic consultants.

Electroacoustics

Electroacoustics is concerned with the design of headphones, microphones, loudspeakers, sound reproduction systems and recording technologies. Examples of electroacoustic design include portable electronic devices (e.g.

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

s, and

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

s), sound systems in

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...

and

wave field synthesis Wave field synthesis (WFS) is a spatial audio rendering technique, characterized by creation of virtual acoustic space, acoustic environments. It produces ''artificial'' wavefronts synthesized by a large number of individually driven loudspeake ...

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

and

vehicle audio Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the vehicle occupants. Until the 1950s it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-t ...

Musical acoustics

Musical acoustics Musical acoustics or music acoustics is a multidisciplinary field that combines knowledge from physics, psychophysics, organology (classification of the instruments), physiology, music theory, ethnomusicology, signal processing and instrument buil ...

is concerned with researching and describing the science of music. In audio engineering, this includes the design of electronic instruments such as

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

; the human voice (the physics and

neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

);

physical modeling Physical modelling synthesis refers to sound synthesis methods in which the waveform of the sound to be generated is computed using a mathematical model, a set of equations and algorithms to simulate a physical source of sound, usually a musical i ...

of musical instruments;

room acoustics Room acoustics is a subfield of acoustics dealing with the behaviour of sound in enclosed or partially-enclosed spaces. The architectural details of a room influences the behaviour of sound waves within it, with the effects varying by frequency. ...

of concert venues;

;

music therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...

, and the perception and cognition of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Psychoacoustics

Psychoacoustics Psychoacoustics is the branch of psychophysics involving the scientific study of sound perception and audiology—how humans perceive various sounds. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological responses associated wit ...

is the scientific study of how humans respond to what they hear. At the heart of audio engineering are listeners who are the final arbitrator as to whether an audio design is successful, such as whether a

binaural recording Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being in the room with the performers or instruments. This effect is ...

sounds immersive.

Speech

The production, computer processing and perception of

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

is an important part of audio engineering. Ensuring speech is transmitted intelligibly, efficiently and with high quality; in rooms, through public address systems and through mobile telephone systems are important areas of study.

Practitioner

Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Congress Warsaw (963)

FOH Pete Keppler with digidesign VENUE Profile live digital mixer and Genelec monitoring

A variety of terms are used to describe audio engineers who install or operate

sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

sound reinforcement A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds ...

, or sound

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

equipment, including large and small format consoles. Terms such as "audio technician," "sound technician," "audio engineer," "audio technologist," "recording engineer," "sound mixer," "mixing engineer" and "sound engineer" can be ambiguous; depending on the context they may be synonymous, or they may refer to different roles in audio production. Such terms can refer to a person working in sound and music production; for instance, a "sound engineer" or "recording engineer" is commonly listed in the credits of commercial music recordings (as well as in other productions that include sound, such as movies). These titles can also refer to technicians who maintain professional audio equipment. Certain jurisdictions specifically prohibit the use of the title

to any individual not a registered member of a professional engineering licensing body. In the recording studio environment, a sound engineer records, edits, manipulates, mixes, or masters sound by technical means to realize the creative vision of the artist and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. While usually associated with music production, an audio engineer deals with sound for a wide range of applications, including

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

for

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, live sound reinforcement,

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

, and broadcasting. In larger productions, an audio engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of a sound recording or other audio production, and works together with a record producer or director, although the engineer's role may also be integrated with that of the producer. In smaller productions and studios the sound engineer and producer are often the same person. In typical sound reinforcement applications, audio engineers often assume the role of producer, making artistic and technical decisions, and sometimes even scheduling and budget decisions.Huber, D.M. (1995). ''Modern Recording Techniques''. (5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Focal Press

Education and training

Audio engineers come from backgrounds or postsecondary training in fields such as audio,

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

, broadcasting, music, or electrical engineering. Training in audio engineering and sound recording is offered by colleges and universities. Some audio engineers are

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

s with no formal training, but who have attained professional skills in audio through extensive on-the-job experience. Audio engineers must have extensive knowledge of audio engineering principles and techniques. For instance, they must understand how audio signals travel, which equipment to use and when, how to mic different instruments and amplifiers, which microphones to use and how to position them to get the best quality recordings. In addition to technical knowledge, an audio engineer must have the ability to problem solve quickly. The best audio engineers also have a high degree of creativity that allow them to stand out amongst their peers. In the music realm, an audio engineer must also understand the types of sounds and tones that are expected in musical ensembles across different genres—

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

, for example. This knowledge of musical style is typically learned from years of experience listening to and mixing music in recording or live sound contexts. For education and training, there are audio engineering schools all over the world.

Role of women

According to

Women's Audio Mission Women's Audio Mission is a non-profit organization and recording studio complex based in San Francisco and Oakland, California, whose mission is to promote "the advancement of women and gender-diverse people in music production and the recording ar ...

(WAM), a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to the advancement of

women in music Women in music include women as composers, songwriters, instrumental performers, singers, conductors, music scholars, music educators, music critics/music journalists, and in other musical professions. Also, it describes music movements (e ...

production and the recording arts, less than 5% of the people working in the field of sound and media are women. "Only three women have ever been nominated for best producer at the Brits or the

Grammys The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

" and none won either award. According to

Susan Rogers Susan Rogers is an American professor, sound engineer and record producer best known for being Prince’s staff engineer during his commercial peak (1983-1987), including albums like '' Purple Rain'', ''Around the World in a Day'', ''Parade'', ''Si ...

, audio engineer and professor at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, women interested in becoming an audio engineer face "a boys' club, or a guild mentality". The UK "Music Producers' Guild says less than 4% of its members are women" and at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, "only 6% of the students enrolled on its sound technology course are female." Women's Audio Mission was started in 2003 to address the lack of women in

professional audio Professional audio, abbreviated as pro audio, refers to both an activity and a category of high quality, studio-grade audio equipment. Typically it encompasses sound recording, sound reinforcement system setup and audio mixing, and studio mus ...

by training over 6,000 women and girls in the recording arts and is the only professional recording studio built and run by women. Notable recording projects include the Grammy Award-winning

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * ...

(2014 Grammy winner), author

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

, the Academy Award-nominated soundtrack to “Dirty Wars”, Van-Ahn Vo (NPR's top 50 albums of 2013), Grammy-nominated St. Lawrence Quartet, and world music artists

Tanya Tagaq Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...

and

Wu Man Wu Man (; b. Hangzhou, Zhejiang, January 2, 1963) is a Chinese pipa player and composer. Trained in Pudong-style pipa performance at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, she is known for playing in a broad range of musical styles and i ...

. There certainly are efforts to chronicle women's role and history in audio. Leslie Gaston-Bird wrote Women in Audio, which includes 100 profiles of women in audio through history. Sound Girls is an organization focused on the next generation of women in audio, but also has been building up resources and directories of women in audio
Women in Sound
is another organization that has been working to highlight women and nonbinary people in all areas of live and recorded sound through an online zine and podcast featuring interviews of current audio engineers and producers. One of the first women to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her own

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

music label was

Cordell Jackson Cordell Jackson (July 15, 1923 – October 14, 2004) was an American guitarist thought to be the first woman to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her own rock and roll music label. Early life She was born Cordell Miller in Pontotoc, ...

(1923-2004).

Trina Shoemaker Kathryn "Trina" Shoemaker is an American mixer, record producer and sound engineer responsible for producing/engineering and/or mixing records for bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Something for Kate, Nanci Gri ...

is a mixer, record producer and

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

who became the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album in 1998 for her work on ''

The Globe Sessions ''The Globe Sessions'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on September 21, 1998, in the United Kingdom and September 29, 1998, in the United States, then re-released in 1999. It was nominated for Grammy ...

''.

Gail Davies Gail Davies (born Patricia Gail Dickerson; June 5, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and the first female record producer in country music. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson and the sister of songwriter Ron Davies. Gail' ...

was the first female producer in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, delivering a string of Top 10 hits in the '70s and '80s including "

Someone Is Looking for Someone Like You "Someone Is Looking for Someone Like You" is a song written and recorded by American country artist Gail Davies. The song was released as a single in January 1979 on Lifesong Records. "Someone Is Looking for Someone Like You" was recorded at the S ...

," "

Blue Heartache "Blue Heartache" is a song written by Paul Craft. It has been recorded by numerous musical artists in several different genres and formats, most notably by the Osborne Brothers in 1973 and Gail Davies in 1979. Osborne Brothers version "Blue He ...

" and "

I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)"' is a song co-written and originally released as a single by American country artist Ray Price. After becoming a major country hit in 1954, the song has been covered by numerous artists such as Cowboy Copas, ...

." When she moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 1976, men "didn't want to work for a woman" and she was told women in the city were "still barefoot, pregnant and ingingin the vocal booth." When Jonell Polansky arrived in Nashville in 1994, with a degree in electrical engineering and recording experience in the Bay Area, she was told "You're a woman, and we already had one"—a reference to

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman (born Wendy Steiner) grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was raised in a musical environment: her father Fred Steiner w ...

. KK Proffitt, a studio "owner and chief engineer", states that men in Nashville do not want to have women in the recording booth. At a meeting of the

Audio Engineering Society The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is a professional body for engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products ...

, Proffitt was told to "shut up" by a male producer when she raised the issue of updating studio recording technologies. Proffitt said she "finds sexism rampant in the industry". Other notable women include: *

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...

, early hip hop music producer *

, engineer for '' Purple Rain'' *

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan, a.k.a. Goldie (born Genyusha Zelkovicz; April 19, 1940) is an American rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of The Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Life and career Childhood Ravan was bo ...

, producer

The Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

' ''

Young, Loud and Snotty ''Young, Loud and Snotty'' is the first studio album by the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, produced by Genya Ravan. The album is the only Dead Boys album to chart, peaking at 189 on the Billboar ...

''; *

Delia Derbyshire Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out notable work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme ...

, British electronics pioneer *

Lari White Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition ...

, a co-producer on

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

's ''White Trash With Money'' *

Leslie Ann Jones Leslie Ann Jones is a multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer working as Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm, Ltd. company. She is a past Chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science ...

, recording engineer *

Sylvia Massy Sylvia Lenore Massy is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, instructor and author. Massy is renowned for her multifaceted production/mixing and engineering skills, with her first major breakthrough occurring with 1993's '' Undertow'', th ...

, engineer and producer for Tool, System of a Down, and Johnny Cash *

Ethel Gabriel Ethel Nagy Gabriel (November 16, 1921 – March 23, 2021) was an American record producer and record executive with a four-decade career at RCA Victor. She produced over 2,500 music albums including 15 RIAA Certified Gold Records and hits by Elvis ...

, producer and record executive

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

Sub-disciplines

There are four distinct steps to commercial production of a recording: recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. Typically, each is performed by a sound engineer who specializes only in that part of production. *Studio engineer – an engineer working within a studio facility, either with a producer or independently. *Recording engineer – engineer who records sound. *Assistant engineer – often employed in larger studios, allowing them to train to become full-time engineers. They often assist full-time engineers with microphone setups, session breakdowns and in some cases, rough mixes. *

Mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

– a person who creates mixes of multi-track recordings. It is common to record a commercial record at one studio and have it mixed by different engineers in other studios. *

Mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

– the person who masters the final mixed stereo tracks (or sometimes a series of audio stems, which consists in a mix of the main sections) that the mix engineer produces. The mastering engineer makes any final adjustments to the overall sound of the record in the final step before commercial duplication. Mastering engineers use principles of equalization,

compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression *Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a c ...

and

limiting In electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power or level to pass unaffected while attenuating (lowering) the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this threshold. Limiting is a type of dynamic range comp ...

to fine-tune the sound timbre and dynamics and to achieve a louder recording. *

Sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

– broadly an artist who produces sound tracks or sound effects content for media. *Live sound engineer **Front of House (FOH) engineer, or A1."Front of House (FOH) Engineer"
''Get in Media'' Entertainment Careers – a person dealing with live sound reinforcement. This usually includes planning and installation of loudspeakers, cabling and equipment and mixing sound during the show. This may or may not include running the foldback sound. A live/sound reinforcement engineer hears source material and tries to correlate that sonic experience with system performance.Davis, G., Jones R. (1990). ''Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook''. (2nd ed.) Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp. **Wireless microphone engineer, or A2. This position is responsible for wireless microphones during a theatre production, a sports event or a corporate event. **Foldback or

Monitor engineer Live sound mixing is the blending of multiple sound sources by an audio engineer using a mixing console or software. Sounds that are mixed include those from instruments and voices which are picked up by microphones (for drum kit, lead vocals ...

– a person running foldback sound during a live event. The term "foldback" comes from the old practice of "folding back" audio signals from the

front of house In the performing arts, front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium and foyers, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas. In a theatre, t ...

(FOH) mixing console to the stage so musicians can hear themselves while performing. Monitor engineers usually have a separate audio system from the FOH engineer and manipulate audio signals independently from what the audience hears so they can satisfy the requirements of each performer on stage. In-ear systems, digital and analog mixing consoles, and a variety of speaker enclosures are typically used by monitor engineers. In addition most monitor engineers must be familiar with wireless or RF (radio-frequency) equipment and often must communicate personally with the artist(s) during each performance. **Systems engineer – responsible for the design setup of modern PA systems, which are often very complex. A systems engineer is usually also referred to as a "crew chief" on tour and is responsible for the performance and day-to-day job requirements of the audio crew as a whole along with the FOH audio system. This is a sound-only position concerned with implementation, not to be confused with the interdisciplinary field of

system engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking p ...

, which typically requires a college degree. *

Re-recording mixer A re-recording mixer in North America, also known as a dubbing mixer in Europe, is a post-production audio engineer who mixes recorded dialogue, sound effects and music to create the final version of a soundtrack for a feature film, television pro ...

– a person in

who mixes audio tracks for

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

Equipment

An audio engineer is proficient with different types of recording media, such as analog tape, digital multi-track recorders and workstations, plug-ins and computer knowledge. With the advent of the digital age, it is increasingly important for the audio engineer to understand software and hardware integration, from synchronization to analog to digital transfers. In their daily work, audio engineers use many tools, including: *

Tape machine An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

s *

Analog-to-digital converter In electronics, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC, A/D, or A-to-D) is a system that converts an analog signal, such as a sound picked up by a microphone or light entering a digital camera, into a digital signal. An ADC may also provide ...

s *

Digital-to-analog converter In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function. There are several DAC architec ...

s *

Digital audio workstation A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...

s (DAWs) *

Audio plug-in An audio plug-in, in computer software, is a plug-in that can add or enhance audio-related functionality in a computer program. Such functionality may include digital signal processing or sound synthesis. Audio plug-ins usually provide their o ...

s * Dynamic range compressors * Audio data compressors *

Music sequencer A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...

s *

Signal processor Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, di ...

s *

Headphone Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...

s *

Microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

s *

Preamplifier A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier an ...

s *

Mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic inst ...

s *

Amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

s *

Loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...

Notable audio engineers

Recording

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

* Jim Anderson *

Dave Aron David Royce Aron (August 29, 1964 – March 11, 2019) was an American recording engineer, live music, live and studio Audio engineering, mixer, record producer, and musician. Early life Aron was born and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the so ...

Michael J. Bishop Michael Joseph Bishop (June 14, 1951 – March 29, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. 1972–1978, Bishop worked as a recording and mastering engineer at Cleveland Recording Company, Cleveland, Ohio. 1978–1988 ...

Bill Bottrell William A. Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Electric Light Orchestra and Sheryl Crow. Biography Between 1967 and 1970, Bottrell attended Cresc ...

David Bottrill David Bottrill is a Canadian record producer. He has won three Grammys. Formerly, he owned Rattlebox Studios in Toronto, Ontario with producer Brian Moncarz. Moneen, Basia Lyjak, and The Getaway Plan are among the artists to have recorded at th ...

Helmut Burk Helmut Burk is a Grammy Award-winning classical recording engineer and producer. He has worked extensively for the German classical record label, Deutsche Grammophon, and has recorded artists such as Krystian Zimerman, Yuja Wang, Herbert von Karajan ...

Iain Burgess Iain Burgess (24 November 1953 – 11 February 2010) was an English record producer and audio engineer. He helped define the sound of the Chicago post-punk music scene in the 1980s and early 1990s. Burgess worked with a number of key underground ...

Chuck Britz Charles Dean Britz (November 7, 1927 – August 21, 2000) was a recording engineer who worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, P.F. Sloan and The Grass Roots on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967. Biography Britz was bor ...

* Patrick Brown * Terry Brown *

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

Ian Caple Ian Caple is an English recording engineer, record producer, programmer and mixer. History Caple's career began at EMI Music in 1979. After training at Abbey Road Studios, he became an engineer at EMI's KPM studios in Denmark Street London. He ...

Dru Castro Andrew Luis "Dru" Castro is a 5x Grammy Award-winning recording engineer, producer and songwriter in Atlanta, Georgia. He has produced or engineered songs for artists such as Childish Gambino, Usher, Nelly, Anitta, Pentatonix, Ciara, Keyshia Cole ...

Fred Catero Fred Catero (February 4, 1933 – October 6, 2022) was an American record producer and engineer. Catero was originally from New York City, where he worked for CBS Records/Columbia, recording artists such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Invit ...

Roy Cicala Roy Joel Cicala (March 28, 1939 – January 22, 2014) was an American producer, engineer, songwriter and musician. His body of work includes over 10 Platinum Records for producing, writing, engineering and management for talent from the 1970s thro ...

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

John Congleton John Congleton is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician. In addition to his production work, Congleton has fronted the alternative rock band the Paper Chase, and writes music for a newer project e ...

Mike Crossey Mike Crossey (born 1979) is a Northern Irish record producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. He produced the debut single by Arctic Monkeys, collaborating with them over two albums. He is known for his ongoing relationship with The 1975 in ad ...

Terry Date Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ange ...

* Nick Davis *

Charles De Schutter ''Charles De Schutter'' was born in Brussels in December 1975. He is a Belgian musical producer and sound engineer. In February 2014 he won a "Victoire de la Musique" in France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a coun ...

* Jack Douglas *

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

* Mark "Flood" Ellis *

Geoff Emerick Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums '' Revolver'' (1966), '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road ...

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhon ...

*Shawn Everett *Bob Ezrin *David R. Ferguson *Steve Fisk *Dave Fridmann *Humberto Gatica *Rudy Van Gelder *Nigel Godrich *Doug Grean *James Guthrie (record producer), James Guthrie *Mick Guzauski *Roy Halee *Wally Heider *David Hentschel *Bones Howe *Andrew Jackson (recording engineer), Andrew Jackson *Andy Johns *Glyn Johns *

*Toshi Kasai *Neil Kernon *Jacquire King *Eddie Kramer *Greg Ladanyi *Maxime Le Guil *James Lock (sound engineer), James Lock *Chris Lord-Alge *Tom Lord-Alge *Malinda Lowe *Reinhold Mack *Mike Marciano *George Martin *Tony Maserati *George Massenburg *Mario J. McNulty *Joe Meek *Yuri Morozov (Russian singer), Yuri Morozov *Alan Moulder *Jack Mullin *Evgeny Murzin *Roger Nichols (recording engineer), Roger Nichols *Clif Norrell *Alex Tumay *Alex Newport *Paul Northfield *Gary Paczosa *Hugh Padgham *Robert Parker (sound engineer), Robert Parker *Alan Parsons *Dave Pensado *Lynn Peterzell *Tony Platt *Resul Pookutty *Bill Porter (sound engineer), Bill Porter *Bill Putnam *Bob Rock *Phil Ramone *Emitt Rhodes *Bruce Robb (producer) *

*Scott Salem *Elliot Scheiner *Andrew Scheps *Al Schmitt *Tom Scholz *Jim Scott (producer), Jim Scott *Ken Scott *Da-Hong Seetoo *Eberhard Sengpiel *Mike Shipley *Norman Smith (record producer), Norman Smith *H. Sridhar *Chris Steinmetz *Mike Stone (record producer), Mike Stone *Stephen Street *Bruce Swedien *Bill Szymczyk *Mike Terry (recording engineer), Mike Terry *Wharton Tiers *Devin Townsend *Ken Townshend *Phil Thornalley *John Travis (producer), John Travis *Michael B. Tretow *Derek Varnals *Robert Venable *Tony Visconti *Andy Wallace (producer), Andy Wallace *Dan Wallin *Kenneth Wilkinson *Jonathan Wilson (musician), Jonathan Wilson

Mastering

*Tom Coyne (music engineer), Tom Coyne *Mike Dean (record producer), Mike Dean *Kevin Gray (mastering engineer), Kevin Gray *Bernie Grundman *Steve Hoffman (audio engineer), Steve Hoffman *Ted Jensen *Bob Katz *Bob Ludwig *Rodney Mills *George Peckham *Bob Weston

Live sound

*Dan Healy (soundman), Dan Healy *Big Mick, "Big Mick" Hughes *Bruce Jackson (audio engineer), Bruce Jackson *Bill Porter (sound engineer), Bill Porter *Dave Rat *Owsley Stanley *

Broadcasting

References

External links

Audio Engineering Society
at the US Department of Labor
A free collection of online audio tools for audio engineersAudio Engineering online course
under Creative Commons Licence
Audio White Papers, Articles and BooksAES Pro Audio ReferenceAudio engineering news in Lithuania
{{Music industry Audio electronics Audio engineering, * Broadcasting occupations Filmmaking occupations Mass media occupations Occupations in music Audio engineers, Music production

Research and development

Education

Sub-disciplines

Audio signal processing

Architectural acoustics

Electroacoustics

Musical acoustics

Psychoacoustics

Speech

Practitioner

Education and training

Role of women

Sub-disciplines

Equipment

Notable audio engineers

Recording

Mastering

Live sound

Broadcasting

See also

References

External links