The Sound of Things

The Sound of Things………..
    As an audio person, I find myself in a constant state of “listening”. Wether I’m listening to a song, watching a movie, or just walking outside, by nature audio people are hyper-tuned to sounds, as it should be. This can be a mixed blessing of course - I can find peace in the sounds of nature, be horribly distracted by the sounds of a loud TV in the background or big-engine cars driving by, or I can be stuck “de-constructing” the tones that I hear in a song I’m listening to (rather than just enjoying the song). Music can be playing and I find myself unconsciously thinking “hmmm - sounds like they used a close mic, deep-dish snare with some heavy compression and no reverb” etc etc. I’ve come to accept it as a blessing/curse, because many times a client will ask me to capture a specific type of musical vibe in something they need, and I can do it very easily. On the other hand, my pure enjoyment of sound, and particularly music, has suffered a bit. 

    If you find yourself in this same boat, the only suggestion I can offer is to roll with it, and if you decide you’d prefer to just listen without de-constructing, with a little work and patience, you can learn how to do it. It takes deliberate action and thought, but eventually it can be done.