AUDIO
MANAGING FEEDBACK ( NO , NOT THAT KIND OF FEEDBACK ) | Jeff Hawley
“ 52 miles an hour ? Yikes , I didn ’ t even realize I was going that fast !” We ’ ve all had the experience of the flashing ‘ SLOW DOWN ’ sign providing feedback as to our heavy foot and tuned-out driving tendencies . In fact , according to Law Officer Magazine , “ radar speed displays ( when compared with speed bumps , rumble strips or other commonly used methods ) were ranked No . 1 for having the most immediate and long-lasting effect on calming traffic .” How do we apply this psychological effect to calming down the congregant who comes up to the console complaining the service today was way too loud ? Are there ways in which we might reframe our approach to gathering and reacting to the inevitable feedback we regularly receive about our mixes ?
In this month ’ s Audio With Jeff Hawley article I will present a few random musings on the important topic of feedback and the psychology of church sound and psychoacoustics — and hopefully turn what is sometimes an uncomfortable experience into an opportunity for growth and a more engaging and effective overall worship experience .
YOUR SUBJECTIVELY OBJECTIVE OPINION ? One of the greatest technological innovations in modern live sound is the sound pressure level ( SPL ) meter . Coming onto the scene in the early 1960 ’ s , these small handheld devices provide a scientific measure of changes in air pressure caused by sound waves . In very broad terms , how ‘ loud ’ it is in a given environment . With the increased quality and processing power within smartphones , it is now even possible to get an acceptable approximation of objective ‘ loudness ’ with an app on your iPhone . Cool stuff .
While I could go on at length about all of the technical aspects of sound pressure measurement and hardware and software options , I ’ ll simply recommend that you do some research on your own and consider some measuring device to be a necessary part of your audio mixing toolkit . The point I ’ d like to make here is that scientific objective measurements of this type are only a part of the larger puzzle when it comes to mix feedback , though . Perception of sound has many different aspects . Looking at only the mathematical SPL measurement doesn ’ t factor in other psychological elements of audio perception , the subjectivity of human experience , and other qualities of the sonic landscape .
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE . In a somewhat parallel domain , perception of spiciness also has many different flavors ( pun intended ). Think of SPL measurements as being a bit like test tube beaker highperformance liquid chromatography ( HPLC ) of hot sauces . These technical measures look at the amounts of specific chemical compounds ,