The studio as an instrument — recording, mixing and mastering, synthesis and sampling, and sound design as composition.
11 topics · 6 curated works
No prior grounding assumed.
Dense Clarity - Clear Density
Walter Murch · 2005
Argues that a soundtrack reads as clear not by being sparse but by segregating sounds into distinct perceptual bands, so density and clarity are…
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2005
Rules that sampling even a two-second guitar chord from a sound recording without a licence is infringement regardless of audibility, rejecting the…
+2 more at this level
Primary sources and full treatments.
Improvements in and Relating to Sound-Transmission, Sound-Recording and Sound-Reproducing Systems
Alan Dower Blumlein · 1931
Sets out, in a single patent, the principles of stereophonic recording and reproduction that underlie two-channel recording technique to this day.
+1 more at this level
6 works
Walter Murch
Argues that a soundtrack reads as clear not by being sparse but by segregating sounds into distinct perceptual bands, so density and clarity are compatible if the frequencies and rhythms of different sounds do not compete.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Rules that sampling even a two-second guitar chord from a sound recording without a licence is infringement regardless of audibility, rejecting the de minimis defence for sound recordings specifically.
link checked 17 Sept 2026European Broadcasting Union
Argues that mastering and broadcast levels should be set by perceived loudness rather than peak level, and specifies the measurement standard that replaced the peak-normalisation practice behind the loudness war.
link checked 17 Sept 2026Brendan Anthony
Argues from the mixer's own practice that bringing in a third-party mix engineer is a compositional decision as much as a technical one, since the mixer routinely rebalances arrangement choices the producer already made.
link failing as of 17 Sept 2026Alan Dower Blumlein
Sets out, in a single patent, the principles of stereophonic recording and reproduction that underlie two-channel recording technique to this day.
link checked 17 Sept 2026John Chowning
Shows that modulating one audio oscillator's frequency with another produces rich, dynamically evolving timbres cheaply, founding FM synthesis as a practical alternative to additive synthesis.
link checked 17 Sept 2026