The first spark of inspiration came a few years ago. I was in my bedroom, when I heard, the all too familiar riff of, Smells Like Teen Spirit. Not being the Nirvana fan I am today, I was ripped from my bedroom and into my living room in a state of wonder, where I found my dad watching a movie. I would later find out that this movie was called Classic Albums: Nirvana- Nevermind. I sat and absorbed everything producer Butch Vig said for the whole 50 minutes. It was like I was in a trance. A new door was open for me, but I wouldn’t explore what was inside until much later. Since then, I have had an unsatisfiable thirst to learn everything I can about music and how it is made.
When choosing my topic for my personal project, I immediately knew I was going to pick something related to music. After spending some time thinking about what to choose, I settled with running live sound for a concert. I first became interested in this topic during my music technology class, taught by Mr. Perkins. We did a brief segment on operating analog mixers and setting up sound equipment. While I enjoy using digital audio workstations, I loved the hands-on …show more content…
I had no experience with mixing live, let alone a full band, composed of guitar, bass, piano, and drums, 22 vocalists, 2 soloists, and later a horn section. It was a lot to take in. Slowly, I became more and more comfortable. I was taking my first steps, and stumbled a lot. I had to learn how to listen for each instrument in the mix and know if I needed more or less of it. I had to make sure the soloists could be heard and I had to make sure the reverb suited Mr. Wright’s needs. I took notes on a setlist to remember the changes I had to make throughout the shows. Every second was spent making sure nothing was out of place. A major part of running sound is problem solving. If something sounds off, you need to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. I had to be adaptable and