Alex Music Blog

One thing about love about music and the music creation process is that it is very relaxing and therapeutic.  But I’ve always wondered if animals felt the same things as humans did when listening to music.

Did you know that dogs can experience stress, just like humans? However, there is a way to relieve that stress. Several studies have shown that dogs respond very well to classical music. Its gentle sound can stop the barking that can sometimes be continuous, and even put them to sleep. And dogs need rest, just like the rest of us. So this post will serve as a message to dog owners everywhere to reconsider the type of music canines are allowed to listen to at home.

Research

There has been extensive research on this matter and in this post, I will review three instances of study on this hypothesis about dogs and music. According to PuppyLeaks.com, a study was done in Scotland. Dogs were separated into two groups. One group had the benefit of listening to classical music, and the other group was observed without. During the study, the researchers monitored heart rates, behaviors–such as instances of barking– and saliva samples. Saliva contains the stress hormone cortisone. What the researchers were looking for here was a rise or drop in the level of cortisone. In the second week, the groups were switched.

At the end of this study, one thing was unequivocally clear: The stress reduction in dogs that were exposed to the classical music was marked. This research, indeed, flew in the face of the proponents of the Pet-CDs that are made with the purpose of soothing these animals. For the results were immediate. After the exposure of the dogs to the classical music was over, their heart rates and other metrics used returned to what they were before the exposure to the music.

But there were differences in the effect of this music according to gender: Males seemed to be more soothed by this music than their female counterparts. Males tended to bark less while listening to the music.

Also, according to CBS News, researcher Lori Kogan and a group of other scientists conducted a study on the link between music and stress in dogs. This study involved 117 dogs of assorted breeds. Eighty-three were boarders, or temporarily housed dogs, while 34 were rescued dachshunds. These dogs were exposed to 45 minutes of music from three different genres. The scientists recorded their behavior every 45 minutes. That study found that classical music–such as Bach and Beethoven– was more soothing than the music on Pet CDs, which are supposed to lead to the relief of stress in dogs–or rock and roll, rap, or any other loud music. The other aforementioned genres, on the contrary, were associated with an increase in stress.

According to the Slicker Brush website, the Journal of Veterinary Behavior concurs that classical music relieves stress in dogs. This holds especially true for canines that are homeless and live in shelters. Social isolation is a common source of stress in these animals. The website says that dogs exposed to classical music were shown to spend more time in a resting state than those listening to heavy metal or no music at all.

Also, a 2012 Colorado Ball State study says that dogs that have been exposed to classical music tend to sleep well, while those forced to listen to heavy metal that blasted from nearby speakers shook more frequently, which has been cited as a sign of agitation and stress.

There has also been evidence shown that playing calming music while grooming your dog can do tremendous things for their anxiety.  The reason is because the grooming brush applies a therapeutic massage to the dog’s body while the music helps to relieve overall stress.  The combination of the two can be extremely powerful.

Conclusion

The studies have come from a variety of sources, but the conclusion is very clear: If you want your dog – regardless of breed – to be less stressed, then you should pay attention to the music you listen to while they are around you. Try Brahms or Bach in the place of Megadeth, Poison, or even the Beatles. Don’t believe the result of these or any studies–you conduct your experiments at home and compare them with those conducted by the professionals. But if you find that these results apply to your dog as well, does this mean that you should discard all of your Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, or other music from your favorite 80s hair bands? No, but it does mean that maybe you should invest in more songs like “Brahms Lullaby,” A Fifth of Beethoven,” and other works by classical artists. And if you must listen to your heavy metal, maybe consider doing so while your dog is outside.

 

 

If you are anything similar to me, then you are probably looking for mixing and mastering tips and tutorials constantly.  You are trying to take your music to the next level and want your records to sound like the pros, right?

Me, Too!

But for whatever reason, we will ignore the good advice that can help us and instead we will take advice from anyone and everyone who puts it out there and what we want to hear.  I can relate, because I am very similar.

How did you get that snare to pop?

Not too long ago, I was talking to a friend about a common question I get asked a lot: “How do you get your snares to pop?”  I always cringe when they ask me that because the answer is truly anticlimactic and nothing remotely close to what they were expecting.

The way I’m able to get that great sound is that it wasn’t from drum samples, it wasn’t a cool new plugin, and it wasn’t even through EQ or compression.  The reality is that I got that snare sound because that’s just the way it was recorded.  Boring, I know.

It was about finding the sweet spot with the microphone and the snare drum and finding the best spot that those two things played well together.  I had to fall in love with the sound and I knew I was there.  Remember, that mixing and mastering does start with the source material.

For most people, you are probably mixing your tracks or at the very least, it’s music that you’ve recorded.  So if that’s what the case is, then you are in luck.  So the best mixing and mastering advice, I could give, is just to record material that sounds great from the start.

Make sure that you are recording drum sets that sound good, that have new heads and are in tune.  Make sure your acoustic guitars have fresh new strings and sound like you want the finished product to sound like.

Video on Tuning Drum Heads:

You might not like this

I know the advice I am giving, sounds pretty obvious but the truth is that most people don’t even both doing it.  I know because I don’t do it sometimes either.  I honestly should know better, but I still put op some microphones, press record and then I think to myself “Ah, I’ll just fix it in the mix.”   It’s probably just in our human nature to do that because I talk to a lot of people, and they all seem to be doing the same thing.  We want to fiddle with sounds for hours rather than take the time to record something truly memorable from Day 1.

So put away the equalizers, the compressors and whatever plugins you are anxiously trying to get your hands on.  Focus on the recording and the sounds you get from the start!

Action Steps for Better Mixing and Mastering

Remember that the first thing that’s the most important is to focus on the microphone selection and the room position when recording.  Get a great sound and your mixes will thank you later.

Next, you need to do a little work to get the instruments to sound good.  Tune them up properly, use fresh strings and replace the drum heads if necessary.  You can’t compromise on a great sounding instrument.

Lastly, stop over processing!  I can’t say that enough.  I see too many people get GREAT recordings, but then their mixing and mastering falls short because of their Overuse of plugin processing.  Focus on the balance and vibe of the music and your tracks will sound better before you know it.

Some more mixing tips straight from a mastering engineer…

EQ is a big part of the mixing process but how do we know that?  Like where should we be boosting frequencies and where should we be cutting? Is there a good place to start? It’s all so complicated, and these are questions I continue to get from my followers.  I truly do understand what you are going through so let me ask you some questions to help you make better EQ decisions in the future.

Are There Frequencies That Add Nothing to The Track?

Okay, so lets begin with a simple question:  What frequencies can I remove from the song that are adding no value whatsoever?  Have you ever considered that in every song there is frequency information that just doesn’t need to be there?  It’s a complete waste of headroom and is more specifically the low frequencies – below 40Hz.  You can use the most commonly used filter to do yourself a favor and remove all of that low-end junk.   It’s not adding anything except for some volume on the track.

You mine as well take out the high pass filter and get rid of everything above 90Hz that’s not part of a Bass guitar or Kick drum.  And why is that?  The audio below 90Hz is best used for the low-end instruments, so you should free up some room for the bass and kick combo to let the rest of the tracks do their thing in the mid range.

Are Any Frequencies Hurting Your Track?

Once you remove the pointless and neutral stuff from your record, it’s time to go looking for those problematic frequencies that are making your song sound terrible.  You should never assume that your track was perfectly recorded and contains only good things.  Even professionally-recorded tracks provide some sonic information that’s making things sound more terrible than they should be.  So find them and get rid of them.

I’ll usually boost a frequency up 12dB (extremes settings so that I can hear it) using a pretty narrow Q and I start sweeping around.  I’m trying to pinpoint all the nastiness I can find.  The good old stuff.  A lot of times I’ll find Mud in the 400-500Hz range.  Sometimes it could be boxiness in that range, or it could be ear piercing frequencies in the upper mids.  It could a resonant ring in the drums.  Whatever it might be I try and get rid of it by about 3-6dB.

This subtractive EQ process does a couple of important things for you: it makes your song sound better by removing the unwanted frequencies, which in turn better highlights what DOES sound good in your track.  All the while freeing up some more headroom for you. It’s a win-win.

Are There Frequencies That Make The Track Sound Great?

After getting rid of those nasty unwanted frequencies, you should be asking yourself: What frequencies do I hear that I like?  What is it about this track that makes it sonically great?  It could be the beat of the drum or the wispiness in the singer’s voice.  Whatever it is, you can highlight those areas with some EQ to help the track stand out.

This process is the same as when you were searching for the nasty frequencies; the only difference is that you are looking for the things that make the song great.  If I do decide to boost a frequency, I tend to stick with a simple 3dB; nothing more and uses a wide Q setting.  This helps to keep things smooth and subtle sounding.

If you’re having problems figuring out how to hear these audio frequncies check out this EQ cheat sheet.  It does a great job of explaining how to hear the audio frequencies instead of just telling you what to do.

Now Do it Over And Over.

That’s it.  So those are the three questions that you should be asking yourself whenever you pull out an EQ and decide to go at it.  You simply remove the frequencies that are either hurting the track or are unnecessary and then accenting the ones that make it great.  You should be on the path to a more musical sounding mix.

Just one last thing:  Make sure you bypass the plugin every so often so that you can gain some perspective on what you’ve done.  It doesn’t seem like you are doing much but when it’s all added up it makes a big difference, and your ears are terrible at remembering things.

Also check out this video on EQing for some more tips:

Hello Peops

Just wanted to let you know that this site is undergoing a complete facelift and change and should be back up and running shortly.  We can’t wait to share tons of cool stuff with you but in the meantime we thought you would like this super duper cool video on recording tips..

CHEERS