Otto Matta Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 ...how the tempo of your tracks seem to change drastically depending on the time of day? First thing in the morning they sound too slow, but when I'm tired and ready for bed they sound too fast. There was a time before I was aware of this phenomenon that I would try to correct the tempo. I've also noticed that I gain more clarity on my music when I let it rest for a while and don't listen to them. Something that sounded fairly complex while in the thick of creation can end up sounding simplistic if not heard for a while. What interesting phenomena have you noticed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin OOOD Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Tracks can sometimes sound like they're in a completely different key when you hear them with headphones on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Matta Posted March 31, 2007 Author Share Posted March 31, 2007 Tracks can sometimes sound like they're in a completely different key when you hear them with headphones on.True. Is this a doppler effect, you think? Since the headphone speakers are closer to the ear than monitors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike A Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 actually it's quite the opposite in here. if i listen to something first thing when i wake up in the morning it magically gains another 10 bpm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergroover Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 things were utterly groovy after listening to them for 3 hours until you hear it the next day and its boring.. (loopitus?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Matta Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 actually it's quite the opposite in here. if i listen to something first thing when i wake up in the morning it magically gains another 10 bpm Yeah, I'm sort of wondering whether coffee in the morning and alcohol in the evening have something to do with it. If you're listening first thing - without coffee - then maybe that's the difference. things were utterly groovy after listening to them for 3 hours until you hear it the next day and its boring.. (loopitus?)Yes. The loop is dangerous that way. I've found that I can loop almost anything and it becomes interesting after a while. Like, for instance - and I'm totally serious - a 15 second porn movie looped over and over again starts to have a very interesting rhythm after a while. I wonder what sort of psychological thing is going on that makes a loop interesting over time, and what makes it uninteresting the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin OOOD Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 True. Is this a doppler effect, you think? Since the headphone speakers are closer to the ear than monitors? No, the doppler effect is due to the relative motion of ones' ears and the sound source. Think passing ambulance. I wonder what sort of psychological thing is going on that makes a loop interesting over time, and what makes it uninteresting the next day.I don't know, but I'm glad it does - it's why trance music works. The trick is to find a 2-bar loop that still sounds good after 3 minutes. If it sounds good at the time, but uninteresting the next day, don't worry. It's the 'good at the time' factor that counts for people listening to the track. As a producer you should remember that nothing sounds fresh and interesting to its creator once its ceased to be fresh and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ov3rdos3 Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 No, the doppler effect is due to the relative motion of ones' ears and the sound source. Think passing ambulance. Blue Shifting and Red Shifting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin OOOD Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Blue Shifting and Red Shifting? Zakli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Matta Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 No, the doppler effect is due to the relative motion of ones' ears and the sound source. Think passing ambulance.That makes sense. I looked around briefly for a good explanation of the phenomenon and didn't find anything. Do you know the physics behind this, Colin? Here's another interesting one: You never really hear your music until you play it for someone else for the first time. And depending on who that person is it will sound different. And I find it funny that I'll think a track is done, but the minute I send it to a friend to listen, I'll find a million things I need to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I've noticed that my songs seem to be in a faster tempo when I'm off to the side of the monitors than when I'm sitting in front of them. But I don't work on music first thing in the morning, so I haven't noticed any such thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEMO.BOFH Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 it all sounds like gibberish to me until i took some acid... it will always sound like gibberish to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergroover Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 dopppplerrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Matta Posted April 4, 2007 Author Share Posted April 4, 2007 dopppplerrrrrI guess it's been established that the phenomenon is not the doppler effect as that would require movement, whereas switching from headphones to speakers is not really movement. I would be interested to know what the physics is behind the pitch change of this switch. Could it maybe be the movement of the sound itself as opposed to the relative position of the listener? As in, with speakers, the sound is moving around the room, echoing off of walls and other surfaces, many of which take time to get to the ears, whereas the sound waves in headphones are more straightforward and instant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chans Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 i experience the same thing....n this is human nature that u tend to hear your own tracks more...n as the days go by, u feel like there's somethin missin in your music... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalki Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 tempo changes when i move from one room to another. doppler effect, delay etc for sure. n most interestingly when i listen to the track by closing da ears with da hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Bill Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 This picture is completely synced to Fiord's remix of Vibrasphere's Reservoir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamlin Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 If it sounds good at the time, but uninteresting the next day, don't worry. It's the 'good at the time' factor that counts for people listening to the track. As a producer you should remember that nothing sounds fresh and interesting to its creator once its ceased to be fresh and interesting. I don't agree. (except with the obvious tautology that something that has ceased to be fresh and interesting is no longer fresh and interesting ) Maybe i'm too much of a perfectionist, but if a track i'm working on doesn't stand up to being listened to over and over and over and over and over and over again without becoming boring, then it's simply not good enough. I mean of course it stops being new and unfamiliar when you've heard it a bunch of times, but being old and familiar is definitely not synonymous with being uninteresting or boring. Also, i mean, some of the best music isn't even that interesting the first time you hear it.. Sometimes you have to listen to it a few times before it sinks in and you realise its greatness. Yes, It is the ambience of a room that colours the music, making it sound as it is played in a different key. Different listening positions in relation to the speakers will enhance this effect too. I don't believe this is the explanation.. I also most definitely experience the phenomenon of music sounding like the pitch goes down when i take my headphones off, but it's usually enough to just lift the headphones a bit off of my ears to get this effect, and it can just as well happen outside or whereever and not necessarily in a room with lots of colouring acoustics. One thought i had is that it might be just the volume level.. I mean, does this phenomenon occur even if listening at really low volume and removing the headphones? I'm not sure that is does.. I feel like the phenomenon is clearer if you have really loud volume in your headphones. Maybe it's possible to get the same effect from just lowering the volume quickly from really loud when using speakers? I gotta investigate this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drekmajster Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Well I sort of hear high frequencies better with headphones and bass better with speakers so it might be connected to sounding like a different key. I also noticed that making music is really easy if I'm tired(physically ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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