Psychoacoustics (The Perception of Music)
Love Music More · hosted by Luke F. Walton (Scoobert Doobert) · Solo episode
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Topics discussed
Host note
Some mixes can sound quieter than others even at identical volume, not because of the fader, but because of the frequency spectrum they occupy. That's psychoacoustics: the physics of how we hear, not just what the meters say.
I get into clipping (why analog clipping adds character while digital clipping sounds brittle), the warm-versus-sterile debate between analog and digital (spoiler: digital has taken the lessons from analog and applied them mathematically), and how our ears respond differently to loudness across frequency ranges. The headphone section covers why mixing on cans introduces binaural biases you need to account for.
The frame I keep coming back to is the interplay between sterile, artificial, and realistic, having the tools, recognizing which one you're hearing, and choosing deliberately.
Selected moments
- Introduction to Psychoacoustics 0:01 Why some tracks sound louder than others, the rabbit hole that sparked the episode.
- Explaining Clipping 2:19 What clipping is, how it works, and why analog distortion adds character while digital clips are harsh.
- Analog vs Digital Sound 4:34 The differences between analog and digital recordings and their effects on perceived warmth and tone.
- Loudness Perception 9:46 How our ears perceive loudness differently across frequency ranges and what that means for mixing.
- Headphone Mixing Insights 12:51 Headphone mixing and binaural sound, benefits and pitfalls.
- Conclusion on Music Perception 15:02 Balancing sterile, artificial, and realistic sounds, having the tools and recognizing when to use them.
Selected excerpts
That generally creates clipping. So what clipping is, is you can picture a sine wave up and down, up and down, like a slinky going up and down.
Because it's in the analog space rather than the digital space, it is adding character.
It can sound very brittle and fragile and digital. But the magic of where digital is gone is that it's been able to take the lessons from analog and apply it mathematically.
Some modern mixes can sound quieter unless you have a big subwoofer or something like that in comparison to other ones because it's a less full frequency spectrum.
It's like playing with those, you know, the interplay between sterile, artificial and realistic. And being able to switch in between the two, having the tools, recognizing it.
FAQ
What is psychoacoustics in music?
Psychoacoustics is the study of how humans perceive sound, particularly how different sounds can be perceived as varying in loudness despite similar measurements.
How does mixing affect perceived loudness?
Mixing techniques, such as the balance of frequencies and the presence of certain instruments, can affect how loud a track seems to listeners even if the volume levels are equal.
What role does clipping play in music production?
Clipping occurs when audio signals are pushed beyond their limits, resulting in distortion, which can be used creatively in music production.
Curated notes only — no public transcript. Listen on the links above.