The introduction to the book AUDIO PRODUCTION AND CRITICAL LISTERING Technical Ear Training by JASON COREY( that I have never read completely). partially answers the topic of this thread and asks some good questions . ..
extract...
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The practice of audio engineering is both an art and a sci-
ence. For success in audio production, an engineer should
ideally possess both an understanding of theoretical con-
cepts and highly developed critical listening skills related
to sound recording and production. Each recording project
has its own set of requirements, and engineers cannot rely
on one set of recording procedures for every project. As
such, they must rely on a combination of technical knowl-
edge and listening skills to guide their work.
Although technical knowledge of analog electronics,
digital signal processing, audio signal analysis, and the
theoretical aspects of audio equipment is critical for a solid
understanding of the principles of audio engineering, many
of the decisions made during a recording project—such as
microphone choice and location, mix balance, fader levels,
and signal processing—are based solely on what is heard.
As such, it is often the ability to navigate the subjective
impressions of audio that allows engineers to successfully
improve on sound quality.
Every action taken by an engineer in relation to an audio
signal will have some effect on the sound that a listener
hears, however subtle it may be, and an engineer must
have an attentive ear tuned to the finest details of timbre
and sound quality. Most of these subjective decisions are
in response to the artistic goals of a project, and engineers
must determine, based on what they hear, if a technical
choice is contributing to or detracting from these goals.
Engineers need to know how the technical parameters of
audio hardware and software devices affect perceived sonic
attributes.
In addition to possessing technical and theoretical exper-
tise, successful audio engineers possess the capacity to dif-
ferentiate timbral, dynamic, and technical details of sound.
They can translate their aural impressions into appro-
priate technical judgments and alterations. Sometimes
referred to as “Golden Ears,” these highly experienced audio
professionals possess the extraordinary ability to focus their
auditory attention, resulting in the efficient and accurate
control of audio signals. They are expert listeners, individu-
als who possess highly developed critical listening skills and
who can identify fine details of sound and make consistent
judgments about what they hear (Stone, 1993). Such expe-
rienced engineers identify shortcomings to be solved and
features to be highlighted in an audio signal.
Critical listening skills in audio can be developed and
improved gradually over time by engineers as they work in
the field of audio, but there are systematic methods that can
shorten the time required to make significant progress in ear
training. As René Quesnel reported in his doctoral thesis,
sound recording students who completed systematic techni-
cal ear training outperformed experienced audio profession-
als on tasks such as identifying frequency and gain settings
of parametric equalization (Quesnel, 2001). Typically, the
development of listening skills for an audio engineer hap-
pens on the job. Although it was once common for begin-
ning engineers to work with more experienced engineers
and learn from them in the context of practical experience,
the audio industry has gone through drastic changes and the
apprentice model is gradually disappearing from the prac-
tice of audio engineering. Despite this evolution in the audio
industry, critical listening skills remain as important as ever,
especially as we see audio quality decline in many consumer
audio formats. This book presents some ideas for develop-
ing critical listening skills and potentially reducing the time
it takes to develop them.
A number of questions emerge as we begin to con-
sider critical listening skills related to sound recording and
production:
l What aural skills do experienced sound engineers, pro-
ducers, tonmeisters, and musicians possess that allow
them to make recordings, mix sound for film, or equalize
sound systems better than a novice engineer?
l What can the legendary engineers and producers, who
have extraordinary abilities to identify and manipulate
sonic timbres, hear that the average person cannot?
l How do audio professionals hear and consistently
identify extremely subtle features or changes in an audio
signal? """"