Sound or audio engineering as it is popularly called is a segment of audio science which involves the recording and reproduction of sound through two important means, namely mechanical and electrical. The sound created could be of someone speaking, singing or an instrumental music or sound effects to enhance hearing. There are various disciplines of sound engineering that include acoustics, music and electrical engineering. Sound or audio engineering has more to do with the creative and technical aspects of recording sound.
History of sound engineering dates back to the 18th century, when a Swiss watchmaker described an idea of a cylindrical musical box. After that the phonograph was invented in the year 1877 which had the capability to record arbitrary sound. Building on the concept of phonograph, the next discovery was made which was the gramophone. This was instantly popular and was one of the most widely used instruments to listen to music.
Research was on to further improve the quality of sound recording and it was made possible by the invention of electrical engineering. This involved the use of microphones which could pick up feeble sounds and capture the performance with great quality. The use of microphones improved the quality of sound. The next level was the process of magnetic recording which involved the use of magnetic tapes engineered with electric signals. It made sound recording faster and flexible. Editing sound was made possible by the use of magnetic tapes.
Various features were developed on magnetic tapes like multi track recording, analog signals and much more to enhance sound quality. Multi-track recording can pick up signals from various microphones effectively that can be taped on to a disc and then engineered by mixing and mastering (audio post production in sound engineering) to create the end product. Sound engineering was made very efficient with the advent of digital audio. Digital recording revolutionized the concept of sound engineering as it provided immense scope to record, manipulate and enhance sound.
Sound Engineering is a specialized field and needs to be studied if one has to master it. People who deal with recording and reproduction of sound are called sound or audio engineers. They are trained and specialized people who deal with the process of recording, manipulating and producing the desired sound. This field has become quite popular and is being adopted by lots of students who want to specialize in the area of sound engineering.
To make sound engineering more popular and to create an interest among people, an association was set up in the year 1948. It was called the “Audio Engineering Society” or AES that had members from different communities like scientists, manufacturers and other individuals apart from sound engineers, who had interest towards sound engineering. They develop various audio and sound products and also set engineering standards for audio industries. They also have a lot of publications and reviews to their name. This society is one of a kind and is the only professional society devoted towards sound technology.
References:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edcyldr.html
Audio engineering society
For students who are interested in sound engineering courses can visit:
http://www.audiocourses.com/
