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Ben Spooner
Ben Spooner

16 Followers

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Become a multi-instrumentalist. It’s easier than you think.

Push past perceived limitations and discover abilities that will surprise you… — What is a multi-instrumentalist? Wikipedia defines a multi-instrumentalist as: “a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency” — Wikipedia Notice the word ‘proficiency’. In Wikipedia’s view multi-instrumentalists have to be experts, not just on one instrument but on all of them — no easy feat. There’s no…

Multi Instrumentalist

6 min read

Become a multi-instrumentalist. It’s easier than you think.
Become a multi-instrumentalist. It’s easier than you think.
Multi Instrumentalist

6 min read


Pinned

The awesome power of transcribing music. Whatever your level.

Learning to play by ear will boost your musical fluency, but learning to transcribe is where it’s really at. Here’s how to do it… — Playing by ear is the starting point… …it’s one of the best ways to improve your skills as a musician, listening and mimicking what you hear without referring to musical score. Typically it involves a little trial and error before you find the right notes (in the right order!) but that’s fine because the process of working…

Music

7 min read

The awesome power of transcribing music. Whatever your level.
The awesome power of transcribing music. Whatever your level.
Music

7 min read


Jul 11, 2022

Interesting!
1
1

Dan Reich

Wow! Well done on your recovery.

Wow! Well done on your recovery. Very interesting, I would be love to know why the bass gave you no problem. Do you still keep up the bass now that your piano playing is back?

1 min read

1 min read


Jul 10, 2022

The synergy of sound and visuals

Acousmatic sound and synchresis. — What is synergy? Synergy, from the Attic Greek word ‘συνεργία’ meaning ‘working together’, is when something is combined to form something greater than its individual parts. Our role as sound designers and composers is to create synergy every time we combine sound and image. ‘What do I hear of what…

Sound

4 min read

The synergy of sound and visuals
The synergy of sound and visuals
Sound

4 min read


Jul 10, 2022

What is the function of film music?

Types of film music with examples from popular films. Learnings for me as a composer. — ‘Sound is 50% of the movie experience’. George Lucas. Source Music Source music is the name given to music that has a source within the action of the film, for example the music played by an orchestra which we see on screen. Source music can also start as non diegetic music…

Film Music

5 min read

What is the function of film music?
What is the function of film music?
Film Music

5 min read


Jul 10, 2022

Audio storyboarding

What is an audio storyboard and how is it useful? — What is a storyboard? Humans process visual information 60,000 times faster than text (Sapega, 2021), which is why it is very common for visual storyboards to be used when there is a need to convey a story or a series of complex ideas. A visual storyboard graphically maps out the information…

Storyboard

4 min read

Audio storyboarding
Audio storyboarding
Storyboard

4 min read


Jul 10, 2022

A deeper understanding of how we listen to music

Why we listen to music, listening styles and how music boosts brain health. — When I was younger one of my favourite pastimes was listening to music. I would lie on my bed for hours and take in every element that I could, doing nothing else. I would become captivated by the different nuances that I would hear on each repeat, getting swept up…

Psychology

5 min read

A deeper understanding of how we listen to music
A deeper understanding of how we listen to music
Psychology

5 min read


Mar 1, 2022

Exploring future revenue streams for composers and sound designers

NFTs, tokenization, web 3.0 and more. — The music industry has transformed in under a generation. The methods of earning money have especially changed, which has prompted me to ask the question: how can the modern composer and sound designer earn money in the digital age? In this post I explore emerging technologies like NFT’s, tokens and…

Nft

6 min read

Exploring future revenue streams for composers and sound designers
Exploring future revenue streams for composers and sound designers
Nft

6 min read


Dec 13, 2021

Empathetic sound, anempathetic sound and sound imagery in sound design

What are they? How are they used? How do they benefit me? — Empathetic sound Empathetic sound is when the music or sound design added to screen complements the mood of the action that is occurring, such as the celebratory music that accompanies the victory scene in Star Wars episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. Anempathetic sound Anempathetic sound is the…

Sound

5 min read

Empathetic sound, anempathetic sound and sound imagery in sound design
Empathetic sound, anempathetic sound and sound imagery in sound design
Sound

5 min read


Dec 13, 2021

Core concepts in foley and sound design

Understanding core concepts and techniques, and reflecting on how they can benefit my work. — Foley Art Foley is the process of recreating real-world sounds to be added to screen and is named after Jack Foley, the radio SFX artist who first developed the technique in the 1920’s. In the context of radio, where there is no visual aspect, foley sounds were added to help bring…

Foley

7 min read

Core concepts in foley and sound design
Core concepts in foley and sound design
Foley

7 min read

Ben Spooner

Ben Spooner

16 Followers

Self taught musician who loves to learn and share with the world. www.benspooner.co.uk

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