Making Sense of Sound: How Sound Actually Works In Live PA Systems
An online course in the foundational physics concepts of sound for live audio.
- the decibel scale
- velocity
- amplitude
- frequency content & wavelength
- phase
- atmospheric & acoustic conditions
What's covered in the course?
"I wish I had this course when I started out because it would have taken so much time off of my learning curve." - John H.
"I knew what the slopes on a phase graph meant but never could really connect the dots.
Michael's explanation was fantastic and helped me to best understand." - Alan W.
Hey, I'm Michael.
I'm a systems engineer and audio educator and am pumped to help you quit guessing with your sound systems and get killer mixes from any PA.
I've worked on the audio crew for the 2020 Inauguration, mixed for David Ramirez, Jewel, and Martina McBride, and have deployed audio systems for Chris Stapleton, Passion City Band, and John Mellencamp.
Although I feel confident designing and wrangling most PA systems these days...
I used to have no clue how to make sure my sound systems were performing their best. I was guessing (at best).
I simply eye-balled the room, threw the speakers up, pointed them at the audience, and prayed it was the right fit.
My ears could always sense when something was wrong, but where was the actual problem?
Was I asking too much a speaker for it to cover this audience?
How about blaming the room acoustics?
Were my global EQ decisions hurting the rig?
Were my speakers even in the right spot?
Was my mix that bad?
I felt confident in my mixing abilities, but when it came to speaker selection and placement, I didn't have much of a framework to go by.
To be honest, how sound actually worked was a mystery to me (and I was getting paid good money to be in charge of a sound system).
I "deployed" sound systems and mixed shows for American Idol Finalists, Presidential Candidates, and Fortune 500 CEOs by guessing where the speakers would go and how to process them.
I was constantly questioning myself, asking things like:
Can this VRX array pull off this gig, or do I need to go ask for more boxes?
This is a big time corporate show. How can I make sure I have crystal clear dialog at the back?
Where in the world should these subwoofers go? In a line in front of the stage? Or up in the air with the mains?
I hated knowing that I didn't know something.
"Michael pulls from his wealth of knowledge to clearly articulate the basics of understanding sound and how that relates to the live audio professional." - Caleb F.
I knew how to mix well, but I didn't know what sound was, how it worked, or how to measure it.
After talking with a few mentors and diving deep into some YouTube black holes, I was pointed to the Green Bible, Bob McCarthy's Magnum Opus on Sound System Design & Optimization.
Diving headfirst into a 577 page textbook felt intimidating, but I was tired of second guessing my setups, tired of not trusting my mixes, and tired of not knowing how to use measure systems and use data to my advantage.
After devouring the first few chapters, something amazing happened - audio came alive.
I felt like Neo in The Matrix.
I could either take the red pill (choose to dive into the unknown and build my audio foundation from the ground up)
or the blue pill (remain oblivious to how sound actually worked and continue to chase my tail on shows).
I took the red pill and never looked back.
Learning the physics of sound gave me confidence and helped me land more gigs.
Before I felt intimidated when I got called for bigger shows.
Now I'm confidently designing, deploying, and tuning systems nationwide.
I once spent half an hour on load-ins trying to decide where my speakers should go, only to second guess myself and move them an hour later.
Now I can get 80% of the way there in 90 seconds.
I used to constantly fight to get my low end right.
Now I know exactly where to put my subs for deep, powerful bass.
Deciding how big of a line array I needed was a guessing game at best.
Now I can quickly calculate the perfect setup for any size show.
When something didn't sound right before, I blamed it on "phasing issues" and tried to manhandle my mix into submission.
Now I have a method for systematically testing every part of my PA to maximize my results.
Is it as "easy" as reading a big textbook? What's the catch?
Although Bob McCarthy's approach in his book is of course an incredible contribution to the field, the common thread I found was this - how sound worked was second nature to him.
Every time I felt stuck, I rewound a bit and asked myself, "What's the underlying concept at play here?"
Sound is an oscillation in sound pressure moving through space.
Sound travels at 1,130 ft/s in air.
Sound moves spherically away from its source, unless it is steered.
Wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency.
The more I understood how sound worked, the easier system design & tuning became. All of my design and tuning decisions could be traced back to a core concept from the physics of sound.
I discovered others who have gone through the same journey - They've signed up to be a plumber without knowing how water behaves.
That's Why I Made This Course:
Make Confident, Informed Audio Decisions
Every audio decision comes back to understanding the fundamentals.
Understand Sound Deeply
Stop guessing and start connecting the dots.
Easily Sniff Out Audio Voodoo
See through bogus marketing claims and industry half-truths.
"Great course to learn all the audio basics; a great welcome to this amazing world." - Daniel S.
Making Sense of Sound is for you if:
- You're hanging in there on most of my videos, but are confused by some of the physics lingo
- You want to to truly understand what's going on rather than relying upon someone else's designs
- You're willing to put in the time and work to make this knowledge your own
You might have some of the following doubts...
"But I just work on small shows."
All the more reason to make sure those two speakers on sticks are working correctly and doing their job. If you don't understand the foundational concepts in this course, then you can't interpret the data from an audio analyzer.
I don't know about you, but I can't hear absolute polarity. And I sure hope that the speakers that a rental company gave me are doing what they're saying they're doing.
"Aren't computers calculating most of this stuff these days?"
Powerful software has certainly given us better data to evaluate, but humans still make the decisions.
Gear, workflows, and processes will evolve over time, but how sound works remains constant.
Bringing computers and AI into the equation to help us means we need to more than ever have a grasp on the fundamentals so we can spot where they may go astray.
"What if I don't like the course?"
I have a 60 day no questions asked money back guarantee.
Simply shoot me an email that you would like a refund, I'll click a button, and you'll have your money back.
What are you waiting for?
Get instant access to the entire Making Sense of Sound Course for just one payment of $197.
Get Started
It’s completely risk free, you get lifetime access, and it's packed with bonuses.
That's right: Go through the course, check out the bonuses, put in the work, and if you don't love it within 60 days of purchase, send me an email and I will refund you ASAP. No questions asked, no hard feelings.
Bonus 1 - Three Additional System Tuning Training Modules
Watch me tune three different sound systems from scratch.
- I explain every decision I'm making in real-time
- For more advanced students who are familiar with operating a dual channel FFT analyzer
Bonus 2 - Get access to my private design file library
I keep past projects and shows neatly organized so I can learn from them and reference later. Now you can see the same data and learn from my designs.
- Review and learn from the design files and data from my real world projects
- I'll add more and more projects over time
Bonus 3 - First dibs on future Beta Testing
Every resource is field tested and tweaked through the feedback of living breathing audio humans. These early adopters help me make sure the training I put is top notch, accessible, and will actually get you the results I promise.
- Work directly with me and a small group of dedicated learners to shape my future training
- Be the first to weigh on new ideas
For less than a half day rate, here's what you're getting with the Making Sense of Sound Course:
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All 45 lessons with over 4 hours of in-depth training
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Lifetime access to the course
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A 60-Day money back guarantee, no questions asked
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Bonus: Three System Tuning Bonus Trainings
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Bonus: access to my private design file library
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Bonus: First dibs on future Beta Testing slots
But just in case you don't want the bonuses, you can get the basic version of this course for just $147.
How will you level up? The choice is yours.
You can do this.
Once you've tasted true expertise and self sufficiency, you'll never want to go back. Join today.
