In part one of our discussion, we talked about what to consider when choosing a section of a song to use as a background music loop for your website. In part two, we will be discussing some of the audio processes used to prepare and finalize audio for internet streaming.
Levels And Normalization.
One of the first editing considerations in preparing your background music track is volume levels. We can talk about volume levels in a couple of different ways - 'normalization' and 'compression'. First, it is a good idea to 'normailze' the overall volume level of the audio file - i.e. your song, so that the maximum dynamic range is available; and so that it will balance with other soundtracks playing on your computer - either over the internet, or locally on your hard drive. Normalizing is an audio process found in many audio-editing applications on both Mac and PC platforms (Wavelab, Sound Forge, Bias Peak, etc.). It works by analyzing the entire audio file and using the highest volume-peak as a reference for proportionately increasing the overall volume of the audio file; with the idea that we never want the loudest volume-peak to go over the 0db threshold, causing digital distortion. Typically we want to normalize close to 0 db, or about -1 db, but there are several reasons we might want to set the threshold even lower.
Compression.
The overall volume level of the audio file is not the only volume issue we must consider. Many music tracks are mixed to have a wide dynamic range. That means that the volume levels - from loud to soft, vary greatly throughour the song. When listening to music on a stereo system or larger, louder speakers, the lowest decibel levels are loud enough for our ears to pick up even very soft passages in a song or soundtrack. On small computer speakers and even in your car, compression is often used to - you guessed it - 'compress' the dynamic range. The main goal is to raise the the softest volume levels in a song so that they are more easily audible on smaller speakers. This is why most of the music you hear over the radio is compressed to some extent; and why it is often a good idea to do the same for music streamed over the internet.
Therefore, we cannot just make everything louder or we will create digital distortion as mentioned above; so in essence, we are not making the music track louder, just trading dynamic range for louder soft passages. A sound mixer will often experiment with different threshold settings between normalization and compression to achieve the best balance between loudness, compression, and dynamic range. While there are other audio processes that can be performed (EQ, noise-reduction, ambience, etc.), normalization and compression are the foundation for optimizing audio for internet streaming.
Therefore, we cannot just make everything louder or we will create digital distortion as mentioned above; so in essence, we are not making the music track louder, just trading dynamic range for louder soft passages. A sound mixer will often experiment with different threshold settings between normalization and compression to achieve the best balance between loudness, compression, and dynamic range. While there are other audio processes that can be performed (EQ, noise-reduction, ambience, etc.), normalization and compression are the foundation for optimizing audio for internet streaming.
In our next issue, we will discuss techniques for creating loops from longer music tracks.
Until next time,
EZ Edit Music
EZ Edit Music was born out of the idea that web-designers and interactive advertising agencies often do not have the time or budget to hire a commercial composer to create a specifically-tailored soundtrack for their website; but have also found it difficult to find music that not only fits the necessary mood, but is also prepared in a format that is ready for internet streaming. All of our music tracks have been specifically composed and edited to be used as website background music soundtracks, saving you the time and cost of hiring a sound editor to prepare an existing licensed music track for internet streaming(which typically costs more than the license fee for one of our music tracks). Our music library is constantly growing and offers a wide variety of music to suit many different industries and services. We have also created a unique search engine to help take the guesswork out of choosing the right kind of music; plus the ability for you to audition and experiment with re-mixes for any song before you license a music track from us. We invite you to explore what we have to offer by visiting us at: http://www.ezeditmusic.com.
