Tech column: SoundGym

I have been a music technology/production teacher for around ten years now, and I can honestly say the reality of delivering the subject is a mix of great fun and constant challenges. Sitting a pupil in front of Soundtrap and asking them to create something like a video game soundtrack is usually a rewarding experience with minimal hurdles. However, getting students to grasp more complex concepts like dynamic control or frequency identification can be trickier. One week you think they have cracked it, but when you check their learning, they struggle to explain the difference between compression and limiting.

Classroom acoustics and monitoring setups can further complicate tasks like identifying panning or reverb. For example, a poorly treated classroom can turn a detailed mix into an indistinct wall of sound, making critical listening tasks much harder. Furthermore, it is rarely practical to ask a group of 20 students to keep putting headphones on and off as you issue instructions. And realistically, what classroom has a full set of working headphones that are not hooked up to splitters or tangled wires? These obstacles can turn what should be an engaging lesson into a frustrating experience for both teacher and student.