What’s On In Your Studio

Most artists have strong feelings about their work environments. What works, what doesn’t, what rituals or other aspects of their studio days are important? The overall environment of a studio can be expanded upon in a number of ways, but our focus today is on what is heard, or not heard, during work sessions.

Artists, as well as other other working professionals, create auditory environments within their work spaces. What enhances their work flow in terms of music, talk, or silence? Some people never consider this question when designing their own studio, and placing careful consideration on how best to optimise a work environment using sound can have a big impact on the quality of work an artist is able to produce.

Rebecca: I am very eclectic in my audio choices. I may play music or a radio program. At times I want something on, but it doesn’t really matter what. I usually prefer silence. I suffer from hearing loss, and the bubble of muffled silence I live in actually helps my concentration. I don’t have a good sound system in either of my studios, so my options are old CDs and whatever radio stations I can receive. If I have a craving for specific music it is usually classical. I think about putting on music the same way others might think “a snack would be nice”.

For me, music isn’t a particularly important part of my workflow, so I was somewhat surprised to find out just how passionate many artists are about their audio environment...