Mastering engineer

A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media such as a CD, vinyl record, or as some method of streaming audio.

Education and experience

The mastering engineer is responsible for a final edit of a product and preparation for manufacturing copies. Although there are no official requirements to work as an audio mastering engineer, practitioners often have comprehensive domain knowledge of audio engineering, and in many cases, may hold an audio or acoustic engineering degree. Most audio engineers master music or speech audio material. The best mastering engineers might possess arrangement and record production skills, allowing them to 'trouble-shoot' mix issues and improve the final sound. Generally, good mastering skills are based on experience, resulting from many years of practice.

Arrangement

In music, an arrangement is a musical reconceptualization of a previously composed work. It may differ from the original work by means of reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or development of the formal structure. Arranging differs from orchestration in that the latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra, concert band, or other musical ensemble. Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions, transitions, or modulations, and endings.... Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety".

Classical music

Arrangements and transcriptions of classical and serious music go back to the early history of this genre. In particular, music written for the piano has frequently undergone this treatment. The suite of ten piano pieces Pictures at an Exhibition, by Modest Mussorgsky, has been arranged over twenty times, notably by Maurice Ravel.

Due to his lack of expertise in orchestration, the American composer George Gershwin had his Rhapsody in Blue orchestrated and arranged by Ferde Grofé.

Mixing engineer

A mix engineer or mixing engineer is a person responsible for combining ("mixing") the different sonic elements of a piece of recorded music (vocals, instruments, effects etc.) into a final version of a song (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"). He or she mixes the elements of a recorded piece together to achieve a good balance of volume, while at the same time deciding other properties such as pan positioning, effects, and so on.

The best mixing professionals typically have many years of experience and training with audio equipment, which has enabled them to master their craft. A mixing engineer occupies a space between artist and scientist, using their skill at assessing the harmonic structure of sound to enable them to fashion highly appealing timbres. Their work is found in all modern music, but many artists now mix and produce their own music with a digital audio workstation and a computer.

A more technical definition: an audio engineer in sound recording, audio editing and sound systems who balances the relative volume and frequency content of a number of sound sources. Typically, these sound sources are the different musical instruments in a band or vocalists, the sections of an orchestra and so on.

Shooting Star

Shooting star is a common name for the visible path of a meteoroid as it enters the atmosphere, becoming a meteor.

Shooting star may also refer to:

In arts and entertainment

In music

Songs

Guitar

The guitar is a popular musical instrument classified as a string instrument with anywhere from 4 to 18 strings, usually having 6. The sound is projected either acoustically or through electrical amplification (for an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar, respectively). It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the right hand while fretting (or pressing against the frets) the strings with the fingers of the left hand. The guitar is a type of chordophone, traditionally constructed from wood and strung with either gut, nylon or steel strings and distinguished from other chordophones by its construction and tuning. The modern guitar was preceded by the gittern, the vihuela, the four-course Renaissance guitar, and the five-course baroque guitar, all of which contributed to the development of the modern six-string instrument.

There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the strings's vibration, amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive finger-picking technique. The term "finger-picking" can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass, and country guitar playing in the United States.