Live Sound / Live Music
Course 4: Digital Audio

Digital audio refers to an electrical voltage that’s turned into binary data that a computer can understand through a series of ones and zeros. By understanding the foundations of digital audio we’ll be better at manipulating the audio signal in a host of various circumstances and applications.

Don’t worry about understanding all this on a scientific level–we will still be able to make music while these concepts are percolating within our minds. We’ll always bring it back to the “hows and whys” behind what we are doing. Armed with the knowledge you gained in course 3, you’ll have a good foundation for course 4.

By taking analog sounds–our voice, instrument, and other sound waves–and turning them into digital audio, we can better manipulate these sounds. Much like movie film is just a series of still photos played at a rapid pace, digital audio is essentially recording several individual waves and putting them together in rapid succession. You’ll learn that there are limitations to digital audio, including the quality of your gear.

You will learn how these limitations are removed, filtered, or otherwise taken care of. At the end of the course, you’ll take a section review to prepare for the quiz, write a blog entry, and schedule your next in-person class time.