Pro Tools Background Lesson 1

Definitions

• Waveform: Shape of a sound
• Frequency: Pitch of the sound, measured in cycles per second or hertz (cps, Hz)
• Amplitude: Intensity of a sound, measured in decibels (dB)
• Transversal Wave: Moving though medium of air
• Digital Signal: Is zeros and ones (0, 1), sounds very static
• Analog Signal: Is audible sound caused by vibration

Revisions Questions

1. Name and describe five types of production tasks that ProTools can be used for? 1. Audio Processing 2. Midi Processing 3. Nation and Scores 4. Mixing and Automation 5. Audio for Video and Post-production
2. What’s the frequency range of human hearing? 20-20,000Hz
3. What does the frequency of a sound wave affect in terms of how we perceive the sound? How is frequency measured? Pitch. Cycles per second (CPS/Herz)
4. What does the amplitude of the sound wave affect? How is amplitude measured? Intensity. dB
5. How does the sample rate of a system relate to the frequency of audio it can capture? What is the name of the law that specifies the relationship between sample rate and audio frequency? A system must sample at twice the frequency it wishes to capture. Nyqist theorem
6. How does the bit depth relate to the dynamic range of audio it can capture. How can you estimate the dynamic range of a system? Number of binary digits use to represent each sample. Higher bit depth = higher dynamic range. 16-bit = how much dB of dynamic range of a system? Number of binary midgets use to represent each sample. Higher bit depth = higher dynamic range. 16 bit = how much dB of dynamic range? X6 = 96dB 24-bit x 6 = 144dB
7. What are some common digital connections available on Pro Tools audio interfaces? What type of connector jack does each use? S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) Which uses RCA and AES ? EBU (Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcast Union) That uses XLR
8. Name some audio interfaces that are compatible with standard Pro Tools software? Any audio interface with core audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows) drivers
9. Name some Avid audio interfaces that are compatible with Pro Tools | Ultimate software? Pro Tools HD MTRX, Pro Tools HD MTRX Studio