ABSTRACT
Convention has evolved to place timbre and space as dominant recording elements, with pitch/frequency and dynamics/loudness typically in supportive roles in the record. These are reintroduced, with the recording element of ‘Rhythm and Time’ defined, and its presence as microrhythms and macrorhythms emphasized. Recording elements have numerous dimensions that are outside the listening experiences of most listeners; typical listener challenges are discussed. Distortions of the listening experience arise from many sources; accurately hearing the elements of recording, presented to the analyst without alterations, allows the analyst to engage the track in its intended form. Observing recording elements is approached through transcriptions into X-Y graphs and categorizing qualities into typologies, to allow elements’ qualities to be notated and data collected in preparation for evaluation.
