Sonic Design | Exercises

 

Sonic Design | Exercises

April 24,2025

ZHANG XINYUE | 0369868

Sonic Design | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Interactive Spatial Design

Exercises

Week 1｜Exercise 1 /Audio Fundamentals

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In the first week, Mr. Razif introduced us to the Sonic Design module through a lecture video, aiming to develop our understanding of the audio environment and expand our knowledge of the basic concepts of sound. We were given a brief overview of the module structure, assignment expectations, and the importance of preparing high-quality headphones for upcoming projects.

Nature Of Sound

Through the lesson, I learned that sound is created by the vibration of an object, which causes surrounding air molecules to move, forming sound waves.   These waves travel through the air and stimulate our eardrums, allowing the brain to interpret them as sound.   The visual diagram helped me clearly understand the physical process behind sound propagation, building a solid foundation for future learning in audio recording and sound design.

Sound is produced by the vibration of an object and propagates through the air in the form of sound waves. It is perceived when the sound waves stimulate the eardrum and are interpreted by the brain.

This process can be summarized into three stages:

1. Production (the creation of sound)
2. Propagation (the transmission of sound)
3. Perception (how we hear and understand sound)

Diagram of particles in different mediums.

Sound propagates through different mediums—solids, liquids, and gases—by causing particles to vibrate and transfer energy.  The speed of sound depends on the particle density in each medium.  Sound travels fastest in solids, slower in liquids, and slowest in gases due to the varying particle density. 

The study of human sound perception is known as psychoacoustics, focusing on how we perceive pitch, loudness, volume, and timbre. It explores how different individuals perceive sound, such as how some people can study while listening to loud music.

Amplitude determines loudness, while frequency refers to how many wave cycles occur per second. Higher frequency results in a higher pitch.

Key psychoacoustic characteristics include:

   1.Pitch

   2.Loudness

   3.Timbre (Quality)

   4.Perceived Time

   5.Envelope

   6.Spatialization (Source Location)

Sound Design

Sound design involves using various techniques to shape and create unique sounds.  Some of the most common methods are:

1.  Layering: 

This is when you combine multiple sounds on top of each other to create something entirely new and unique.

2. Time Stretching/Compression: 

This technique allows you to change the length of a sound without affecting its pitch.  Stretching slows the sound down, while compression makes it faster.  It’s best to avoid stretching more than 50% to keep the sound from changing too much.

3.  Pitch Shifting: 

This alters the pitch of a sound without changing its duration.  Higher pitches create faster, smaller sounds (like a chipmunk’s voice), while lower pitches produce slower, deeper sounds (like a zombie).

4.  Reversing:

 Reversing a sound can create strange, eerie, and unnatural effects.

5.  Vocalization: 

Sometimes, using your own voice to create sounds is the best option, especially when other methods just don’t work.

When editing audio, there are two types of processing: destructive(permanent changes) and non-destructive (changes that can be undone).  In Adobe Audition, non-destructive editing is done by copying the file to a new version, ensuring the original stays intact.

For reverb settings, the dry and wet parameters control the effect’s intensity.  Increasing the dry level reduces the effect, while increasing the wet level makes it more prominent.

Exercise 1: Equalizing Sound

In this exercise, we are given an original sound file and four equalized versions to test our headphones. The task is to re-balance the edited tracks so they sound as close as possible to the original file.

At first, it's difficult to notice the subtle differences between the tracks. However, as we listen more carefully, we start to identify changes in the bass or treble. Then, by using a parameter equalizer, we adjust the frequencies to match the original sound more closely.

The pictures below show the changes that I have made. 

Equalizer 1

Equalizer 2

Equalizer 3

Equalizer 4

In this exercise, I put on my headphones and carefully listened to how the music changed as I adjusted the gain at different frequencies. At first, the differences between the tracks and the original were really hard to catch, but the more I listened, the more I started to pick up on shifts in the bass and treble. I kept tweaking the settings little by little, trying to get the edited tracks to sound as close as possible to the original. It was a good reminder of how sensitive our ears can be — even small changes can make a big difference in the overall feel of the music.

modified audio

Week 2｜Exercise 2 / Sounds Design Tools

This week’s course focused on five fundamental tools in sound design. I gained a deeper understanding of the sound through hands-on practice and case analysis. These techniques are a key to creative expression. 

The five most common tools and techniques used in sound design are 

1. Layering
2. Time stretching
3. Pitch shifting
4. Reversing
5. Mouth it

1.   Layering

Combining multiple audio tracks enhances the depth and spatial quality of the sound. However, to avoid a cluttered mix, it’s important to ensure frequency compatibility.

2.  Time Stretching / Compression

This tool allows adjustment of the audio duration without changing its pitch, which is useful for controlling rhythm or syncing with visuals.    Proper balance is needed to maintain sound quality.

3. Pitch Shifting

Changing the pitch of a sound helps shape character or mood, without altering its length.    It works well when combined with other tools for added expressiveness.

4.  Reversing

Reversing audio creates strange, surreal effects, often used to enhance atmosphere.    It’s especially effective when paired with spatial effects like reverb or delay.

5.  Mouth It!

Using the human voice to imitate or invent sounds reflects the idea that creativity comes first in sound design.    It encourages experimentation and expressive freedom.

This video taught me how to work with multiple audio tracks in Adobe Audition, using techniques like multi-track layering, reverb, and EQ to create a sense of space and rhythm. When processing sound, we can build atmosphere by layering tracks, enhance spatial depth with reverb, shape the frequency balance using EQ, and control the overall emotion through automation and dynamic processing. It’s the combination of these tools that allows us to produce a polished audio piece with depth and realism.

EXERCISES: Audio Fundamentals

In this exercise, we were given three original audio samples.  Our task was to edit these sounds and use a parametric equalizer to create six different sound effects: Telephone, In the Closet, Walkie Talkie, Bathroom, Stadium and Airport/Train Station.

Telephone

To create the telephone effect, I used a parametric EQ to narrow the frequency range. I cut the low and high ends to remove any deep or overly bright tones, and slightly boosted the mids to bring the voice forward. This gave the sound that familiar, compressed quality you’d hear through a phone—focused, a bit nasal, and slightly static.

modified audio

Walkie Talkie

To make the voice sound like it was coming through a walkie talkie, I started by using a parametric EQ to cut out most of the low and high frequencies, keeping just the midrange.  This gave the sound that narrow, boxy quality you typically hear in communication devices.  Then I added a bit of short reverb to recreate the subtle echo often present in radio transmissions.  In the end, the voice came out sounding compressed, gritty.

modified audio

Stadium

To create a stadium-like sound, I used eq to clean up low frequencies and enhance clarity in the upper range.  Reverb was set with long decay, high diffusion, and a balanced wet/dry mix to simulate a spacious, echo-filled environment, making the voice sound distant and immersive.

modified audio

Airport

To create an airport-like sound, I used EQ to reduce the low frequencies and emphasize the midrange, giving it a clearer, more open feel. For reverb, I applied a long decay with high diffusion to mimic the vast, echoey environment of an airport, while adjusting the wet/dry mix to make the sound feel distant and spacious.

modified audio

In the Closet

To create a closet-like sound, I used eq to cut some highs and lows, focusing on the mids to make it sound more boxed-in. Reverb was set with short decay, low diffusion, and a dry-heavy mix to mimic the tight, muffled acoustics of a small, enclosed space.

modified audio

Bathroom

To create a bathroom-like sound, I used eq to cut some low mids for clarity and boosted the high frequencies slightly to capture that bright, reflective feel.  Reverb was set with short decay, high diffusion, and a wetter mix to mimic the tight, echoey space of tiled walls.

modified audio

Week 3 | Exercise 3 / Sound in Space(Environment)

In class, we used Adobe Audition's multitrack feature to apply dynamic EQ processing to voice recordings. By adjusting volume fade-ins and fade-outs, reducing mid frequencies, and subtly enhancing the highs, we improved the clarity and depth of the voice, making the overall listening experience feel more natural and comfortable. 

Through this exercise, I gained a clearer understanding of how EQ envelopes work in audio mixing and realized just how important it is to pay attention to the finer details in sound design.

modified audio

Jetplane

modified audio

Environment Soundscape

For this exercise, we created an ambient sound mix based on two given environmental concept art images. We practiced editing environmental sounds to match specific scenarios depicted in the artwork. To do this, we searched for suitable royalty-free sound effects online and layered and edited them in Adobe Audition to reflect the mood and setting of each scene.

Source：https://freesound.org/

Environment 1

Story Line

The lab hums quietly as a woman types, recording data. Moments later, a man enters and powers up the experimental device. The machine whirs to life, its energy building. Suddenly, an alarm blares—it's overloading. The power cuts out, leaving an eerie silence. Panic sets in as they run, footsteps echoing. Just before they escape, a massive explosion erupts from the lab.

To recreate the atmosphere of a laboratory, I layered various sound effects, including a low hum, keyboard typing, footsteps, radar beeps, and a heartbeat. These sounds help build a sense of tension and immersion.

By using fade-ins, fade-outs, and volume adjustments, I made the transitions between sounds smoother, enhancing the tension and overall pacing of the story.

Environment1 audio

Environment 2

Story Line

In a giant petri dish, the plants surprisingly gained autonomous consciousness. As the soldiers patrolled, the dish suddenly triggered a pressure alarm, and then the plants reacted violently, shattering the glass. As the glass broke, the plants swiftly broke free, taking down each soldier in their path. In the end, the lab was left in complete silence.

In this scene, I layered various sound effects, including a jet engine hum for ambience, office chair noises, footsteps, water bubbling and dripping, radar beeps, and heartbeats.  These sounds enhanced the tension as the plants began to react, leading to the shattering of glass and the chaos that followed.

In this scene, I layered multiple sound effects, including a jet engine hum for ambience, chair movements, footsteps, bubbling water, dripping, radar beeps, and heartbeats. These gradually built tension and drove the story forward. As the plants reacted and chaos erupted with shattering glass, sound design played a key role. I used editing, fades, and rhythm control to create a tense, layered audio experience.

Environment2 audio

Week 4 | Soundscape

This video demonstrates through seven different environmental tests how sound influences our perception of space, helping me realize that sound is not just auditory information but a crucial way we understand our environment and surroundings.

The examples in the video made me appreciate how strongly sound conveys a sense of space and can shape atmosphere and scenes. Whether it's the distance of a sound or how it’s distributed within a space, these are everyday experiences we often overlook but are incredibly important to our perception.

For example, the video mentions that the soundscape of a school is made up of elements like children's voices and the sound of the school bell. This shows how specific sounds work together to create a recognizable atmosphere associated with a particular place. These layered sounds are more than just background noise—they shape the way we emotionally and spatially experience our environment.