Paul McGowan writes:
Last night we’re walking by a hotel and through an open window I hear the sound of a live piano. The folks I am with hear the same thing and comment on the fact it’s live. How is it we can tell something is live vs. recorded and reproduced from a distance and through a window? What is so different between the sound of live music vs. the sound of live music recorded and reproduced?
I find it fascinating and have some thoughts about the answers to this question – thoughts that may surprise you. I’ll write about them in future posts but in the meantime, here’s a question to ponder.
If the music you hear through the open window is not from an acoustic instrument – like a piano – but instead is amplified through a small PA system, are there any differences to be heard between live and recorded? Both are reproduced through an amplified chain.
Give it some thought. I believe the answer is yes and that any one of us could tell f it were live or recorded.
Even through an open window.
