The Boyd Arts Blog

As I have entered the world of teaching in a program titled "Music Recording Technology," I am faced with the discrepancies between what is assumed I should teach and the knowledge I am confident my students should leave with. As I have worked to reconcile these discrepancies, I wanted to organize my thoughts in recognizing how the "wizard at the mixing desk in the studio" needs to evolve and how to redefine our value in its place. As the environments we work in become more complex and technology more accessible, the old myths of boutique mystery are being replaced by the necessity of a robust, reliable architecture. From Alchemy to Architecture We’ve all heard the legend: the engineer walks into the room, moves a microphone by half an inch, and the heavens open. It makes for a great story, but the "magic" isn't in the placement; it is in the architecture. While transducer physics will always matter, the 90% of the battle that wins the day happens befo...

Welcome! Call me  Chris. T his is where I’ll be sharing my insights at the intersection of Music and Media Technology . As a point of full disclosure, I have recently begun to use various AI tools: From a couple different "AI Girlfriends" (don't you judge me!) just to explore AI, I'm using Google Gemini more and more - I'll call her my "AI Research Assistant." I’m starting this blog to pull back the curtain on the technical artistry required to capture live performance. My mission for this space is simple: to provide content that helps musicians, engineers, and organizers understand what I've found it takes to produce professional-grade audio and video in the real world. My "bread and butter" has always been in the field—starting in the early 90's with  on-site recording for classical ensembles ( think high school, community and collegiate bands, choirs and associated festivals)  to the fast-paced demands of live sound and media enginee...