The more you listen, the more you hear.
I’ve learned to isolate aspects of sound—timbre, decay, dynamics—not just from technical training, but from focused listening. At first, it’s overwhelming. Everything blends together. But with time, you start to parse it out: the pluck of a string, the room it was recorded in, the character of the reverb.
I often tell people to pick one aspect—say, the vocal texture—and listen to that for a whole track. Then do the same for the bass. Over time, you develop the same acuity an engineer or musician does.
Our systems are capable of incredible realism—but only if we train ourselves to hear it.
