Tool: Soundworld
Sometimes you stumble upon a simple website that is absolutely PERFECT for use with your students. Soundworld is one such site. Created by technical director and educator JD Stallings, this site teaches and reinforces concepts around signal flow. I was teaching my music technology students last night at Montclair State University, and I showed them Soundworld. I was able to guide them through the thought process and technical aspects of setting up a sound system and I think it is HIGHLY effective at doing so. The site focuses on a simple 4-channel mixer that is prominently in the middle of the screen (see below). From there, students have to think through the entire setup process using various cables, input devices and speakers. Using simple click, drag and drop functionality, the students are charged with making a simple sound system work. Here’s how:
Surrounding the main mixer are 3 menus: Cables, Input Devices, and Speakers.
The first step is connecting the mixer to a power source. You know that something needs power by a simple lightning bolt icon. You will need to select the Power Cable from the menu on the left, then click on the Console power Jack and drag the power cable to the Live Power Strip in the upper right hand corner. You will see a yellow cable connecting the two.
Next you need to select an output - in this case either a set of passive speakers (which requires a Power Amp) OR Powered Speakers. I decided to connect my mixer to a Power Amp. To do so, I need to select the proper cables to connect the mixer to the Power Amp - in this case a set of 1/4” cables from the Left and Right Output of the mixer to the Left and Right Input of the Power Amp. You will see two green cables connecting the two when you’ve done it. You’ll then need to connect a Power Cable from the Power Amp to the Live Power Strip. I love this level of detail as that is exactly what you would need to do in the real world.
Now that I have my Power Amp connected and plugged into a power source, I need to connect the SpeakOn cables from the Power Amp to the Passive Speakers. Select the SpeakOn cables and then click and drag them to where they need to connect. You will see two blue cables when you’re done with this step.
It’s finally time to select an input device or devices. In this case I want to connect a dynamic microphone AND a CD player to the mixer. First I will need to select an XLR cable and then click and drag that cable to Channel 1 on the mixer. Next, I’ll need to connect an RCA stereo cable from the output of the CD player to the RCA stereo input for Channels 3 & 4 on the mixer. After plugging in the CD player to the Live Power Strip, I’ll need to first depress the RCA selector button on the mixer on Channel 3 & 4 (it will light up when you’ve done that correctly). Once that’s done, it’s time to set the Gain and Volume sliders on the mixer. If you click on the Gain nob on Channel 1, it will go to 0 or unity gain. Next you can click on the volume slider for either half or full volume (don’t worry which you select - you won’t blow out your speakers). Finally, bring the Master volume slider up and you’re ready to test out if you’ve connected everything correctly or not. By clicking on the Mic Check button on the Dynamic microphone and/or the Play button on the CD Player you should be able to hear something. If you do - congratulations - your signal flow and setup is correct! If you don’t, you’ll need to troubleshoot your setup until you figure it out. BTW - if you select a condenser microphone, you’ll need to remember to press the Phantom Power (+48v) button - so cool!
When you’re all done, simply click Reset All to begin with a blank setup again. If a student makes a mistake, they can click the Undo button in the upper left hand corner. Super convenient!
I absolutely LOVE sites like this and it is PERFECT for a music technology/production class or a live sound lesson. It replicates real world situations and students will have to use their problem solving skills if the setup doesn’t work when they test it. When I demonstrated it with my students last night, I couldn’t get the CD player to work. It was a student who figured out that the RCA button wasn’t pressed on my Channel strip. VERY cool moment.
I strongly recommend bookmarking this site and using it with your students. I know that my own students thoroughly appreciated it!