Ducking

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Ducking (from English to duck ) is a term used in sound engineering for the targeted, automatic highlighting of an audio signal. The signal to be emphasized is not amplified, but the other signals are lowered. Ducking can be achieved with both electronic devices ( hardware ) and computer programs ( software ).

In radio and television productions , ducking is mostly used when translating original sounds in a foreign language: The software command "Ducking" automatically reduces the volume of the original at those points where the translator's voice (the " voice-over ") is heard. In music production, ducking is a musical effect . Pop music producers, and electronic dance music in particular, use this technique in a number of ways. For example, specific acoustic signals are deliberately lowered, for example to make the bass drum (large drum, kick drum) more present with each hit, to emphasize bass lines or other sounds. Another popular application is what is known as “sidechaining”. A compressor is used to create a ducking effect, in which one instrument (e.g. a kick drum) controls the control path of the compressor , which in turn affects another instrument (e.g. synthesizer ) and a Modulation of this second signal causes. This technique is also known as triggering .

How it works in music

Ducking is used, for example, to emphasize the singing: if the voice kicks in, the music that was dominant until then is automatically shut down and, when there is a break in the singing, it is turned up again. Even a bassline , the frequency response of which would be superimposed with the kick without ducking , can be given more space in this way. The regulation is done automatically by so-called ADSR circuits ( attack, decay, sustain, release ), which derive their envelope value from the volume of the signal to be emphasized, e.g. B. the vocal track, determine and apply to the volume of the music.

If this technique is used excessively, especially if the ADSR time constants for sustain and release are too low , there is a risk of creating a “pump effect” that is sometimes perceived as unpleasant. Attempts to aestheticize this effect are, for example, Call on Me in the version by Eric Prydz or Hung Up by Madonna .

literature

  • Roland Enders: The home recording manual. 3rd edition, Carstensen Verlag, Munich, 2003, ISBN 3-910098-25-8