A Multitrack Technical Ear Trainer

Technical ear training programs generally focus on engaging learners in tasks to increase their sensitivity to various auditory attributes. However, very little work has been done on integrating ear training into a multitrack environment where contextual factors dictate the employment and configuration of audio processing tools for mixing engineers. For novice audio engineers, transference of critical listening skills to multitrack scenarios within a conventional digital audio workstation may prove challenging without guidance from an experienced engineer. This report describes the design and development of ReFlow, a novel reverberation training prototype that embeds technical ear training within a dedicated multitrack environment to facilitate bespoke matching tasks based on expert performance. Expert performance is communicated to the end user via traditional and cognitive apprenticeship methods in which learners recall parameter configurations in the context of a multitrack mix while engaging with underlying conceptual knowledge provided by the modeled engineer.