Sound Design/Pads and Ambience/Setting Theory...???

Chew_Bear

New member
1. Whats the main role of a pad...???

Is it mainly for setting the 'ambience' of the physical (real or imaginary) sound stage or setting...that your other instruments/sounds are going to be placed in...???

If so...Is it safe to say that Pads are also a instrument/tool that is used to create a 'Sense of space'...??? Can pads be used in other ways besides creating a sense of space...???

2. Do all genres/styles of music utilize pads to some extent or are pads only used for more modern styles of music...??? (e.g. EDM, hip hop, Pop etc.)

3. If the role of a pad is to instill some kind of ambience/place/setting...You should be getting 'images' or relapses of your life's 'past/experiences' in your head when creating/listening to Pad sounds...right...???

i.e. Say when making an eerie/spaced out pad...it might make you think of say...a eerie experience you once had or maybe a video game that you play and is set in 'outer space'.

On the same token...

4. Is this how Pads are traditionally created...???

That is...you already have a 'life experience' or event/setting that already happened and that 'resonates' a particular sound inside of you and that you want to perfectly capture with sound design and hopefully recreate this place/setting in a song...???

Because...theoretically...you can't make a sound of a place/event/experience that 'never' actually happened.

So to that extent...

6. How do you create a pad sound for a setting/place/event (imaginary) that doesn't exist or that has never happened...???

i.e. You basically 'guess' or make a 'best attempt' as to what a imaginary place/event 'might' sound like from your perspective...right...???

I know this is treading into psychoacoustics...so...I know I need to do some research/homework in that area also.
 
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