Welcome to our Introduction to Sound Design workshop, written in collaboration with sound designer and composer Nicola T. Chang. In this workshop you will explore what a sound designer does and have a go at creating your own sound design for a piece of text.

This workshop is broken down into sections so you can complete it in your own time and at your own pace. If you get stuck and need any assistance, you can contact us at education@oldvictheatre.com. Remember, this workshop isn’t about getting things right – it’s about your artistic ideas. Good luck, and have fun.

In the video above we demonstrate how you can edit and record audio from home using a free mobile app called Lexis Audio Editor, available for Windows, Android or iPhone.

Record a sound on the app and then have a go at manipulating it using the effects below. Experiment with recording different sounds and trying out different combinations of effects. When you feel confident with each effect, head over to the next section of the workshop to put your new skills into action.

Reverse: Plays a sound backwards by reversing the audio signal. This can be used to create a ‘lead in’ to a big sound effect.

Changing pitch: Changing pitch makes something sound either higher or lower. A half-tone is a semi-tone and there are exactly 12 half-tones in an octave. That means that changing something by 12 half-tones results in a sound that’s exactly one octave higher or lower.

Changing tempo: Tempo is the speed at which a sound effect or piece of music is played. Changing tempo allows you to speed up or slow down the spaces between sounds.

Changing speed: Distorts the waveform of a sound effect, either shortening it or elongating it.

EQ or equaliser: This effect will either take down or boost certain frequencies. You can use this to make an effect clearer, or to change the way it sounds. For example, in the video above, we boost the high frequencies within the clapping sound effect to create a more clipped or higher pitched sound. We also boost the lower frequencies to create a more muted clapping effect.

Echo: How many repeats of a sound you’ll get after its first instance.

Reverb: Simulates what you hear when your sound is played in a space with different properties. For example, you could use this to change the way an effect sounds in a small or large room.