Susan Rogers: "Music psychology for record makers"

Record makers manipulate performances and sounds to craft a product most likely to sell. What are they listening for? How do they know what will work? Record production involves a tacit awareness of what listeners respond to but are these assumptions supported by science? We will examine popular record making at the intersection of music psychology, psychoacoustics, the producer/engineer’s perspective, and the audience’s. We will take a closer look at why classical and heavy metal music lovers have surprisingly similar personality profiles. We will look at music audiences’ assorted criteria for what constitutes “good” as well as the mechanisms that cause us to feel emotions (or not!) to music. We will consider why record producers and artists should target specific audiences over the arc of their careers. We will include a discussion of the musicianship of listening and how professional listeners complete the transaction that is music.  

Susan Rogers holds a doctoral degree in experimental psychology from McGill University (2010). Prior to her science career, Susan was a multiplatinum-earning record producer, engineer, mixer and audio technician. She is best known for her work with Prince (1983-1987) but production/engineering credits also include David Byrne, Barenaked Ladies, Geggy Tah, Nil Lara, Robben Ford, Tricky, Michael Penn, and Jeff Black. She is currently a Professor in the departments of Music Production & Engineering and Liberal Arts at Berklee College of Music, Boston, where she teaches music cognition, psychoacoustics, record production and analog recording techniques. Susan is the director of the Berklee Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory for investigating the influence of musical training on auditory processing.