Phase and phasing are crucial to music production. Phase, also known as position, refers to the orientation of a cyclical waveform in time, relative to another cyclical waveform. Experts measure phase shifting in degrees, which range from zero to 360. To determine the degree, it’s essential to have a reference waveform. Because of this, you must know exactly the place of the zero degrees to measure the phase degree.
Phasing, aka phase interference, is a phenomenon that describes interactions between two or more almost identical sounds performed at the same time. It directly affects the amplitude’s pressure or power. There are three types of phase interference: constructive, destructive, and comb filtering.
Types of Phase and Phasing
Constructive
Firstly, the constructive type happens due to synchronized phase relationships than range from zero to 360 degrees. This causes the amplitude to multiply and resonate. Producers tend to use this effect to boost frequencies.
Destructive
Secondly, the destructive type happens due to the phase relationships of 180 degrees and causes the waves to cancel each other out. Musicians typically use this effect to eliminate frequency content from any given sound.
Comb Filter
Thirdly, te comb filter type triggers constructive and destructive peaks and nulls due to uneven phase relationships. One generally uses it to add special effects in electronic music production.
Phase and Phasing: Reflected Sounds
Everything around us is related to sounds. Reflected sounds are usually filtered copies of the initial impulse, so phase interference arises when they bump to each other in the air. This tends to be a problem when trying to capture genuine sounds inside a room because it is impossible to predict when and where the phasing will occur in an acoustic space. Some experienced engineers and producers determine the type of interference that will occur by comparing the position of the reflected waves to the incident waves. They do this by calculating the time it takes each wave to arrive at the receiver, taking the difference, and translating the result to a correlating phase degree.
