When working with radio projects I discovered the importance of panning and stereophonic sound. Stereophonic allows the listener to hear a piece from a human’s most natural form – multi-directional! Despite first being used in 18881 in Paris with several telephone transmissions, stereo-only became popular when it first aired on radio in 1961. This then got used in the late 1960s / ’70s during the psychedelic movement within the music. Famously bands such as Pink Floyd showcased this as normality on many of their albums.
In my experience, I have found that panning allows the most immersive experience possible. It adds another dimension to the sound which creates room for the listener to become truly immersed. Creating sound which reverts to a human’s natural state of hearing makes the piece realistic. This realism leaves the listener vulnerable to feeling and provokes certain emotions throughout the performance. When creating car sounds in my piece I could pan these to create a realistic vision of cars passing. I find this useful as it gives me chance to shatter reality and create a more atmospheric effect on the listeners’ mood and feelings. In future, I will always make my art pieces in stereo due to such success.