Susan Rogers and the book jacket.
Before she was an award-winning professor of cognitive neuroscience at Berklee College of Music, Susan Rogers was chief sound engineer for Prince during the height of his commercial success. Her new book, This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You (co-written with Ogi Ogas), explains that everyone possesses a unique “listener profile” based on the brain’s natural response to seven key dimensions of any song. She will read Oct. 13, in the Discovery Building at 6 p.m.
Isthmus: What are the seven key dimensions of any song?
Susan Rogers: There are at least seven musical and aesthetic brain systems that can independently isolate and respond to recorded music. (I’ll use “record” here and not “songs,” because song can refer to sheet music.) These dimensions are:
1. Authenticity: A subjective sense of sincerity in a music performance, and feeling as though you can tell where in the performer’s body the musical expression is coming from. Some performers sound as if they’re “playing from the heart”; other performers dazzle us with brilliant ideas; yet others may reach down into the gut or groin to express themselves.
2. Realism: Realism is the opposite of abstraction. Realistic records are made by familiar instruments that we can see or imagine seeing. Abstract records feature virtual instruments that exist only in computer code. Most gospel, folk or rock records are realistic. Most techno and electronic dance music is abstract.
3. Novelty: Novelty refers to a record’s subjective originality. Some records are musically ground-breaking or daring; other records stick to a classic, familiar form so as to put the focus on composition or performance technique. Some listeners put a higher value on global innovation, while others listen for the local details on a record.
4. Melody: Music evolved to express humans’ emotional lives. Melody and harmony carry most of the emotional weight in a song. Any emotion humans feel can be expressed by a sequence of musical pitches. Melody may be called the “heart” of a record.
5. Lyrics: The words to a song express ideas, therefore lyrics may be called the “mind” of a record. Listeners may accept a record if the lyrics speak for them, or reject it if it expresses ideas that they do not value. Music’s role in shaping our self-identity is largely due to lyrical content.
6. Rhythm: Rhythms can be straight or syncopated, heavy or light, fast or slow, obvious or subtle. The urge to move in sync with music is innate in humans, emerging when we are toddlers. Moving along with music or other dancers gives us a sense of social well-being. Rhythm is a record’s “hips.”
7. Timbre: Timbre is the unique sonic profile of musical instruments and voices. Timbral differences are how we distinguish among instruments that are playing the same note. We may call timbre the “face” of a record because timbre establishes music’s identity and genre.
Music lovers have preferences, or “sweet spots,” on some or all of these dimensions where music gives the listener the greatest pleasure.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the male-dominated recording industry?
Like a lot of kids, I was crazy for music. However, the thought of playing, writing or singing music didn’t have the same appeal as assisting in the making of records. My passion was for listening, and so I hoped that I could be of service in the recording studio. It was intimidating in 1978 to start a career without having female role models. To get around this obstacle, I took the career path where gender was irrelevant — audio technology. A broken console or tape machine isn’t interested in your DNA; all that matters is that you fix it. Starting my career as an audio technician served me well. It gave me confidence and made me useful in the industry. It led to my getting hired by Prince who, in 1983, was looking for an audio tech to join him in Minneapolis. Prince transitioned me into the engineering chair. Once I had those credentials, I had a secure spot in the pantheon.
What is your best Prince-in-the-studio story?
Every day in the studio with Prince was an opportunity to watch [a] musical genius work. I wish that I could recall every single day because, truly, every day was (compared to that of most record-makers) extraordinary. Prince engineer Dylan Dresdow said that what stood out in his memory were the garden-variety, so called “normal,” moments. Same for me. So here’s one.
We were at Sunset Sound studio in Los Angeles in 1985, making the Parade album. Prince dressed like a pop star every day, so on this day he was wearing a lilac chiffon tunic with matching trousers and shoes. We had finished a mix and we put it on cassette. Prince invited me to ride with him in his convertible Rolls-Royce so that we could drive around and listen in the car. We cruised around Hollywood for a bit (he was driving and I was the only passenger), and then he pulled into a 7-Eleven on Santa Monica Boulevard. I waited in the car while he went inside for a beverage and Doritos. I could see through the glass window that a man in front of him in line was staring and then, eventually, saying something to Prince. When Prince came back out, he was beaming and shaking his head: “You know what that guy just said to me? ‘Yo, man, you look a lot like Prince — only shorter!’” It was really, really funny. I loved how Prince wasn’t afraid to go out in public and interact with people. He could also take a joke about his height.
See more Isthmus coverage of the 2022 Wisconsin Book Festival here.
