1. Stop and listen; try to determine where the sounds are coming from and what might be producing them.

2. Distinguish between the high and the low frequencies. Move away from low frequency tones and towards sounds with high frequency details. (The lower tones will persist anyway)

3. Try to position the mics between two sounds with higher frequencies. Try to create an equality or balalnce between the two sounds.

4. Try other mic positions as its hard to tell which position will create the most interesting results.

5. When possible, explore extremely close micing positions. Create intriguing stereo images out of very small events through careful positioning.

6. When the setting lacks interesting details, consider the "background" sounds coming from greater distance.

7. When recording these distant or "ambient" sounds, stand in an open area and pan the horizon with the mics. Find a position where each mic is pointed to a different element on the "horizon." When there is a loud, dominant sound, position the mics so the loud sound is in the middle.

8. Stereo images are usually stronger when the microphones are stationary. Soundscapes are dynamic, they change character over time. Make all of your stationary recordings at least 2 minutes long each.

9. Interior ambience can feel more spatial when the mics are placed in the middle, away from the walls, floor and ceiling. Placing the mics directly on walls or floors or around corners can also be effective.

10. When you encounter vibrating surfaces, consider touching the mic "heads" directly against the surface in places where the vibrations may differ.

Physics that can help you understand how and what you are hearing.

A. Sounds that have traveled long distance are low in frequency and sustained in duration. (High frequencies have less power and diminish with distance).

B. Sounds traveling a short distance retain more of their high frequencies and qualities that depend on high frequencies. (Sometimes, only close-micing can capture delicate, high-frequency "textures.")

C. High frequencies can make sounds more distinct and easier to locate within a stereo field.

D. The quieter the place, the further one can hear.

E. Echoes have more nuance in quiet places.

F. Echoes tell us about the "enclosure" we are in-- from a small room to a river canyon. [for demo, use this 2-D wave emulator & add walls]

G. Humans are more sensitive to tone changes in lower frequencies-- like the pitches of the vowel sounds in human speech and the echoes within many enclosures.

H. The quietest time of the week is often ~3 am Monday morning. Early Sunday morning is often the quietest daylight time period.

1. Use enclosed headphones with monitoring volume loud enough to hear above the location sound. It can help to press the earphones close to your head when listening for a subtlety.

2. Always use manual gain! Found on the back side of your recorder.

3. Always start-off with freshly charged batteries have plenty of spare batteries. The number one cause of lost recordings is starting off with low batteries.

4. It's okay to use the pause button between recordings but save your recordings to disk after every few takes by pressing "stop" and waiting for the disc writing process to complete before jostling the recorder.