Dr Paul Thompson
About Dr Paul Thompson
Paul has worked as a professional recording engineer for over 10 years, in and around Liverpool. His work has been played on BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4 and on independent radio stations across Europe and the USA. Paul has worked with local, national and international artists including Ellen and the Escapades, Stephen Langstaff, Marcus Bonfanti, Lights that Change and Tammy Rochelle. His most recent work includes engineering on ‘Compañeros’, the latest studio album from Ian Prowse for Learpholl Recordings (2015).
He currently teaches music technology in the community, studio production and acoustics on the BSc Music Technology, BSc Audio Engineering and BA Music Production programmes. His doctoral research investigated creativity and collaboration inside the recording studio and his on-going research interests include popular music and audio education, informal music learning practices, creativity and cultural production in popular music. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, an associate member of the Institute of Acoustics and a member of the Music Producer’s Guild.
Current Teaching
Paul currently teaches:
- Acoustics and Critical Listening
- Acoustics and Psychoacoustics
- Acoustics for Music Production
- Audio Recording Techniques
- Studio Production Practice
- Music Technology in the Community.
Research Interests
Paul's most recent research focuses on creativity in record production using the framework of the creative system (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988, 1997 and 1999; Kerrigan, 2013). Ethnographic methods such as participant-observation, video and sound recording were used to observe the interaction between the performing musicians, the engineer and the record producer as they collaborated during the recording process. This helped to reveal the complex interaction between the participants and the creative system’s main elements during the creative tasks of performing, engineering and producing. Importantly, it helped to show for the first time that this interaction occurred on both an individual level and a group level, and highlighted how a creative-systems approach can be used to gain a more detailed and in-depth understanding of musical creativity more generally.
Selected Publications
Journal articles (7)
- Anthony B; Thompson P; Auvinen T (2020) Learning the 'tracker' process: A case study into popular music pedagogy
https://doi.org/10.1386/jpme_00026_1
View Repository Record - Lashua BD; Thompson PA (2016) Producing Music, Producing Myth? Creativity in Recording Studios
https://doi.org/10.5429/2079-3871(2016)v6i2.5en
View Repository Record - Thompson PA; Stevenson A (2015) Exploring the experiences, perceptions and reflections of popular electronic musicians at UK higher education institutions
https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte.8.2.199_1
View Repository Record - Davis R; Parker S; Thompson PA (2014) Preparing the Music Technology Toolbox: Addressing the Education-Industry Dilemma
https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte.7.3.313_1
View Repository Record - Thompson P; Lashua BD (2014) Getting it on record: Issues and strategies for contemporary ethnographic practice in recording studios
https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241614530158
View Repository Record - Thompson PA; McIntyre P (2013) Rethinking Creativity in Record Production Education: Addressing the fieldhttp://arpjournal.com/2603/rethinking-creative-practice-in-record-production-and-studio-recording-education-addressing-the-field/
- Thompson PA (2012) An empirical study into the learning practices and enculturation of DJs, turntablists, hip hop and dance music producers
https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte.5.1.43_1
View Repository Record
Books (1)
- Thompson P (2019) Creativity in the Recording Studio: Alternative Takes. Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01650-0
View Repository Record
Conference proceedings (1)
- Thompson P; Mosley B; Ward M (2013) Critical listening and acoustics as an essential part of the audio production and sound technology curriculum.. In: 50th International Conference: Audio Education (July 2013) Murfreesboro, TN, USA 25/07/2013 00:00:00. : , pp. .http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=16843