be audible. Here the fade-up generally occurs just before the final words in order for the cue to be given. In stage productions the closing music is played from a predetermined time and fades up at the closing words in order to fit in exactly with the remaining program time. Contemporary No modern recording can be reliably identified as "the first" to use the technique. In 2003, on the (now-defunct) website Stupid Question, John Ruch listed the following recordings as possible contenders: More recently: "At the meta-song level, the prevalence of pre-taped sequences (for shops, pubs, parties, concert intervals, aircraft headsets) emphasizes the importance of flow. The effect on radio pop programme form [is] a stress on continuity achieved through the use of fades, voice-over links, twin-turntable mixing and connecting jingles." Fade A fade can be constructed so that the motion of the control (linear or rotary) from its start to end points affects the level of the signal in a different manner at different points in its travel. If there are no overlapping regions on the same track, regular fade (pre-fade / post-fade) should be used. A smooth fade is one that changes according to the logarithmic scale, as faders are logarithmic over much of their working range of 30-40 dB. If the engineer requires one region to gradually fade into another on the same track, a crossfade would be more suitable. If however the two regions are on different tracks, fade-ins and fade-outs will be applied. A fade-out can be accomplished without letting the sound's distance increase, however this is also something it can do. The perceived distance increase can be attributed to a diminishing level of timbral detail, not the result of a decreasing dynamic level. A listener's interest can be withdrawn from a sound that is faded at the lower end since the ear accepts a more prompt rounding off. The fade-in can be used as a device that separates the listener from the scene. An example of a mini fade out, of about a second or two, is a sustained bass note left to die down. Shapes The shape of a regular fade and a crossfade can be shaped by an audio engineer. Shape implies that you can change the rate at which the level change occurs over the length of the fade. Different types of preset fades shapes include linear, logarithmic, exponential and S-curve.