| The First (And Most Important) Step In Music Mixing | | Print | |
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Music mixing is an art-form. When done well, the listener can feel your music. When done poorly, they won't get it. A poor mix can ruin a great song. The first step in music mixing is to determine the genre of your music, then create a mixing plan of attack that compliments that genre. Is your music pop/dance? If it is, then a driving tight kick drum will probably be your primary instrument. Vocals, bass and percussion will be fairly dry, and maybe a synth or two will provide stereo width and /or serve as your background melodies. A classical music piece doesn't even use a kick drum, and the ambiance is far more dry. A big orchestra hall or cathedral reverb is used on many of the instruments to make the music sound wide and spacious. But if you're new to mixing you might ask, how do you create a mixing plan of attack? By listening closely to dozens of songs by major label artists in the same genre of your music. Which instruments are the loudest in their mixes? What drives the song (the kick, guitars, vocals)? How loud are the vocals compared to the music? What types of reverbs and delays are usually used on the vocals and music? Where do the vocal tracks sit in the mix? Where do all the instruments sit in the mix (where are they panned)? These are all questions you should ask yourself when analyzing the work of major label artists. Another important point to remember is the era of the genre. If you like the Beatles, you probably aren't going to mix your music like they did, with the kick drum panned hard left and the vocals panned hard right. That was an experiment that failed 60 years ago. Find major label artists in your genre, who are relatively current (last 4-5 years), whose music you think sounds good. This should be your reference when learning how to mix your genre. Note: Remember that you will not be able to emulate the sound of a major label artist's final cd in the mixing process. Their songs have already been mastered. Power, punch, clarity, sparkle, etc. is all part of the mastering process. We can do the mastering for you! Read all of our articles and we'll show you how to get that "major label" sound with your mixes. Now create your mixing plan of attack based on what you want your songs to sound like. Have a mental picture of the final version and make it happen on the mixing board. If you're panning instruments all over, trying dozens of different reverbs, etc. you'll spend a lot of time and you'll never get what you really want, because you don't even know what you really want! But everyone has to start somewhere. If you work hard at it, you'll learn. We'll be posting extensive music and mixing tips here each week, that will help you quickly achieve your mixing goals. Bookmark our website, tell a friend and we'll see you next week! Related Articles
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