In the Mix: How to Sound Like a Pro at Home

Have you spent countless hours trying to mix your songs that are still falling flat?

It can feel overwhelming to mix your own music if you don't know the right techniques and processes. But if you want to make your music sound great and don't want to hire professionals to help you out, it's necessary for you to mix music the right way.

Thankfully, you can start doing several things today to make your songs sound great. If you want to find out what to do, read on and we'll tell you what you need to know.

The Relationship Between Mixing and Mastering

Mixing is something that you do during the first stages of post-production. It's usually the mixing engineer who forms and balances the individual tracks from a recording session into something that sounds good when everything is played together. The mixing engineer usually gets help from clients or reference tracks.

It's the job of a mix engineer to create more balance between different instruments. They do this by creating tighter rhythmic patterns and bringing out important aspects of a song. It's likely that they'll use digital tools such as EQ, compression, and noise reduction.

It's the job of a master engineer to listen to the entire piece that's been made into a stereo mixdown. Their goal is to create a finished piece.

It's important for them to search for ways to improve the sound. They'll do this by bringing out certain desired qualities such as level and tone.

By doing this, the mastering engineer will make sure that the music sounds the same, regardless of what system it's played on. If a sound engineer is working with an entire album, they'll also try to create more cohesion between each of the album's songs.

It's easy for musicians to get ahead of themselves by wanting to mix and master their music before they've actually created the best possible recordings. This is why it's so important to know how to record vocals and instruments before you focus on post-production.

The Basic Things You Need to Mix Music

Before it was possible for musicians to get their hands on powerful laptop computers, mixing was a job for trained professionals. It was necessary for them to have expensive equipment that most people could not afford.

This is thankfully no longer the case. The only essential thing that people need to mix their music is a dependable computer that has a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). You can use the DAW to record, mix, and organize your tracks.

One of the core aspects of a DAW that you'll need to use for mixing music is audio plugins. You'll want to use these to improve, analyze, and enhance the music that you've recorded.

It's also important to know how to use a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). You can use a MIDI to sequence drums, prompt desired sounds, and create melodies from virtual instruments. It's also a great tool for those who want to improve their workflows.

To get started with mixing, you should also get your hands on studio-quality headphones and studio monitors. If you don't already have a good setup for your studio, then you should also focus on improving your workspace.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, it's a good idea to get mixing help from those who know what they're doing. One of the easiest ways to do this is to read about how your favourite musicians mix their music.

Improve Your Studio Setup

It's common for musicians to want to jump right into recording music and mixing their tracks before thinking about the acoustics of the room they're recording in.

This can be a mistake. Even though it's possible to make huge improvements to the quality of a song with post-production software, these tools have their limits. If the room you record in is not set up in the right way, it's going to hurt the quality of your sounds.

There are several simple things you can do to improve the acoustics in your studio.

You can start by making sure that all windows are covered by drapes or foam. It's also essential that you keep all instruments out of the corners of the room. Lastly, make sure that your mixing and recording studio is soundproof.

Mixing: How to Understand the Different Elements

It's a good idea to imagine your audio mix as a sonic soundstage. There are various elements that you can make use of to create beautiful compositions. Here are some of the plugins and features that you should work with inside of your DAW.

Levels

The concept behind levels is straightforward. When you want something to be quieter, you turn the fader down. By doing this, you can grab the attention of the listener to the louder components of your song. The goal of working with levels is to create more cohesion between different instruments and vocals.

Panning

When people speak about panning, they're talking about the horizontal placement of sounds. Maybe your songs have various instruments that have the same frequency range. If this is the case, you can use panning to bring one instrument to the right and one to the left.

This will make it easier to hear all of the instruments on your tracks.

EQ

EQ is an essential tool that can help you to boost and cut levels at specific frequencies. You can work with EQ to edit the tracks in your mix so that there is more cohesion between them.

Since this is one of the most important elements for multitrack mixing, it's important that you know how to effectively work with EQ.

Audio Dynamics

Audio dynamics include things like compression, expanders, and gates. You can work with these dynamics if you want to change a sound's volume with more nuance.

It takes time to understand how to work with audio dynamics to improve your mixes. But this is an element that can play a huge role in you the personality of your mixes. If you want to become a master at working with audio dynamics, consider enrolling in one of the UK's top music production programs.

Time-based Effects

You can work with time-based effects to create more depth to your music. These effects include elements such as reverb and delay.

Pay Attention to the Rough Mix

Before doing anything else with your mix, take time to listen to the whole thing. You can then listen to it a second time in order to pay attention to the tracks in the mix.

There are several plugins that you can use to help make a quality check on each of a song's tracks. These plugins will identify where there might be plosives, guitar squeaks, or other imperfections.

Choose a Track to Serve as the Foundation for Your Song

When you're making a mix, you want to identify one instrument or vocal track that will be the "star" of your song. Some people like to begin with a vocal, and others prefer to start with a drum.

If you're mixing a pop song, you might want to focus on the lead vocal. If you're working with electronic music, it's probably better to choose a drum. After you choose a single track to serve as the foundation for your song, you can start working with other tracks, such as guitars and keyboards, to support the song's foundation.

Bring Out the Song's Structure

After establishing the framework and form of your mix, you should start thinking about how to compliment the energy shifts between sections of a song. Pay attention to shifts that you notice between verses and choruses. Your goal should be to bring out elements that are already present in a song.

Finish the Mix

After you've finished with the creative aspects of mixing your song, there are several important things that you still need to do. If you're mixing music for a client, you should share your mix to get their approval.

If you're mixing your own music, consider sharing your mix with other band members or friends. After hearing their feedback, consider heading back to the studio to improve your mix.

With Dedication and Focus, You Can Mix Music Like a Pro

If you're still learning how to mix music, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Remember that the most important thing you need to get started is a dependable computer and a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Use your DAW to work with elements such as levels, panning and EQ.

If you want to learn more about how to mix music like a pro, consider heading to Aux Connect. And if you're interested in connecting with potential collaborators or need a platform for storing all of your songwriting ideas, then Aux is the right place for you.