Learn How to Mix Music in Your Studio (Part 1)

Learning how to mix music is an exciting skill to develop when you re producing in your own home studio! "t s the time where all o# the recordings you ve made and all the parts you ve created come together to gel into a whole piece o# music! Mixing is de#initely my own #avorite time to $e in the studio!

%ut it must $e said that mixing can $e one o# the hardest skills to develop! "t takes time and dedication to improve your skills& and you shouldn t expect to $e a great mixer overnight! You need $oth creative and technical a$ilities to mix your productions ' there s de#initely an art and a science to the process!

(olume #aders on a mixing desk

Mixing Methods

)here are lots o# di##erent ways to approach mixing in the studio! )he main tool used is the audio mixer& which is used to $alance and process all o# the various tracks you have& resulting in a *'track stereo mix at the end (one le#t channel& one right channel)!

Most home producers start o## mixing in the $ox ' mixing their tracks using so#tware inside their studio computer! +hatever ,-+ you choose to use& it will likely have a mixing part to it!

"# you want to mix your tracks on a real& physical mixing desk (either analog or digital)& you ll $e mixing out o# the $ox ! " know many mixing engineers who pre#er this way o# working& $ut i# you re setting up your home studio on a $udget you pro$a$ly won t have a desk to mix on (yet)!

.ither way& the ideas and processes are much the same #or $oth #orms o# mixing! "n #act& mixers who mix out o# the $ox tend to also use tools that are in the $ox ' an example would $e to use a com$ination o# Pro )ools #or it s editing #eatures& and then to send the outputs #rom Pro )ools into the inputs o# a real mixing desk #or the mixing session!

Setting /p Your Mix

%e#ore starting to mix& " always make sure that all the settings are #lat ' that everything has $een reset to 0ero (settings like .1& sends& #aders& input gain& etc!)!

"nside your ,-+& it s a good idea to arrange your tracks in a logical order! Have all your drum tracks placed next to each other& #ollowed $y your $ass track(s)& then guitars& key$oards& vocals& horns& strings& etc! )hen you can organi0e them into su$groups!

-n example " always #ollow is to group together my drum channels into a stereo su$group (" o#ten have around eight or nine separate drum channels)! )his still allows me to process each individual track however " like& $ut it gives me overall control o# the whole group #or parameters like volume with 2ust the stereo set o# #aders!

"# " want to $ring down the volume o# the whole drum kit& " can do it 2ust $y controlling the two #aders o# the su$group on the mixing $oard& instead o# having to individually ad2ust all eight channels! "t also allows me to compress the whole drum kit together across this stereo su$group!

You can apply this process to other groups as well ' #or example& you could $ring together guitars or $acking vocals into their own groups!

+hen learning how to mix music& there are many small techni3ues that will help& such as assigning multiple channels into groups 1

+henever you re mixing your music& always make sure that your tracks don t go into the red ' that they don t clip or distort $ecause the signal has $ecome too loud!

+hen this happens in the digital domain& it can result in nasty and potentially harm#ul digital distortion! -dding e##ects to a channel can alter its overall signal level& so always $e aware o# where your signals are peaking!

4eep your signals out o# the red

How to Mix Music - What to Consider

)here are a #ew di##erent elements to a mix& and thinking o# these elements can help you

to get started and to #ocus on $uilding the skill in each area5

(olume levels Panning in the stereo #ield .diting your recordings 6re3uency content and .1 ,ynamics and compression Space and depth using rever$ and e##ects -utomation and uni3ue events in the mix

-ll o# these #actors go toward learning how to mix music& and it s de#initely worth developing your skills and techni3ues in all o# these areas! )hen you ll really $e on your way to $ecoming a great mixer!

' See more at5 http577www!practical'music'production!com7how'to'mix' music!html8sthash!eMru0k9:!dpu#