Best way to learn how to mix songs...

G

Goss-stick

New member
Been in the music game for over 15 years. But YET!!! Still haven't built the confidence to mix my own music. I can mix a song if the beat is 2 tracked(left and right audio), but as far as a whole beat(separated sounds specially many sounds) I always send it out and pay to get it mix. Besides I will save money mixing it myself, the main reason I want to mix my own song myself is because I know exactly how I want it to sound. Every engineer that have mixed my song does a good job but not great! Doesn't sound like radio ready.

So my question is what is the best way to learn? Would you guys suggest a certain video? Good books? My 2015 album I have someone mixing it, but 2016 and on I want to mix my own songs.
 
Yup. The only way to learn how to mix is to mix.

The good news is that modern computer mixing makes this pretty painless. You can try something and, if you don't like it, just undo and try something else.

Want a starting point? Get all your tracks recorded, turn them all on and listen. It'll sound like rubbish so work out something that's too loud and turn it down. Listen again. Turn something else down. Vocals too quiet? Turn them up. Vocals not quite clear enough? Add some EQ to boost the upper frequencies slightly.

The big thing is to keep listening and making little steps.

As for reading, a good starting point is all the FAQs here on HR. They'll take you through a lot of the boring technicalities. Similarly, you'll probably find there are tutorials and forums for whatever software you decide to use. These can be a great resource.

But do it...and listen.
 
It really does sound trite and oversimplistic to say "just do it."
But just do it !
I can't think of a worthy substitute for sitting down with your recorded tracks and just playing about with them to see what you can come up with. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't one. It might sound fantastic. It might sound abysmal.
In the old days, mix engineers began their careers by making tea, sweeping floors, putting mics where they were told and turning on the 'record' and 'play' button. And they watched what the older experienced engineer did and asked questions if they were fortunate enough to attend a mixing session.
I think that was wonderful and valuable but I personally think you have it better because you are already the captain of your own ship and you have a resource like Home Recording.com or others and loads of books and 50 years of history to help you should you get stuck.
Literally get stuck in. The best part is that if you're sensitive to criticism no one need ever hear your mess ! :listeningmusic:
Just try it. Do it. Practice. And keep doing it.
 
Of course, you need stuff to mix! Preferably a wide variety of different styles and even different quality. Jump into the Mix This! forum here and download everything and play with it. You don't have to post your mix for feedback, but it might do you some good to have some objective ears for a reality check or to offer tips and tricks to improve. There are also a number of sites around the web with full sets of tracks available for practicing mixing.
 
I think some of the problems with beat mixing is that most guys who do "beats"...don't really track/record all that much in the classic sense.

When you write...then record track by track from scratch...and then you get to the mix....you've been involved in the production, you've developed a sense for what it needs to sound like and where it needs to go.

When you do that many times over....after awhile it becomes easier and more obvious.
That's why the guys who record often will say that the song practically "mixed itself"....because they were already "mixing" the minute they started tracking, and sometimes even while they were writting the song.
IOW, they were formulating the whole production and almost hearing the finished product from the start...and not just the "beats".
 
Greg_L said:
Just do it.

Why have people stopped trying to do things?
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Because many people have become used to clicking on something and having it done for them. When was the last time you saw someone do simple arithmetic with paper and pencil? Things are becoming way too easy. Not much need to use the brain.
 
I hear you guys and appreciate the feedback and thats pretty much how I am "just do it yourself" kinda guy. Like a song with 6-7 sounds in it no problem I can mix it with confidence and feel its well balanced. But for example i'm working on a song with over 10 instruments I start getting lost and feeling its no well balanced. Like Just the percussion alone there like 6 instruments 3 claps and snares that sound a like. So do I just pan them a little bit spaced from each other? Do I do one left and the other clap right? At this point I'm lost and frustrated.
 
Goss-stick said:
So do I just pan them a little bit spaced from each other? Do I do one left and the other clap right? At this point I'm lost and frustrated.
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Well, try it and see what happens. Believe it or not, frustration is an essential part of beginning.
Then it gets better.
 
We can't tell you how and where to pan stuff or set your levels. Just do it until it sounds good. There's nothing more to it than that.
 
Already been stated, but just go ahead and start mixing some tracks if you're wanting to learn.

The Pro Audio Files (theproaudiofiles.com) is a great site to learn about mixing on. It's more geared towards people that at least know the basics of mixing (routing signals, using aux tracks, gain staging, etc), but I think that would be a great place to start learning, since it's free.

Just go searching for some songs you can mix, if not record your own like you were talking about. I'm pretty sure there's a big Mix This section of the forums you could download tracks from and try your hand at mixing.
 
Goss-stick said:
a song with 6-7 sounds in it no problem I can mix it with confidence and feel its well balanced.
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You say you have no problem mixing a song with 6 or 7 sounds. Well, you already have the mental template in your head even if you don't realize it. So bit by bit, think about how each addition sounds. Bear in mind that it's how it sounds to you that's important.
Listen also to a few songs and just try and get a sense of where things are placed that make each song sound the way they do. Other peoples' songs can be a good start point, just to give you an idea of where to start, if you need that. Then proceed from there. Experiment. Be extreme. Be cautious. Be ridiculous. Try. Do it.
 
'Just do it' is a useful phrase, and at various places here I've lamented the fact that so many people doing recording seem to be unadventurous and have limited problem-solving skills.

Having said that, most occupations are best learnt through having a coach (e.g. learning to drive, learning to play golf). The coach is there to help you find a smoother path through an otherwise long and tedious process of trial and error.

So I have some sympathy for the OP's position.

The advantage with recording is that no-one sees your mistakes along the way (unlike kangaroo-hopping a car through an intersection with everyone watching), so you can try things out, then ditch them if they don't work.

For me, a key is being able to listen critically, not only to your stuff, but to other music. That way you can figure out what the elements are in someone else's mix, and why they work, then replicate those mixing ideas in your music.
 
Besides the "just do it" approach, there are a handful of important things you need to be taught or learn from somewhere. Read articles on basic EQ and compression techniques. Mastering the use of EQ and compression will get you 90% of the way there. You should also read up on frequencies and how our ears perceive different frequency bands. There are so many free articles online it's insane. Read, then go to your mix and try to apply what you learned. Rinse and repeat.
 
Cool thank you everyone! I actually started mixing a track that I was going to send out and pay $200 this monday. You guys are right I guess I just have to "just do it-like NIKE" and patience and keep at it till its how I achieve that sound I'm aiming for. But I guess when I feel its there(finally done) I can post up on here and get feedback from everyone good or bad.

For example I was listening to Tupac's "Amitionz of a Ridah" and the song has his main vocal, doubles,then his ad-libs(random noise or words in the back ground) plus all the instruments obviously. Needless to say, there so much going on in the song but yet so clear and every vocal, sound has its own placement(home) in the mix. Can't wait for my skills to get to that level. Or even like a Nicki Minaj record. Which I know it'll take time.
 
Goss-stick said:
Needless to say, there so much going on in the song but yet so clear and every vocal, sound has its own placement(home) in the mix. Can't wait for my skills to get to that level. Or even like a Nicki Minaj record. Which I know it'll take time.
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Be aware that much of this comes down to the equipment and environment, as well as the skills you have.

It's repeated ad-nauseum around here, but your 'mix' should sound great before you mix it.
Ok, it might be a bit flat and unexciting, but all the parts should work together pre-mix.

It's not always possible in a home environment, but it's good to keep an eye on your goal.


The goal isn't to mix things good - The goal is to mix good things.
(Another classic Steen signature up for grabs there....^^)
 
Greg_L said:
We can't tell you how and where to pan stuff or set your levels. Just do it until it sounds good. There's nothing more to it than that.
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Honestly these days, with iphones and tablets and clouds and all that shit, people want things spoonfed and give up too soon. Let me say this: I was like you, OP (still am) but now I'm trying to develop my skills. It's really intimidating. The most frustrating part is I don't even know the simple shortcuts yet so I waste so much time just cutting and pasting shit. But in the end all the tedious things, combined with all the plugins and how to use them, etc, are exactly what you need to truly understand how to make a good mix yourself.

You don't learn a new instrument overnight, you don't learn a new language overnight, anything worthwhile takes effort and patience, because with effort and patience, and after seeing the small improvements from that effort, you know you won't give up.

I'm just starting the journey (from a mixing standpoint, not musical). Start with me!
 
A good mix can take some time to sort out. Sometimes you could mix for a few hours and think you are getting nowhere, some of the commercial mixes that you hear on the radio could have been several days work. As said before, the trick is to try things out, do not put yourself under pressure, get the mix sounding good, come back to it the next day and give it a second listen after a break, the best way to check a mix is to just have it playing while doing something else so you are not focused on every little detail, if something is wrong it will jump out at you. I often listen to the mix while talking to the client, the best test LOL.

Having said all that, a recent album I worked on I did some demo mixes for the client, basically mixed the songs in about 5 mins each for them to take home. When it got to the album mixing they kept 2 of the 5 min mixes for the album as they said I nailed exactly what they wanted and we should not touch it. Proves there are no rules in this game.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
A good mix can take some time to sort out. Sometimes you could mix for a few hours and think you are getting nowhere, some of the commercial mixes that you hear on the radio could have been several days work. As said before, the trick is to try things out, do not put yourself under pressure, get the mix sounding good, come back to it the next day and give it a second listen after a break, the best way to check a mix is to just have it playing while doing something else so you are not focused on every little detail, if something is wrong it will jump out at you. I often listen to the mix while talking to the client, the best test LOL.

Having said all that, a recent album I worked on I did some demo mixes for the client, basically mixed the songs in about 5 mins each for them to take home. When it got to the album mixing they kept 2 of the 5 min mixes for the album as they said I nailed exactly what they wanted and we should not touch it. Proves there are no rules in this game.

Alan.
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Agreed to the 'come back to it the next day thing', but if the recording is not good to begin with then it is a never ending battle. Yes, a commercial quality recording may be mixed in several days or a few hours, but the work in recording the song may have taken much longer.

Just putting things in perspective here. Mixing is not a secret wizard spell casting. The performance and how it is captured is the first step to achieving a great mix.

It has been said before and it will always be true; A great recording of a great song by great musicians, will pretty much mix itself.

If you are having issues, then find the reason why it is not working.


I am still struggling with getting it right before the record button is hit. I may never find the perfect take, but with each experience it gets better and easier to get a mix to work.


So many variables involved in getting a great recording. None of them are less important than others... This could go on forever...
 
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