Best way to learn how to mix songs...

Learning how to mix... thats like saying how do I learn how to be a skilled drummer or guitar player... Some people are self taught, some people have spent much time with lessons etc. Its a skill just like playing an instrument. Emulate what you like.

That said, the old school way was to be an apprentice at a real recording studio. Most famous mixing engineers (eg Dave Pensado, Mutt Lange, the Lord-Alge brothers, so many more) started by apprenticing at a pro studio somewhere at the bottom sweeping the floors, etc, and gradually worked their way into being behind the console. Today, that path has pretty much disappeared or at least greatly dissipated. Still there are folks learning that way, I personally have met a few.

There are other resources like going to schools, either longer or shorter commitments. One shorter term one that I personally invested the time and money into was Ronan Chris Murphy's Recording Boot Camp. Pretty intense, but I learned alot. Recording Boot Camp™ - recording classes and audio training in Los Angeles.

Another great resource is Mike Senior's Book Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio by Mike Senior (Cambridge Music Technology). An added bonus is his website has monthly newsletters and recorded stems for you or anyone one to download and practice mixing on and then get critiques.. for free!!!! He just came out with a new book (that I have yet to get, but I will) is Recording Secrets for the Small Studio.

Ronan (who runs recording boot camp and has been making a living as a recording engineer for 20 years) said he spent countless hours critically listening to his favorite and HIT records dissecting how they were mixed, panned, eq'ed, etc. He also has a newsletter that you can sign up for for free.

Many many other resources. But the only way to get better and good is to do it, study, listen, study, do it, etc. All the best.
 
Anyway, just a generic template. How I play with things, based on several years on the other side of the microphone in others' studios and what I've learned here.
AFTER you have a good grasp of how EQ, compression, reverb, pan and other effects work: AFTER you understand GOOD signal chain...i.e. does the compression go before the reverb or after (both are correct, depending on circumstance): and AFTER you understand gain staging...(keeping the levels right all the way through)
1) Get a picture in your head of what all those tracks SHOULD sound like when you get through, and don't be afraid to change the vision as you go.
2) Start with the bottom. Drums and Bass are your rhythm section. When they play nice together, it's much easier to get other layers on top.
3) Add primaries: vocals, guitars, etc. that go through the whole song. Make them clean and distinct from each other. Don't lose step 2.
4) Add secondaries: pads, phrases, other things that only last a little bit in the song.
5) When you're through, stop and come back another day.
6) Make it sound like step 1 using all the tools from the AFTERs.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO START OVER.

Hope that's helpful. YMMV. I'm sure there's a thousand ways to mix tracks, but this is a good system.
 
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calimoose said:
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!
Click to expand...

Lets definitely learn together brotha! You said it "its intimidating" I feel the same specially comparing to songs on the radio. Actually, I have mixed songs that been on actual FM radio as well as Pandora. But I can hear a huge difference between mines and again stuff on the radio. But I agree it takes effort and patience and probably lots of burn cd's to reference the song we are mixing. I'm sure we'll get there, to the point its like driving stick shift 1st gear to 5th like its nothing!
 
BroKen_H said:
Anyway, just a generic template. How I play with things, based on several years on the other side of the microphone in others' studios and what I've learned here.
AFTER you have a good grasp of how EQ, compression, reverb, pan and other effects work: AFTER you understand GOOD signal chain...i.e. does the compression go before the reverb or after (both are correct, depending on circumstance): and AFTER you understand gain staging...(keeping the levels right all the way through)
1) Get a picture in your head of what all those tracks SHOULD sound like when you get through, and don't be afraid to change the vision as you go.
2) Start with the bottom. Drums and Bass are your rhythm section. When they play nice together, it's much easier to get other layers on top.
3) Add primaries: vocals, guitars, etc. that go through the whole song. Make them clean and distinct from each other. Don't lose step 2.
4) Add secondaries: pads, phrases, other things that only last a little bit in the song.
5) When you're through, stop and come back another day.
6) Make it sound like step 1 using all the tools from the AFTERs.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO START OVER.

Hope that's helpful. YMMV. I'm sure there's a thousand ways to mix tracks, but this is a good system.
Click to expand...

If I mix some tracks and want to get feedback on here(forum) if I put the song on my Soundclould and give you guys the link will that be a good source for everyone to give feedback? It should right?
 
Very good. Go into advanced mode "Go Advanced" button under the reply box. Go to the soundcloud page for the song you want to share on a different tab. Copy the address (highlight and hit CTRL-C), come back to your post and hit the orange soundcloud button. Paste the address (CTRL-V) and hit OK. You've just shared a file that we can listen to. :D
 
You might not need it, but I borrowed an ebook from my local library, "Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies". I am about half way through it, it really is a good place for many on this board to start. Has all the basics and it covers in a few short hours what took me a couple of years to figure out and research. The guy stays pretty basic, nothing dumb, just informs and gives information.

Highly recommend it if you are still struggling with the basics. It all starts with the basics.
 
DM60 said:
You might not need it, but I borrowed an ebook from my local library, "Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies". I am about half way through it, it really is a good place for many on this board to start. Has all the basics and it covers in a few short hours what took me a couple of years to figure out and research. The guy stays pretty basic, nothing dumb, just informs and gives information.

Highly recommend it if you are still struggling with the basics. It all starts with the basics.
Click to expand...

If you have Amazon Prime, the ebook is free to read....long as you have a Kindle of the Kindle app for your phone, tablet or PC.
 
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