Mixing music is a deep and nuanced art form that requires patience and diligent practice to master, a combination of technical understanding, creativity, and good taste.
Composers can be very strong in the musical and compositional aspects of their game, but if their mixing skills are less developed, their tracks will struggle to punch through and impact listeners.
It is often incorrectly assumed that you need expensive gear and millions of plug-ins to create a quality mix, but this simply isn’t the case. It's possible to create incredible-sounding music with just stock plug-ins if you are prepared to invest the time and energy needed to craft your mix.
In this article, we share some general principles of mixing that you can apply today to start making your mixes more impactful.
“The art of mixing is in the listening.”
Listen to Lots of Music (Not just film music)
There is a tendency amongst composers to spend too much time immersed in the “film music” world, and whilst this is understandable, it can limit the palette of sounds and sonic flavours we are being exposed to.
A successful mix is the result of many small creative decision that compound together to create a compelling whole. But how do you know which decisions to make? By exposing ourselves to many different styles of music we can develop our ear, and build up a arsenal of mixing techniques and methods that can be deployed in different scenarios.
You should make an active effort to listen to music from as many different genres as possible, and this means Active Listening. Ask yourself “Whats going on in this mix”, “How are the bass, mid, treble elements being balanced” “What are the tonal characteristics of the mix” and “what creative mixing techniques have been used to complement or enhance the aesthetic of the track?”
Genres such as hip-hop, rock & metal and dance music all feature interesting techniques which can effectively applied to film music.
Hip-Hop - Hip-Hop music is great to study for how the low end has been treated. Tracks in this genre are notable for their tight, focused low end whilst still hitting hard and making the room shake.
Rock & Metal - Rock/metal music often combines many different instrumental layers for a thick and dense sound. These genres are great to study how to work with dense musical layers, and carve out space so that each can shine through.
Electronic - Electronic music is a treasure trove of creative mixing techniques which can be used to add movement and interest to your tracks. Concepts such as filter sweeps to enhance build ups, as well as the use of crazy delays and side-chaining can all be applied to mixing film music tracks.
Listening to many different genres of music will help you to develop your ear and make better mixing decisions.
Select The Right sounds
It’s much easier to create a stunning mix when you are working with the right sounds to begin with. As a composer this means you can begin to shape your mix during the composition stage, and save yourself potential issues down the line by being extra considerate of the sounds you are selecting.
Some things to consider when choosing sounds may include:
Does this sound fit the vibe I’m going for?
Is there any harshness or roughness to the sound which will make it hard to blend with other sounds?
Are my chosen instruments being played in their best register?
By taking some extra time to address these issues during the writing stage you are putting yourself in the best position for success when it comes to the mixing stage.
Focus On Your Lead Ingredients
Much like a culinary dish, a piece of music is the combination of sonic flavours and textures that combine together to create the full experience. Recipes call for ingredients in different measures to achieve the perfect flavour balance, and it’s the same when mixing a track. If every element is turned up to 11 then the mix will sound like a big mess.
Just like in cooking, we need to decide on what our lead ingredients are and what the most important elements the listener needs to be hearing at any one time. In pop music this is most commonly the vocals, as the human voice is the element that most people are drawn to.
When mixing your music, ask yourself what experience are we trying to create for the listener and where should they be focusing their attention? By focusing on our lead ingredients, we allow our mix to be shaped around the most important elements.
Is your track atmospheric and delicate? Let the atmospheric sounds lead the way and envelop the listener. Where there is a lead melodic theme, allow it to take centre stage and for the other instrument to act in a supporting role. If your track is more percussive and bouncy, then you can focus more on the rhythmic elements of the track and let these take the lead.
Identify your lead music ingredients and shape your mix around them.
Think In 3 Dimensions
When mixing your music, you can break things down into three separate dimensions - Volume, Stereo Image, Frequency Spectrum. It’s important that you consider each of these dimensions carefully so that you can achieve a balanced and rounded mix.
Volume - Quite/Loud - What are the quiet and loud points in the track? How are you managing the transition between sections with different levels of volume? How can we create a feeling of movement even If the track is consistent throughout in terms of its dynamics?
Stereo Image - Left/Right - Where are different instruments situated in the stereo image? Which elements will remain more central and which can be pushed out wide? Some elements may contain movement in the stereo image through the use of pan automation or effects such as auto-pan or tremolo.
Frequency Spectrum - Bass, Mid, Treble - How are you balancing the different areas of the frequency spectrum? Cutting the low frequencies of mid and treble elements can create space for the bass elements for example.
Check Your Low End
Wether you are mixing with home studio monitors, or using a pair of headphones, there will likely be a limit on how faithfully they can represent the low end of your mix. Check the recommendations of your speaker or headphones manufacturers. Certain models of monitors and headphones can “overhype” the low end, meaning that the mix will fall flat when it’s played out through a big system. Its good practice to test your mix on a large system if possible, so that you can gauge how effectively your low end is coming through and make adjustments if needed.
If you are a student at university the music department should hopefully have a space with good speakers which you can use to test your mix. There is also the classic “car test” where you can check your mix in car and see how everything is sounding. Cars are typically well treated in terms of acoustics and can give a fairly accurate picture of the tonal balance in a mix, particularly in the low end.
Low end can make or break your mix, so always test your track on a big system if possible.
Get Creative
There is so much more to mixing than just EQ and Compression. Don’t be afraid to involve some of the stranger and more left-field plugins that you have in your toolbox. Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Filters, Distortion can all be used to great affect and will help you give your mix some added personality
Don’t worry about breaking the rules either. Mixing is subjective and whilst there are some general technical principle to follow, this shouldn’t stop you from trying out some experiments from time-to-time.
Run your cello through a bass amp, throw a comb filter on to a synth pad, or try some sparkly delays on woodwind or harp. There is a hidden universe of sound just waiting to be explored in every mix, so don’t just stick to the well-trodden path.
Conclusion
Mixing is listening, mixing is thinking, mixing is practice. It's not something you can master by watching a few youTube tutorials and copying their techniques. Just like with learning an instrument, progress is made with diligent practice and trying out different ideas. With the right mix of patience, experimentation and curiosity, you can forge a mixing workflow that truly elevates your music to the heights it deserves.
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