After serious time in the studio getting everything tracked and edited, it’s time to go into that other art form of getting your songs mixed. Once your music producer or mixing engineer has completed their initial take on your song, you can expect to receive a version of that to listen to and review. At this time you enter that critical stage of revisions, where you provide feedback to the producer so that the record takes on the exact sonic qualities you want. But there are some general guidelines to follow if you want to make sure you don’t approve a mix and then later regret it when releasing your music to the public. Here’s some tips to make sure this process goes smoothly for you…
Take Detailed Notes
This one should be obvious, but I have a feeling it won’t be. The human memory is an incredibly faulty thing, so don’t take chances when you hear something you think might need to be changed. You may change your mind later (based on some of the following notes), but just be sure to write everything down so that something isn’t forgotten. Keep a small notebook nearby when listening, use a voice memo, or leave a note on your phone. Whatever works for you.
Listen On Multiple Speaker Setups
This one is pretty simple, but if you are only going to provide feedback based on what you hear over your iPhone speaker, then you are going to be disappointed. Make sure to listen to the song in as many listening environments as possible. This can be earbuds, headphones, car stereo, home stereo, boombox (do people still have those?), gramophone (couldn’t help myself), and on and on. Each of these different setups is going to provide a slightly different frequency response. You want to make sure that the music your band spent so much time working on can translate between all these places. Take your time and listen in each one.
Listen at Different Volumes
I know the initial excitement of having that first mix to listen to pushes you to crank things up, but it’s important to remember that our ears hear differently at different volumes. A loud volume will always sound exciting but other things can be revealed at quiet volumes. Does the vocal get lost? Does the energy stay up when it’s quiet? Is it too harsh when I crank up the speakers? Sometimes we listen to music in the background and other times it’s cranked up so we can sing along. Taking notes of how the mix responds to different volume levels can provide great insight into how the record comes together.
Make a Playlist
With the way many fans listen to music these days, you can be almost guaranteed that your song will be played alongside other artists. Take some time to put your mix in the middle of a playlist with similar sounding artists. Note that the overall volume may be quieter (you aren’t to the mastering stage yet), but you should be able to get a sense of how you mix matches tonally. How does the kick and snare fit in? What vocal level makes sense for this song? Is the right amount of bass coming through? Getting answers to these questions pushes you in the direction of making your music fit when those transitions occur. One caution is to not completely throw away what makes your music unique. You still want to have something that grabs the listener’s attention. The goal here is to avoid jarring transitions between similar styles of music.
Find Some Trusted Ears
These may be your bandmates, but even if you are solo it’s good to keep perspective. Find people who you trust (they probably need to have similar taste in music). Invite them over for a listening session to see what they think of the mix of your record. By doing this you ensure that the feedback is based on a set of speakers / headphones that you are also exposed to (and avoids the phone speaker). Get their feelings on the song. Ask them how it makes them feel. Is there anything jarring about the song that stands out? What do they love about the song? If you find yourself fixating on minute little details that 99% of people don’t notice, this process can help you stay on target.
Organize the Details for the Mix Engineer
Once everyone involved has their notes (assuming it’s not a solo project), collect the detailed notes that you have been taking and decide what changes actually need to be implemented. Otherwise you end up with the drummer wanting more drums, the guitarist wanting more guitar, and the vocalist…. well, you get the idea. Work together and compromise on what changes best encompass the vision and goals of the record. Make these detailed notes and agree on a single point-of-contact for the mix engineer. This person will write up all the changes that are needed in the format required (often this is just an e-mail). Send those details out and sit back and wait for the next set of mixes.
Then lather, rinse and repeat as needed to get to the final product.
One Final Consideration
If for some reason you get that first mix back and it is way off from the creative vision that you or the band has for the music, it’s best to communicate that immediately to the producer or mix engineer in a professional manner. It’s possible they just misunderstood what the goal was for the music and went a completely different direction. By providing this feedback directly and maybe provide a reference song that matches your style you can often get things rolling back on track. If for some reason the mix engineer is not receptive to these changes or cannot achieve the results you need it may be time to find someone else to do the mixing.
Also keep in mind that the quality of the recording done can place limits on how good the final results are. Mixing can do some amazing creative things with your music, but it’s not magic. It’s only possible to polish a turd so much.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog post, be sure to go check out our other topics to help musicians here. If you are curious how I might be able to help by mixing your next record, please take a listen to some of my previous work and then contact me.