L i s t e n i n g

We're going to get into some abstract ideas about mixes. Bear with it, this should be pretty helpful. And I will even dare to use the word "good" in describing mixes and songs,

A good mix is a very subjective thing. One thing that everyone can agree on is that there are a lot of possible ways to mix something, and most sound "off" for some reason or other.

It is easy to say what is wrong with a mix. What may appear as one kind of mix problem may actually be the result of several other circumstances. When mixing, try putting up a song that sounds like you want yours to sound. Use what someone else has already done as a template. Now I hear all the "But - I'm - the - new - inventor - of - rock - and - roll - I - have - a - new - vision!" people saying that that's stupid. Who wants to sound like someone else?

Well, I've got news for you. It has all been done before. And the people who did it learned an incredible amount about how we hear and perceive music. You see, you will always see incredible Ansel Adams photographs because he never released the duds. He knew when not to click the shutter and how to use the darkroom when he did. Life is not long enough to ignore someone else's good techniques.

Okay, so what are some of the things you should pay attention to? Stereo imaging of drums, the REAL sound of the bass, how much reverb is on the vocal, how thin background vocals can be, how grunge guitars don't have a lot of highs, how the song's instrumentation changes from verse to chorus, how the mix leads your attention along rather than forcing your attention to jerk from focus to focus, how it sounds different from speaker to speaker, how you may have an easy time really separating the instruments out because, by gosh, it's mixed so darn well!

Put a different CD or tape on. It's a good way to take your next Ear Break. (By the way, you will be surprised a the tricks your musical memory will play on you. You may even think you remember that there was reverb on drums in the seventies. Fashion rears it's ugly head. Right now the trend is what I call cluster drums; a tight compressed stereo image kicking in during the impact part of the song, and a loose reverb on the entire kit in the relaxed section.)

Try practicing Indirect Listening. This is the technique of not listening to what you think the problem is. Don't listen to the sound of the kick drum. Don't listen to the bass. In fact, stop listening to all these individual instruments! I'll bet that all of this microscopic ridiculousness is not why you got into music. You felt something that touched you. So try to make the most throbbing, visceral, sexy mix you can without paying any attention to whether there is a little too much snap on the bass D string in the third bar of the bridge. Leave the Art Mix to Steely Dan. Your job is to make the 99% of the world who doesn't CARE about mix trivia to really feel that this song is about feeling the wind in their faces. If you can do that, then you have a good mix.

The most important thing - and I know you/ve heard this a million times - is the song. Be suspicious of musicians that say they don't want to write a pop song. Dare them to actually write one. Many of these people confuse being inept with the rules with breaking the rules. The better you know the rules, the better you break them. The most difficult song to write is one that appeals to the most people. We're not just talking about a lyric and melodic pop song, but the whole arrangement. There is an economy of style and instrumentation that mark a hit song.