When you start learning how to mix music, there are a lot of different steps that you need to take. First, an artist needs to have his musical instrument, usually a guitar or a piano, in perfect condition. An instrument needs to be tuned and its action needs to be in order to make it play the music that the player wants it to. Next, all the sounds, which come from other instruments and vocals, need to be arranged. Mixing music requires a great deal of musical skill and musical experience, and most importantly, musical intuition. Mixing engineers usually have the most technical knowledge of DAW and sound processing, as well as technical know-how and experience of using sound compressors, whether in outboard or plugin format.
Musical experience and technical know-how then determine what tracks will be made – and in what arrangement. Unlike other forms of music mixing, it’s more important that sounds to be heard rather than judged. It’s often very difficult to mix a song that someone else has already mixed, because a lot of trial and error is involved. Some mastering studios have digital samplers that can be loaded with sounds to be mixed, making the job much easier.
Another important thing to know about how to mix music is that some tracks need more time to complete than others. A heavy metal song usually takes longer to complete than a pop song. In addition, certain types of music require a different mixing process than others do. Hip hop and rap music require a different mixing technique than classical music. Knowing these differences beforehand will help eliminate unnecessary delays in the mixing process.
Before any mixes are made, a mastering studio must set the level of sound, clarity and bass level. These three factors play a major role in how effective the mixes are going to be. Without these three aspects in place, the mixes will lack clarity and bass. In some cases, the mixing engineer may have to make manual adjustments to eliminate or reduce unwanted sounds. This extra work and thought goes towards making the most of the mixes.
One more important thing to know about how to mix music is to avoid instances where there is too much compression. Music should not use compression to cover up sounds that could be heard over the other instruments in the mix. A mix should be well balanced and the vocals should be heard above the mix. At times, though, the vocals may be pushed to the sides due to the compression used.
One final important thing to know about how to mix music is that one useful technique is to use one of four high pass filters. High pass filtering helps isolate certain sounds in the mix to make them more evident. Some examples of popular uses for high pass filters include lead guitar in the verses and bridge sections, drum riffs in the rhythm section and many more. There are many plugins available today that make it easy to achieve the effects one wants with this simple technique.