Don’t Just Mix, Stir
Music carries through the air just like a succulent aroma does, it is our job as mixers to make it as appealing and as appetizing as possible. Mixing can be compared to preparing a dish but there is not a specific recipe to follow that will always ensure the finest of cuisine because music, like food, depends largely on individual taste. Some might enjoy a mix that is rich and thick, while others may prefer one that is light but savory. With this article, learn how to tantalize the earbuds of your listeners and marinate mixes with your creative juices.
Give Just a Small Taste
Start by giving just a small taste of what’s to come. Most songs are catchy because of their hook, which in most cases is the chorus. Give them an hors d’oeuvre, a small sample of the mouthwatering goodness that awaits them from the main chorus. This can be achieved by briefly introducing in the verse either an instrument, a melody, a vocal refrain, or even a certain effect that is featured only during the chorus of a song. This short and sweet tidbit creates interest for the listener that leaves them craving more!
Vary the Ingredients
If your mix is sounding a bit stale, try varying the ingredients you put into it. Perhaps your main guitar riff is sizzling in the first verse, try lowering or removing it all together from the chorus or second verse. Give all the other of your mixes fixings a chance to stand out and be enjoyed. You can also vary your ingredients by stirring up the pan pots. You can drastically improve the quality of a mix by panning certain tracks to various degrees of each speaker but do keep in mind certain things like vocals and bass should almost always be directly panned to the center. To add even more excitement to your mix, you can change a track’s position in the stereo field over time. One last thought on how you can vary the ingredients in your mix would be to apply different EQs and FX to a track periodically to really make it jump out during those moments. Listening to something repeat over and over again can become dull and tasteless, by adding even subtle processing at times is a great way to really spice things up!
Prepare It Differently
Let’s say you’ve finished a mix and something seems missing or you’re not quite sure it’s the sound you were after, maybe it’s time to prepare it differently. Think about all the ways in which a chef can prepare chicken: They can bake, boil, broast, fry, grill, and roast it, just to name a few. You should approach your mixes the same way, even if you’re happy with the end result. It doesn’t hurt to start over from scratch and approach the mix in an entirely different way. Maybe choose different EQs, Compressors, and FX and use totally different settings. You may discover you’re much happier with the second or even third approach to a mix than your first.
Let It Stew Awhile
After you’ve prepared a mix, you should always let it stew awhile. Give your hot new song a chance to cool off and soak up the flavor. When you come back to it, either you will find your polished mix ready for others to polish off, or you might find new ideas have simmered in the back of your mind to really beef it up. Like a fine wine tastes better with age, the same thing can apply to music. Almost everyone has a song they didn’t like at first but then it slowly grew on them. Sometimes a song we hated when it first came out turns out to be one of our favorites down the line. Other times, the exact opposite is true, what we may have initially ate up is now causing indigestion, that’s why it’s important to put something on the back burner for a day or two, at the very least.
When it comes to mixing music, don’t just be an artist: Be a culinary artist. Sometimes even just a little dash of this or that can make all the difference between a raw egg of a mix or a soufflé. Hopefully, the tips presented in this article will help you create batter mixes so your listeners come back for a second or third helping; or has inspired some new ideas for you! Stay tuned, for more.
Moses, Aditya. Seasoning Powders, 9 July 2019, www.pexels.com/photo/seasoning-powders-2632292/.
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