If you have little or no experience in the musical world, but would like to mix your own music, it is very possible that you do not know where to start. For this reason, this time we are going to teach you how to learn to mix music by summarizing a series of essential basic points for it.
Through the guide that we bring you, you will be able to start taking your first steps as a DJ, either for your own enjoyment and entertainment or to dedicate yourself professionally to the world of music.
It is completely normal that you have doubts when you start to start mixing music. You may have many ideas in your head but at the same time many doubts because you don’t even know where to start. Although there are many ways to mix music, there are common concepts that apply in the vast majority of cases.
Guide to learn to mix music
That said, we are going to explain the 6 fundamental points that you need to know to mix music.
pre-mix
First of all, you must work on what is known as a pre-mix. To do this, you must make sure to adjust the level of all the audio tracks to their most appropriate point, with their appropriate parameters. To order the tracks and avoid problems make a good distribution and labeling.
The order of the tracks is essential and you should make it as intuitive as possible. A good way to distribute the instruments is to respect the space they occupy in the frequency spectrum.
For example, in the case of pop or rock, it is advisable to arrange the instruments, from left to right: bass drum, guitars, synths, choirs, vocals, solo instruments, or something similar.
For the rest of the channels, it places the aux tracks first, followed by returns, output busses, group sends, and finally the master output. In addition, you will need to determine the most relevant instruments in your mix.
Levels and panoramas
To begin with it is recommended that you start your audio mix by setting a general output level to 0 db. To carry out some specific variations in the level you will have to create groups of different channels. In any case, you must keep in mind the level and the relationship of each track with the mix in general.
In a first step, the purpose is to approximate the level and pan settings to the point you want. In addition, you must stop to distribute all the tracks within the panorama of the mix. The goal is to achieve a balanced stereo field.
Although depending on the musical style there will be a more or less defined location for each instrument, as a general rule the scheme establishes the main voice, bass, bass drum and bass drum in the center; and the choirs, cymbals and pianos are recorded in stereo and placed on both sides of the mix. Before choosing the volume for each of the tracks, take a look at the pan settings.
plugins
Plugins to process the signal will help you to control the peaks.
Among the tips to know how to learn to mix music, it is important that you look for a smooth balance of the overall sound.
From this moment on, you will be able to shape your mix, always having the most relevant instruments as a reference.
equalization
The equalizer is, together with the compressor, two of the most frequently used processors when mixing and mastering the sound. EQ is responsible for adding clarity to the mix.
In other words, it takes care of preventing the instruments from overlapping with each other, but it also gives definition to the tracks, eliminates noise and places each element in the perfect place. The purpose is to achieve a composition that is harmonic.
It is recommended to use the mono to better appreciate the effects of the equalization.
Compression
The compressor is in charge of allowing us to have greater control over the minimum and maximum levels of the mix. Thanks to it, a higher average volume is achieved, which improves the sound quality of the mix.
The sound must be comfortable to listen to, therefore, compression is one of the most important and used tools when working with sound. However, it is also one of the most complicated.
It is important that you give preference to applying light compression in different parts of the mix.
Sound effects
Once all the previous adjustments have been made, it is the moment in which you have to add the sound effects. In this step you will be able to place the delay, distortion, reverberation, modulation…, concluding with the pan settings and the levels of each of the tracks.
In this step, what is sought is that, in the final musical mix, these elements can be distinguished:
- Balance. Each instrument must work in a harmonious and balanced way.
- Clarity. Each of the instruments and sections should sound clear and clean.
- Separation. All instruments must be able to identify themselves and have their own space without conflicts between them.
Taking all of the above into account, start practicing, since it is the best way to know how to learn to mix music, with the practice of everything that we have mentioned in this article.
