The Art of Mixing

Here are few ideas that I wish someone would have shared with me and that I don't much of in other tutorials on mixing.

I tend to think of mixes as stories...

Every mix has a setting, which is dictated by the genre and narrative of the song. We wouldn't treat a country song the same as we would an r&b tune. Neither should we treat a sad song the way we would a more festive/happy one. Let what's coming out of the speakers help direct you.

Every mix has "main characters". The main character in a jazz tune could be the band leader's trumpet or the tap of the ride cymbal or the double bass. Listen and discover who's taking the lead and who's supporting the leads, such as; clean jazz guitars, marimba, or congas.

The lead characters should stand out more and therefore receive more of your attention, while the supporting characters should sit more in the background and not draw attention away from the leads. 

Unless they have a solo, then it's time to shine the attention on them. 

Tip: Scientific research states that the human brain can process two sounds at one time. All the other sounds it will sum into one sound (background). 

If a song is sad and somber, let the mix convey that emotion and if the message is more upbeat, the mix should follow suit. 

A mix doesn't need to sound perfect. Sometimes being too clean can subtract from the intended sound of the song. 

If you're mixing an old Chicago blues band, the mix should sound like an old blues bar. Too much sheen and we take away from the authenticity. 

Just like if you're mixing a classical quartet you shouldn't use the same tonal choices you would for the blues band. Look for the tonal and spatial choices that make the song sound authentic.

There's enough songs to last us a lifetime, and the public probably aren't looking for another one, but there will always be room for songs that make people feel something. 

Mixing is about reducing. Your ears are very small and logically speaking, trying to fit in a bass sound the size of the Grand Canyon just doesn't leave much room for the other music. 

We need to evaluate and get rid of what you can afford to get rid of. 

All those frequencies that don't create the bulk of the recorded sound, you can get rid of them. 

Make twenty voices sound like one choir, turn twelve violins into one violin section, and turn 90 musicians into an orchestra. 

Reduction ushers in clarity and clarity of this kind makes for a more enjoyable listening experience. 

Mixing is also about compromise. 

Do you have a bass guitar with a lot of sub-harmonics or a kick with strong sub-harmonics? You can't have both at the same time and have clarity in either. 

The next thing you'd need to evaluate is do you want the bass to come in "waves or strikes"? Meaning, if the bass is holding out long extended notes that sustain for a long period of time, then you would want the kick to come in as "strikes" (faster transients). Or you could reverse it and let the bass be 'plucky' and the kick sustain. Either way, this mentality adds to cohesion in the low end while maintaining clarity.

Last but certainly not least, mixing is about bringing out the emotion of the song, allowing the song to speak as it wills without distractions. 

A mix doesn't have to sound like Michael Jackson's "Thriller" or Steely Dan's "Aja" to be good. 

There are many mixes that stray from the modern convention and reach the song's goal, some examples would be; Neil Young "Rockin' in the Free World", Nirvana "Heart Shaped Box", Camel "Slow Yourself Down", The Replacements "Bastards of Young", Drake "Headlines", Taking Back Sunday "Cute Without the E", Foo Fighters "All My Life", The Stooges "Raw Power", and many more. 

These are only guidelines that if they suit the goal of the song, follow them, but if following them deviates away from the intended effect of the song...then break them! 

Music is for people and people since the dawn of time have enjoyed music. If you make your mix for the individual(s) who created the song in mind and not for awards or to follow some checklist of guidelines...then you're bound to succeed. 

To close it off I'll leave you with a quote from the late Denny Purcell, "Years from now, people will listen to what we've done and know we were here. They may not know or care who we were. But they'll hear our music speaking for us. And just maybe they'll understand something. That's they way it's supposed to be. The players come and go, but the music lives on. Eternity will take care of the rest".

Happy Mixing.

Devaluing Music

In 2015, the vinyl record market was up 32%, grossing $416 million in sales according to the RIAA. Compare that to the $385 million made from streaming music sites with ads such as; Spotify, YouTube, Pandora and we can confirm that the consumer has changed in recent years.

And that's not because vinyl has become less expensive, in fact the very opposite, a new copy of The Beatles "White Album" will run you about $40 USD or a copy of Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago" will run you right at $20 USD in most stores.

So, why the spike in sales for something as antiquated as vinyl, a medium of music listening that 20 years ago, experts would have said was on its way out? Some have speculated it's a counter response to the digital music world, that buyers want to hold their records and be able to point to their purchase. Other say it's a backlash to iTunes and the 'shuffle generation', that listeners want to have a musical experience once again and are seeking a more 'personal relationship' with the music they enjoy.

Whatever the reason...as Bob Dylan once said "the times they are a changin"...and some musicians are jumping on board while others are more hesitant.

I've seen a new trend with artists I've worked with NOT releasing their music online, but instead making CD's or vinyl records they sell at their shows. While the other half of artists, are ONLY releasing their music online and giving it away for free. Who's right?

Now, the rest of this post is a mixture speculation and research, but it's speculation based on experience and hours of research.

In 1999 something happened online that changed the course of the music industry forever...

Enter Napster.

In 1999, for the first time music fans could get their favorite albums FOR FREE at the click of a button and the only price was waiting for a progress bar. These songs were in the mp3 format, which is a quarter of the quality of the then reigning king of music distribution, CD's. A generation became accustomed to getting music for free and didn't mind the sacrifice in quality. Just two years later, the site would shutdown following a lawsuit by the RIAA, but the damage was done.

No one then could have foreseen the effects Napster would have on the music industry and the music industry and the consumer have never been the same since.

Fast forward to 2007, the rock band Radiohead did something unprecedented for a band of their popularity. They recorded an album without the help of a record label and released the album independently on their own site where fans could pay whatever they wanted for the album, even $0.00.

The media had a frenzy and The Times hailed Radiohead's album, "In Rainbows"..."easily the most important release in the recent history of the music business".  NME wrote, "the music world seemed to judder several times of its axis".

And that's exactly what happened. Soon after, independent bands were giving away their music. And in the beginning, it was brilliant and fan bases were growing, but in 2016...that model didn't seem to hold up like we thought it would.

In 2016, I talk to bands who tell to me that making an album is a risk and therefore want to try to cut costs as much as possible. And in that thinking of releasing an album as a risk, the art suffers. I believe with this mindset of devaluing music, not only are the artists shortchanged for their effort financially, but the fans are shortchanged from quality. I talk to a lot of artists who refer to the recording process as a marketing tool to get fans to the shows. The very artists have lost sight of the value of their art and see it as an 'audible show flier'. And because of this, music is released that isn't fully realized and with the budgets shortened...the music suffers...and when the music suffers...the fans die off.

These days, I see a generation of artists who are so 'hungry' for an audience to listen to their music, they give it away. On many of these artists' sites, paying isn't even an option. They may have spent hundreds even thousands making the record and they give it away in hopes that it grows their fan base. I've seen incentive programs where you can get the album, mixtape or EP for free IF you post a tweet or a message on Facebook that tells all your friends about this FREE album. Artists are looking for an audience and are willing to the go the point of 'virtual begging'.

I've also talked to artists who do music as a side project and work as electricians or school teachers during the day and have no desire to pursue a career in music, therefore give it away so everyone can have their music. And this to me is a fine reason to give away music. But the artists who DO want to pursue a career in music...I beg you to reconsider what you're doing.

I want to start by saying if you hope to make a living in music and you aren't currently purchasing music, not sitting through YouTube ads, but buying songs off iTunes, or getting a subscription to Spotify, or purchasing music at an ACTUAL STORE...you are hurting your chances of being able to make a living for your art. There is a movement currently where if you make something of value, consumers will pay money for it, with an emphasis on vinyl. We need to propel this surge of valuing music and artists should value themselves and their art enough to put a price tag on their work.

I fear that if we keep devaluing music as we have...bad albums will become what the music fans come to expect and the art of making records will become cheapened by more half-ready releases and more 'disposable music'.

In the past five years, I've seen a growing trend of artists making their own album. And though I support the artists who have taken the torch and taken responsibility and care in making their music on their own. I've also seen  artists who see the need to cut corners to the point of pirating a copy of ProTools or Logic Pro, watching a few videos on YouTube and proceeding to make their album. Now, I don't condone piracy and think it shortchanges the music industry, but the issue I take with this is...there are audio engineers who have a deep appreciation for music and spent years perfecting their skills in the record making process to help make albums like the ones they fell in love with in their youth only to be passed up for convenience. And if you hop on Bandcamp today, you can download scores of these disposable albums where the care and knowledge of record making wasn't utilized.

I beg you to reconsider...

How can you stop this?

• See music as something of importance that brings people together. 
• Make music that you will be proud of years to come and that represents you well as an artist for future generations, long after you pass. 
• View your next record/single as a vehicle that could change your life and the lives of those who find it and decide what that's worth. 
• Don't take shortcuts or cut corners to save money, but invest into making IMPORTANT MUSIC. 
• Put a price tag on your art. 
• Support good musicians by employing them on your next project. 
• Buy music and help revitalize the music business so fans can have better music, artists can get paid and audio engineers stay employed. 

Lastly, I ask that you share this blog post, not for my gain, but as a wake up call to music lovers everywhere. Thanks for reading. 

Be kind+make good music.

Tips for World Class Vocal Takes

Put your wallet away. The secret to great vocal takes isn't something you buy. I've seen friends and clients shell out hundreds even thousands of dollars for top shelf mics, better pre-amps, and still walk away with less than stellar vocal performances. And it's not because they didn't spend enough or they still haven't found the right vocal chain. The secret to the best vocal takes you can get out of a performer is going to cost you, the engineer something more...effort! I've seen engineers just sit there and say nothing and just hit record at the end of each take. Reading a newspaper or checking social media while the singer is bearing their soul on the other side of the glass. Now, if that doesn't describe you...then good...you're one of the good ones. If it does...we can fix that!

Let's get this out of the way, because some of you go into every session with a skewed mindset. I'm not going to teach you how to make average singers sound like world class singers. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip and you can't make an average vocalist Whitney Houston. But...you can get the best that they're capable of and that might be easier than you think.

The secret to great vocal takes is; a singer who understands their limits, positive reinforcement, and staying in the zone.

Understanding the Limits

An average singer who knows how to work their voice for a given song is a powerful thing. Sometimes part of the key is just lowering the key of the song or if it's a female...raising it...finding where the singer can sing comfortably. Sometimes it's knowing that they can't do that particular run they're going for and as the producer advising toward a less tricky one. Knowing your limits is key and the first step to capturing a great vocal take.