I started to try and mix a few of my own songs a few months back and I found that there is a lot more to mixing than I first thought, a real science in fact! I thought about going to a music production school to take some lesson but I didn’t have the time or money. I have put a few points together that anyone who is about to mix a track for the first time or thinking seriously about music production. You should make sure of the following music production tips:
Make sure you do not use bad quality recordings – If you are recording a guitar or bass from an organic instrument you need to make sure the quality of the sound/recording is good or that all the audio within your song is at the same level of quality, otherwise no matter of mixing will fix it. Most people will aim for the best quality but, budget can affect this, so weight up at what the overall quality level you are wanting and stick to it for each track. This is one of the best music mixing tips anyone can without a doubt learn.
Fix all problems you might have with equipment/software before recording – Now, anyone recording anything ever will have had the nightmare of a piece of equipment not doing what it should or what it normally does. No matter how long it takes and how annoying it gets, always fix any problems with software or equipment before you sit down and start mixing. It can be very counterproductive to not sort these problems beforehand. At least get the anything that could cause a problem along the way fixed as much as you can. It is all very well knowing how to produce music but first you need to have everything in order before you hone in on your music mixing techniques.
Be realistic with what you can accomplish based upon your skills and equipment – Having high goals is great, but you are not going to make a home recorded song/album sound anything like a studio recorded album. It is worth remembering that the people (producers) mixing the songs and albums in these studios have many many years of experience. Having said that it is true to say that you do not have to have been to the University of Music to be able to mix and write your own songs.
Do what you can with what you have and do not be disheartened or intimidated by big artists that you like.. find some of the early songs or even demos if you can and see where they started.
There are many other music mixing tips to consider if you are interested in helping yourself understand how to produce music. I believe that if anyone ever wants to improve their music mixing techniques they should take a look at THIS website. It could be the case that you are stuck and do not know what to do next or it could be you are wanting to learn more skills and ‘tricks of the trade’, either way you should take a look.
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