The process of mixing takes recorded or live sounds and blends them together to produce one master ‘track that sounds great.
These sounds could be recorded live from musical instruments (acoustic, electric or digital), voices, percussion, or alternative instruments or, sounds can come from pre-recorded ‘samples’ or ‘loops’. These may be recorded and saved digitally, or generated digitally.
Each separate sound in a mix has its own place on the mixing desk, on a channel strip. Another way of referring to each of these is to call them ‘tracks’. So, for example, a song might be composed of two drum tracks, an acoustic guitar track, a base guitar track, piano track and one or more vocal tracks. Find out more about what sound engineers actually do.
Find a track similar to the one that you want to mix. Pay close attention
to the instruments and their placing. Try to think about what it is that
makes the sound good to listen to. Being able to listen closely is an
important skill to develop.
The ‘end’ mix might need mixing four, five or even seven times
before the best sound or ‘mix’ is picked out for recording
or played live by a DJ. Find
out more about mixing.
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MIXING