5 Easy Steps: How to Mix

1. DAW Template

Firstly, before diving into the mix, it's so important to organize your session. Label your tracks clearly (e.g., "Lead Vocals," "Kick Drum," “First Violins,” “Tubas”), group similar elements (like all drum tracks), and color-code them if possible. This organization speeds up your workflow and ensures you can quickly find and adjust any element during the mix.

Pro Tip: Create buses for grouped tracks (like drums or vocals) to apply effects to multiple tracks at once. This makes your mix more cohesive and saves CPU power.

2. Balance Volume

Volume balancing is the foundation of a great mix. Begin by setting the levels of your tracks relative to each other. Start with the most important element (e.g., vocals or solo violin,) and build the mix around it. Use your ears to ensure that no element is too loud or too quiet.

3. Use EQ

Equalization (EQ) helps you create space in your mix by cutting or boosting specific frequencies. Remove unwanted frequencies (such as low-end rumble or harsh highs) and enhance the main parts of each track. This prevents elements from clashing and keeps your mix clean.

Example: Cut low frequencies from instruments like guitars or vocals or flutes that don’t need them, allowing the bass and kick drum or cellos and double bases to dominate the low end.

4. Compression

Compression helps control the dynamics of your tracks, making quiet parts louder and loud parts quieter. This results in a more consistent and polished sound. Apply compression to individual tracks (like vocals or drums or trumpets) and use bus compression to glue the mix together.

Pro Tip: Be cautious with compression; too much can squash the dynamics and make your mix sound lifeless.

5. Add Effects

Reverb, delay, and other effects add depth and space to your mix. Use reverb to create a sense of environment, making elements sound like they belong in the same space. Delay can add texture to vocals, percussion, horns, etc. However, be mindful not to overdo it, as too many effects can make your mix muddy.

Pro Tip: Use effects on send/return tracks to apply them subtly and evenly across your mix.

If you want more pro tips about mixing then be sure to check out Joël Dollié’s course on ‘Mixing Cinematic Music’ where he talks about all the different techniques in depth and can give you hands-on feedback to your own tracks!

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