Intro:

I received the first mix for my new song, from a Mixing Engineer the other day.

And after doing this for almost two decades now, I have a much better understanding of what to listen for in a first mix.

But that wasn’t always the case…

Back in 2009, I received the first draft of my band’s first album, and thought to myself…

“I think this sounds good?”

It was a weird feeling…I felt like I should have said more, but I just didn’t know what I didn’t know.

And I didn’t know how to communicate any thoughts that I did have.

It wasn’t until I racked up these experiences that I realized…

I lacked important knowledge and skillsets to listen, analyze, and communicate.

So I’m going to break down the lessons I’ve learned, by sharing the three main elements I listen for, in a first mix…

#1 - volume level of the vocals

Songwriters and singers, myself included, have a tendency to want loud, (or at least “louder”) vocals.

It’s only natural - you work hard on writing meaningful lyrics; you want those words to come through, you want people to relate to the message of your song.

But proceed with caution…

Because the relationship of vocals to instrumentals in a mix, is like salad dressing to greens.

If your dressing simply sits on top of your salad, when you take that first bite, you may only taste the dressing…

Instead of tasting the combination of dressing with greens that makes a salad delicious.

And your vocals are no different.

So when I get that first mix back, I pay special, close attention to this relationship between vocals and instrumental -

AKA are the vocals “sitting on top of” the instrumental? Or are they blended in?

And you’ll see my note in the below email I sent to my mixing engineer, that I felt that the vocals were a little “hot” (“loud”)…

AKA I felt like the blend I was looking for, wasn’t there yet.

#2 - volume level and presence of the kick drum, snare drum, and bassline

A conventional rhythm section is made up of the drums and bass.

And more specifically, the kick drum and snare drum, or whatever sounds are being used to represent that, provide the pulse.

So the relationship between the kick drum, snare, and bass, is crucial.

If those parts aren’t working with each other…(for example, if one of those pieces is drowning out the other two)…

Then that may need to be addressed.

#3 - energy level of key transitions

Songs are made up of “big moments”.

And how you transition into and out of those moments, is crucial.

Now, it’s important to note that these transitions and “big moments”, and how they work with each other, should be addressed during the actual songwriting process.

You can’t fix a songwriting issue with a production or mixing solution, after all.

However, it’s important that the mixing engineer enhance, and outline those transitions.

So you’ll see in the below email, I include a note about the second chorus “losing energy”.

This will be an important adjustment - as there is a feeling of energy building in that section that I want the listeners to feel.

What You Can Do with this:

There are other elements to listen for when you get that first mix back from your producer/engineer.

But these are the three I would suggest honing in on, at the very least.

Especially if you are new to this experience.

I would encourage you to practice “active listening”, not only to your songs, but to other artists’ tunes.

Start to pay attention to these relationships between vocals and instrumentals, and start to identify “big moments” in these songs.

Conclusion:

As always, I hope you found value from this episode.

Happy Writing,

Connor

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