How Do You Mix & Master Music?
You’ve finished recording tracks on your computer-based digital audio workstation (DAW) and you’re pleased with the performances. Now you must mix and master the tracks before they can reach their full sonic potential. Professional studios have a distinct advantage due to the experience of their engineers, but attempting it yourself can be a valuable learning experience. Listen to all of the tracks in your song with a critical ear. Be ruthless and decide which parts are essential to the effectiveness of the song and which are not. Just because you went to the trouble of recording a part doesn’t mean it belongs in the mix. Focus on the parts that best serve the song and eliminate the rest and you’ll get better results from your mixdown efforts. Work on the stereo image by panning tracks. Resist the temptation to simply boost the levels of tracks that are not clear in the mix; their volume may not be the problem. It may be that their frequencies are meshing with other instruments in the
