How To Mix Audio Tracks Using Audio Mixing Software
Mixing audio is a skill that is determined to the individual tastes of the produces.
To explain it in simple terms, it involves manipulating the settings for volume, frequency spectrum and pan position of every recorded channel as it relates to all the other channels of the musical track.
Each individual sound can be enhanced when effects such as reverb, delay, compression, or pitch shifting come into play.
As a music studio producer you have all these options available at your finger tips to enhance and mix your music, hopefully to produce something of commercial value.
Long ago, you could only create a great mix by channeling every single track into a mixing desk and painstakingly turning each knob in turn to achieve the best possible effect.
These days, you can get cleaner results the easy way, by employing software that digitally manages each part of the process with far greater capabilities.
How do you define a perfect mix? It happens when the right balance is achieved between each of the recorded instrumental and vocal tracks, and through this, the music is heard as one single unit, rather than the collection of different sounds it was at the beginning of the mix down.
Every section is heard; the overall impression of the complete song is what matters.
When samples and sounds are combined within a song, they can seem at odds with each other.
The reason for this is because the frequencies of certain tracks can sound so similar to each other that they have no individual impact.
With the help of an equalizer you can apply subtle changes to the frequency of any one sound to make it stand out that much clearer in the overall effect.
There are two varieties of equalizer.
There is a graphic equalizer and a parametric equalizer.
The first is what you expect to see on a hi-fi or home theater systems with sliders for adjusting treble and bass.
When you mix sound professionally, however, you will be working with a parametric equalizer.
Here the frequencies that can be attuned, are not fixed.
Some equalizers allow you to monitor how changes influence other tracks and some let you build a curve between the frequencies of two different recordings.
Established producers advise that the best place to start is with the drums and bass, establishing a tight beat before moving on to the following part of the recording.
Make sure you are happy with the movement of the beat before you add lead vocals to the big picture.
Keep your focus on perfecting the balance between these three segments, before you add the rest of the sounds to the spectrum.
When you have the most suitable audio mixing software at your disposal, your music should soon put you at the heart of the buzz.