As
musicians we all know the famous quote, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.” We usually apply this to the development of
our skills as a musician. However, many
of us fail to apply practice as the number one source of improvement in our
recording and mixing skills. Instead we
purchase better equipment, watch instructional videos, read articles and
purchase plugins with tons of presets.
We are always looking for a quick fix to our recording/mixing
problems. Why is that?
Some
people always want a quick fix for everything.
This is why alternative weight loss options can be such lucrative sales opportunities
(by alternative, I mean other than proper diet and exercise). However, we are not like that with our
music. Most singer/songwriters have
learned the discipline of regular musical practice. We understand the struggle involved with
reaching higher levels of ability and standing out amongst the crowd of other
performers.
I think a major reason for us to
search out a quick recording fix may be that we are musicians who record and
mix as opposed to being primarily recording engineers. We are already spending a good portion of our
time practicing our musical performance skills.
Being a person who plays multiple instruments, I find it hard just to
devote the proper amount of time to all of them. My primary instruments are piano, saxophone
and voice. At least one of these always
seems to suffer when I get serious about the other two. If I am in the middle of a recording or
mixing project, all of them suffer.
Meanwhile, my bass, drums and guitar are sitting in the corner
collecting dust.
In an attempt to expedite our time
management, we often look for quick fixes when it comes to recording and
mixing. Unfortunately, there are no
quick fixes. We can either pay someone
who has taken the time to perfect his/her recording and mixing skills or put
the time in ourselves. My studio started
with the thought “Why spend x amount of money on another album when I can build
a home studio instead and make an unlimited number of albums?” We have to realize that when we pay “x”
amount to record or mix and album, we are not just paying for the use of the
equipment. We are also paying for the
knowledge and experience that the engineer has acquired through years of practice.
So, how do we practice our recording
and mixing skills. The basic answer is
by spending time doing it. The more we
record or mix, the better we will get.
Pro engineers have spent countless hours training and learning. Now they spend multiple hours per day working
on projects they have been hired for.
There is no way that we will match their skills by spending one or two intermittent
hours, dispersed between breaks of a week or more, practicing our skills.
Beside actual recording and mixing,
we can engage in exercises that will increase our skills. Ear training exercises can be used to familiarize
ourselves with the frequency spectrum and the way that specific frequencies
sound. This will help us to make wise
choices when modifying the EQ of our recorded tracks. Dave Pensado has a You Tube channel called Into The Lair
where he provides great mixing tips.
This link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xTXEDxfJwA) leads to the
first of a series of videos where he discusses this type of ear training.
We can also practice miking various
instruments from different distances and angles. There are so many variables between input
source, microphone placement, choice of microphone and choice of preamplifier
(depending on what you own). Before
purchasing new microphones and preamplifiers, it is a good idea to have a firm
understandings of the way your current equipment sounds on a variety of sound
sources. This will help us to make the
right choices when in a real recording session.
There are countless other
techniques that can be practiced outside of actual recording sessions. This, combined with actual time spent in
sessions, will continue to add to our knowledge and experience. Time is a precious commodity for most
independent singer/songwriters. We have
to make the choice between paying for someone else to record us, or trying to
record ourselves. If we choose home
recording, we have to find the time to raise our recording and mixing skills to
an acceptable commercial level. While
pursuing this, I found that I began to enjoy recording and mixing almost as
much as I love writing and performing music.
I started out just trying to save money, and ended up discovering a
hidden passion.
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