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Early in my MIDI music exploration, I wanted to rescore “The Highest Step” using Garritan Personal Orchestra 4, but quickly discovered that due to having originally scored it entirely in General MIDI, many notes were out of range of GPO4 instrumentation.  I am now considering pursuing the rescoring again, but likely focusing largely, if not exclusively, on the SoundFonts from www.soundsforbeats.com.  In addition, the original version of “The Highest Step” was a direct exporting from PrintMusic without any mixing – I now have a rather good knowledge (I think!) of mixing and can certainly make any rescoring sound superior to the original version.

Since “The Highest Step” was effectively conceived with the 2010 Winter Olympics in mind, if I do pursue this rescoring/mixing project, my goal is to have it completed and released around the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Prime Loops has a weekly music-related blog, and this week’s post is on Audio Resolutions! for 2012.  There are several good tips for making better music in 2012, but the one which really jumps out most to me is #4: Keep It Simple. 

While Prime Loops’ offerings are really intended for those who create music entirely in a DAW, Keep It Simple is also quite useful for composing in any format/medium.  I personally compose entirely in PrintMusic, and I find that to some extent, it forces me to keep things relatively simple.  The 24-staff limitation of PrintMusic requires that if I have a really complex piece in mind, then I need to seriously consider how I am using each staff in order to get everything to fit properly!  Since PrintMusic is inherently driven by notation, it is much more difficult (although not at all impossible) to add a lot of fillers such as sweeps and risers and even just a few quick sound effects – again, the program itself practically forces me to keep things rather simple in the composing stage.  The limit of 8 MIDI banks (of 16 channels each) can also force me to keep things simple, especially if I am using a VST plug-in which only supports a single channel, such as AAS Player to drive Angelicals.

This does not mean that PrintMusic cannot produce complex music.  “Global Expectations (Extended Mix)” is a very good example of this:  I very nearly hit the 24-staff limit, and I absolutely had to use some rather creative notation in order to get the sonic output I desired prior to mixing.

The mixing stage is where things can become truly complex: multiple reverbs, insane amounts of automation, adding sound effects and stutters and risers, etc.  I find, however, that keeping things relatively simple in PrintMusic allows the introduction of complexity during the mixing stage to have more of a purpose.  A good example is my current project, “Digital Goddess:”  While the project sounded rather good in PrintMusic, it was only as I was beginning the mixing process that I realized that it needed a little extra oomph at one point, and I was able to add (directly in the DAW) a subtle riser thanks to a sustained note in Steamworx combined with an automated pitch shifter which comes with Reaper.  Adding this in the mixing stage gave the riser a true purpose, instead of the riser being superfluous fluff.

Even when keeping things relatively simple as today’s Prime Loops blog post suggests, a lot can still be musically done which can keep the listener’s attention, but if nothing else, the simplicity early in the process can better determine how to make things more complex without overloading the listener’s mind and ears.

For nearly two years, I have been mixing music – first in Music Maker and now in Reaper.  Over that time, I have learned a lot from others and have also discovered some things on my work which work well for mixing music.  Here are the tips that have worked well for me and may also help others:

1. Expensive is Not Always Better: I have yet to buy an effects plug-in.  Everything I use for mixing either came with the DAW or was freely available (either online or on the cover DVD with a given Computer Music issue).  By using only free and DAW-included plug-ins for mixing, I inherently had to discover, largely on my own, how to use those plug-ins to greatest advantage.  And best of all, the fact that I have not spent money on effects plug-ins means that I have been able to instead spend more money on virtual instruments
2. Always Mix at the Same Volume: This is likely a no-brainer, but it is important to ensure that when mixing, the speakers are always at the same level.  This is probably most important for those mixing at home on a computer system which is not dedicated to music/mixing – I certainly fall into this category.  I may mix early in the morning, then need to adjust the volume at some point during the day while watching YouTube videos, the need to adjust the volume again while using iTunes, and then return to mixing later in the day.
3. Experimentation: While this is perhaps a no-brainer, experimenting can lead to interesting results.  For example, I was working with EQ and trying to find the best frequency to boost to gain maximum sonic impact on a snare part, and I realized that by automating that frequency-finding process, I could create a subtle but effective rising or falling sweep when using a sustained instrument – this is now part of my regular mixing arsenal when I have a long sustained note in a slow-moving part of the music.
4. Watch the DAW-specific Tutorial Videos: Admittedly, there are not many mixing tutorial videos on YouTube featuring Reaper, and I have never seen one featuring Music Maker.  For that reason, when I first began mixing, I tended to skip videos on YouTube which by their titles were specific to Pro Tools, Ableton, and other DAWs.  Only later did I realize that even though a mixing tutorial might feature a specific DAW, the concept itself is usually DAW-independent.
5. Car Test: It is good to hear the music on speakers other than those used for mixing, and I also believe it is good to also hear the music in a “real world” environment.  For me, the car is an excellent venue on both accounts.  In my opinion, if the music sounds good despite the traffic/road noise and the inherent distraction of the pure act of driving, then the mix is likely successful.  In addition, at least in my car, if there are problems with the mix, the car’s speakers tend to make those issues more blatant, signaling the items or areas which need to be remedied when I am back at the computer again.
6. Turn Around: While the Car Test is useful, an even simpler thing to do, especially to test panning, is to simply turn around in the chair and face away from the speakers.  If the music still “makes sense,” primarily concerning the panned effects, then it is a sign that I am on the right path with the mix.
7. Listen through Walls and Doors: Strangely enough, another useful test for me is to start the playback of a mix, set it to continually loop the entire project, then go into another room and close the door.  The music itself will seem quieter, of course, but the sound waves having to navigate doors and walls and furniture en route to my ears will cause the frequencies to distort in various ways, and if the mix still sounds good, then I know that I am definitely on the right track.  The time I prefer to do this (and it is a very good thing that I live alone!) is overnight:  I will usually have already exported the project to a .wav file, then will have that file play on constant repeat all night long, at a volume low enough to not disturb the neighbors and to be softly heard through the closed bedroom door.  This way, I hear it while consciously thinking about the mix before falling asleep, and I also hear it first thing in the morning when my mind is rather fresh and not focused purely on the music.
8. Multiple Reverbs: When I first began mixing, I was leery of using more than one reverb – not just on a particular track, but on the entire project!  I now almost always have a reverb on each track, and occasionally two reverbs on the same track (one directly after the other in the effects chain).  This tactic can be very, very useful for placing instruments at various depths within the mix, and if necessary, they can be brought forward or pushed backward in the depth range via automation.  I may also have the individual tracks of similar instruments all route to a “group” track with its own reverb – for example, I may have a kick, a snare, and one or two toms on individual tracks with their own effects chains, but those tracks may all route to a Percussion track which might have its own effects, including reverb(s).
9. Routing: I have seen a number of tutorial videos which suggest that effects such as reverbs should be used on Send busses/tracks.  While that could be useful for multiple tracks which will ultimately use the same reverb, I prefer to from such tracks to and through a dedicated effects track, especially if I may need to automate one or more effects on that dedicated track.  Returning to the Percussion track example above, I make use of the Routing/Grouping Matrix in Reaper to direct the output of the kick, snare, and tom tracks directly to the Percussion track and not to the Master track.  The output from the Percussion track will go to the Master track, so the individual percussion instruments can still be heard in the final output of the project.  Since many effects plug-ins permit some level of dry/wet signal mixing, I still have control over just how much of an effect I want to use on the combined percussion audio signal.
10. Keep the Mind and Ears Open: I have now progressed to the point in my mixing that while I am in the composing stage in PrintMusic, I am also formulating a general mixing gameplan, and sometimes I will even make notes on the PrintMusic score about what mixing elements should be used in certain sections and/or on certain instruments.  However, once the mixing stage begins, I tend to let my mind run rampant.  A little experimentation may produce a nice effect on one instrument, and that same strategy can be repeated and tweaked with other instruments.  Perhaps I will discover and test a new effect plug-in while in the mixing stage and find that I like it.  Every mixing project is unique, so even though certain types of music may have similar mixing needs, for example, one must always be ready to improvise, experiment, etc., when mixing.  The ears are usually quite reliable at discerning when something is wrong, but they are also quite likely to rejoice when something is very, very right.

I am fairly certain that some people will find “fault” with some of these tips, but the good thing about mixing is that there is not necessarily one right way to achieve a certain result.  Fortunately, this is music, not astrophysics!