Ear Training for Better Mixing and Mastering

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Ear Training for Better Mixing and Mastering

Mixing and mastering are some of the most challenging yet crucial tasks in preparing a track for release. It can be time-consuming and costly. This article will explore tricks and solutions to help train your ear for better mixing and mastering. Let’s explore together!!

Mixing and mastering a song is just as important as the songwriting process. A good mix can give a track a new character, while mastering ensures that the track is loud enough to be streamed on major platforms. Many famous producers, such as Calvin Harris, Kaytranada, and the Chainsmokers, send their tracks to audio engineers for mixing. These pro engineers transform the track, enhancing its quality, adding color, and ensuring it is loud enough to top the Billboard charts. On the other hand, there are producers, especially bedroom producers, who mix and master their songs. Sometimes this process can be chaotic, and if you need to send it to an audio engineer, it can be costly. So, the question is: Is it possible to mix any song like a professional audio engineer?

The answer is “Yes”. Anyone can mix and master a track like Jaycen Joshua, Serban Ghenea, or even Mike Dean. It might sound illogical, but it is possible. All these pro engineers started with the same technique, and it further depends on your practice and dedication. Ear training is the practice that can turn a novice producer into a pro artist. So in this article, we will discuss those techniques which can help you to train your ears, Later we will also discuss some of the best-mixed tracks that you can use as references. Whether you are a techno, house, dubstep, or lo-fi music producer, you can follow the same methods to prepare your ears for a mix. Let’s explore more about it below.

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Tricks for training your ears for a better mix:

Understanding Frequencies
Critical Listening Exercises
Dynamic Range and Compression
Tools and Apps
Taking a Reference track

1. Understanding Frequencies:

The frequency spectrum may seem daunting at first, but understanding it is crucial for mixing. A fundamental skill for a mastering engineer is the ability to judge tonal balance, which closely relates to level matching. Being able to quickly identify deficient or excessive frequencies allows for more efficient EQ adjustments. Training your ears to recognize frequencies by ear is essential. You can use a Linear EQ to help with this. The frequency spectrum can be divided into five key areas: Sub Bass, Bass, Midrange, High Mids, and Highs. Choose a properly mixed and mastered track of any genre to study the tonal character of each range and understand how they sound. Over time, this knowledge will become ingrained in your memory. This exercise will help you instinctively create more interesting tracks and know where to place lead instruments and introduce other elements like string pads.

2. Critical Listening Exercises For Ear Training:

Listening to music is a great way to train your ears and get inspiration for creating your tracks. In a podcast, Four Tet mentioned that constantly listening to music improved his muscle memory and helped him develop more interesting ideas. This concept can also be applied to mixing. For example, listening to “Electricity” by Silk City, you’ll notice the dominating bass, wide mid-range musical elements, and a loud yet punchy sound. Conversely, when you listen to “Panic Room” by AuRa & Camelphat, you’ll notice the focus on the kick, bass, snare, arp, and wide hats. Each track has its unique character, usually from a primary element. This exercise can help you identify the main instrument in your tracks, which can lead to clearer mixing and mastering. Practicing this simple but effective trick can help you improve as a producer, setting you apart from at least 70% of other producers.

You can first watch this video to understand the frequency range and then you can continue listening to your favorite tracks. This will help you to analyze the elements.

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3. Dynamic Range and Compression:

Understanding compression, especially its subtle effects in mastering, is one of the most challenging audio engineering skills. This difficulty arises because compression can be used in various ways, such as for dynamic control, punch enhancement, tonality alteration, and adding movement to the music. When used in mastering, compression is typically understated, almost invisible. While previous tricks can help understand frequencies like lows, mids, and highs, understanding dynamic range is crucial to prevent the track from sounding flat and boring. Compression is used to make such tracks more dynamic, akin to perceiving a 3D object as more alluring than a 2D one. This concept applies to music as well. Different compressors like a Glue compressor or a Multiband one can be used to achieve this effect.

Experimenting with a compressor set with a high ratio (4:1 or 6:1) and a fast release time (around 25 ms) while adjusting the threshold can provide a better idea of a compressor’s function. It’s important to remember that watching YouTube tutorials about dynamic range and compressor usage is not as effective as practicing and developing a deep understanding of mixing techniques.

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4. Tools and Apps For Better Ear training:

There are several tools available for ear training, such as Soundgym and Webtet. We recommend using Soundgym because it is a trusted tool used by many artists. It can help you understand concepts and improve core listening skills like frequency detection and compression. These types of tools are helpful because they feel like you’re playing games. The interfaces of both tools are beginner-friendly. Some features, like frequency detection, are free, but the paid ones are more helpful if you want to learn in depth. Just do three to four exercises per day, and you’re good to go. This will create muscle memory that will later help you in the course of mixing your track.

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5. Taking a Reference track:

It is a common practice to use a reference track while mixing to achieve a similar sound to a well-mixed track. There are plugins available, such as ADPTR AUDIO Metric AB, that allow you to compare your mix to a reference track with the click of a button. Using reference tracks helps to ensure that you are on the right path with your mixing. While there is a common belief that tracks should only be mixed on studio monitors, it can be challenging for bedroom producers to do so without the right acoustic panels. In such cases, simulations like Nx Ocean Way Nashville and CLA NX by Waves can be used. Mixing in headphones with the assistance of these simulations can bridge the gap between headphone and speaker mixing, resulting in mixes that translate well across different listening environments. Consistently using these techniques can help improve your mixing and mastering in a short period. However, it is important to remember that consistency is key to achieving success. Below, you can find some well-mixed tracks that you can use for inspiration.

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