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Mixing: Getting Ready

At the beginning of glass we did all of our learning of new other stuff and these guys right ran in and let me tell you I didn't do anything this is one of my favorite recording sessions in recent memory because since we've been in class when we went for the break I stood up I uh sat one of them down with their instrument the other one sat down there between daniel and spencer said go for it you know I had it and look what we have um they went in perfect folder takes where they've selected the best one of a bridge rhythm guitar the leads got ten takes of those went through found the perfect one they had great first taste didn't even have to do any swiping on that and then of course vogel's throwing in with another perfect vocal taking folders and then they went down and did the break the base instrument for the bridge that's filled in now with low end and I came in and watched and they programmed it they had edited it, they had selected their velocities and changed it made a perfect so...

ng all on new tracks that they created with there duplicate settings button there spencer, you got the microphone what's up just really quick to plug how awesome you are, daniel was doing most of it, but I mean we haven't used this program and all and ah, a lot of the things like we didn't know like, oh, yeah, so travis said yesterday oh, cool! And then, like, it was real easy, but I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, guys, I mean, that's, what it's all about that's, why we're here, um, it's, just so fun and easy to get to use these techniques. So that's, what? I got to tell everybody at home as well as a group here, since you don't listen to me, get into this app, start digging around, you know, watch the video again to pick up some of these points so you can actually be doing it. I know we have some people saying they're sitting at home on the couch and their underwear with their computer, following along flame with logic and washington sa's. Well, so good to have you keep this going after classes. Well, to me, I'm just spend a minute here in this we're gonna be talking about mixing the composition, which is why this is such a special class. Completely not, you know, we've covered every topic that I wanted I wanted to and knew that we could, in this small amount of time, for insure, of course. But you know, I had prepared with a bunch of other material that I'd worked on to coming to show you guys, but we have this original in class song happening and I'm so glad we're gonna be able to finish it today, so I'm going to show you guys mixing with this actual song, which is why we had to get it ready for you, but I'm going to stick with the reading of the composition again for just a second let everybody here what we put in with his bridge me wait it's the way sweets, mind I will sing to you when adecco's that's so great good job guys really sounds amazing and like I said, we've gotta finish song now, so we have all the tracks we need one last thing in the composition here that is such a really amazing part of our drummer track, not just fact, we picked a new drummer and were ableto switched them out so easily have a different feel that I think fit the song a lot better don't go changing any time, but along with the performance so I think I said earlier that I spent a little bit time when I was trying out our new drummer making sure that the groom felt right then nothing wrong with the old one is just so neat that we're able to pick people with, uh pick that termer track hit my picking somebody like her new drummer that just had a little bit of a different style a little bit more restrained as they say in the description here gave me a different kick snare pattern even when I went over here to my editor and I was so acting you know, the second version of what we could do a ce faras kick pattern for the strummer um you know just great that we could go through man's here the different ones but when I listened once we've got that bass in there really kind of changed things as faras what I was listening to let me sew the base along with us hear mikey's based last night way start that you're here, we're in trouble they sounded just fine, but what? I was noticing it you know what? I like a big, solid connection between the kick drum and the bass you know, sort of this uh the foundation of our timing, the groove, the rhythm section that we have for this song on something just wasn't quite jiving there'd be no hits with the base that weren't with the down beats of the kick sometimes they beyond let's get a little bit of extra stuff happening from our drummer some were getting right on some just quite work, so what I did is went back in here selected the region for this burst and we didn't get to look at this when we're setting up the track yesterday because we didn't have anything else to go remember we put in the drums person then we played to the drums when now we don't want to play to the drums we want the drummer to play with us on for that on the kick in the snare they've got this awesome other setting it's just really powerful really amazing that it's able teo even work this way, but rather than having our different selectors here along with the half time double time there's, this little innocent looking button that says follow seems like the kind of thing and click and not a whole lot would happen, but until it happens, let me play again just for a second we have a fresh air like a couple things were that kicking that base ildem both are totally in time with our grid and with the timing of the song they weren't just playing together there's a little kicking than a base or a base and then a kick type thing happening as soon as I click this follow what is going to do is open up another selection for me to make here click and he knows my sliders now gone now it's set to finger style base because I already did this but nearly would just come up with an option of every track that I have in there. So what it's telling me is the kick in the snare of the real heart beat of the drum kit. We're going to let that play with a focus on one of the other musicians or one of the other instruments that you played and that's why I picked finger style base for that one when we listen to it again that way every time the base is hitting on one of those dramatic big points kicking that's near that base are playing together like they're looking at each other and they're locked in. Okay, I know some of you might have to listen back this a couple of times but it's subtle differences that mean everything these two are sold now, but when we put that back in the context of the song it's just that basin that kick their working together like it's almost one instrument now just drive in the song along keeping that low end together one of the coolest things about the drummer program. Let me switch this over for a second. I was take a listen to the chorus and the way that is, when it was playing just independently of each other that's when there was even a bigger difference because the base changed its part a little bit busier other things going on the drums were also a bit busier so let's try a same thing we're now going to turn on that kick snare to follow along with the finger style based that like he played let's check that out just that really great the way that it's tied together and again now we've got a new part so I got the bridge uh here way some of those rising notes and stuff that we'd liketo have the kick maybe accent with it so I follow it's going to go just to that first track in there because I haven't set this one up yet so I'll be hearing this for the first time with you guys let's check that out but this may be going oh so that one is well with the base and there we go thanks michael bridge base was taken the verse base if this solo are follow the bridge based to you not the finger so follow the bridge base and not the finger so correct mikey's saving the day all right reset and send a finger style base let's go like mike he said to the correct range base let's take a listen right there that already sold it for me when you get that transition incredible again it takes it could take years for a bass player rob your bass player right to play with your drummer and know exactly to predict and sort of anticipate where those hits they're going to be you'd have to rehearse the song forever also really have a good arrhythmic and musical connection with the musician you're playing with. Now we have all these new musician it's playing the drums and we can force them not only, you know, to connect with us and play with us, but what's better in that have them follow us as though we're the one that's correct, we don't have to try to follow drummers anymore. That's awesome like, you know, it was truly amazing about what you just did was that I did not hear the drummer argue want that's incredible uh sorry drummers having a little fun? Um, yes, there was no band arguments that have on their head. All right, folks, that's awesome! I'm going to set up one thing here and turn off our flex for this reset, but we're looking at here we're about to go on to something else, so we're going on to the next base not only of things that we can learn in logic pro ten but also just in the real world. What would be the next phase is faras the music production goes here getting this song completed, so we've recorded had it written we recorded we mapped it out, we then arranged it by using our arrangement markers and copying and inserting space for the bridge and then creating within that did over edits were able to go into flex time and look at any kind of pitch changes that we want to make our corrections in there if we had time in issues with but with this eighteen we have here we didn't have any time in issues so we needed to could have gone in done those at it's a cz well everything's finished now what we're going to focus on is the final mix how do we get this to be that completed full song that weaken you know other people could download from the itunes store be played on the radio, get into a car commercial or be in a movie or something? So this is something that I'm really fond ofhim that is mixing our multi track sessions here so to get started I'm going to finish out for the last time today I'll probably be talking to you here about the way that I save and worked to things and again with these alternative takes or a session in projects that we have getting a pretty good list going right now I'll be doing a few more but he was just sort of see me doing the background but this is definitely end of a phase you know, recording, tracking or editing where I'm going to want to go in here and change this so I can get right back to where I was when I thought I was finished and ready to start mixing so another new this time when I changed out a bit and we're gonna call this one the mix and one and there we are, I'm all set, I can go in here, rip stuff around, tear things apart and get right back to where we need to be again. So we'll start talking about mixing now, which is probably not probably absolutely is the thing that I get the most questions about outside of the studio outside of a classroom and talk with people about making music, a lot of folks that have started writing songs or maybe even started recording them, putting them together in garageband or using logic pro or whatever dw always want to know how come they're mixes don't sound like the finished product, you know, stuff that they're buying or things that they download from nineteen store, you know, polished professional music, they know they've written a good song, they know that they've done the best job, that they kind of faras capturing good takes and editing performances, but something nearly I get comments like that doesn't sound quite right big doesn't sound polished or doesn't sound realist, something that people saying I always feel bad wait two rials song it exists, I hear it, but I understand what they're talking about is it's just missing some kind of, you know globe some kind of shine instruments just don't seem to be clear or things don't you know you can't analyze it the same way you kind of realize song, you know, maybe things they're kind of, you know, those they're all the instruments are there, but you're not picking them out you're not hearing them. So whenever somebody is serious about getting into mixing on dh serious about making their song that sort of polished our professional finished song I always start instead of talking about some skills which we're definitely gonna get into. We're gonna talk about all the components of this mixer that we're going to use our main tool for mixing we're going discovered here in the next couple segments with all this stuff does and what we can do with it, but I'd only start with a simple conversation first about music's that's what we do here take a few minutes um whenever anyone asked what's the best way that I can get good at mixing and always when he starts the same way with the same advice and that is to listen to music, all right, it sounds simple like, okay, good, I'm going to listen to music, but I'm gonna have you guys start listening music and a little bit of a different way that's the next size I get people to do all the time and it's going to help you with logic pro ten here with mixing that is I want you guys to take some time to listen to music in only when I listen to music I'm driving in a car, maybe I'm walking someplace so I have you know, some headphones on the market to the train station or I'm hanging out with people and I loved to listen to music or just hanging out and talk about it listen to it, but only kind of casual, right it's something that's on in the background that's great, so we know we'll listen to it even sometimes I get into this thing where I listen, I think like most people do, where if I'm sitting not do anything but listening music, I'll focus on one thing like the vocals that's what I think almost every listener does if they're non musicians, they've never made music they listen to the story of the song, maybe there's, some other musical element that they really love about it and they definitely hear all these things and they can appreciate him but for most folks it's about a a song with vocals it's about that vocal or maybe it's about the melody if it's an instrumental thing, but once you guys want to get the seat of ah sort of a recording engineer, mix engineer and make your stuff really polished, we've got to kind of start listening a different way so I can consider this like critical listening a way that we can kind of critique what we're listening to. So the simple exercise I have for people and it's something that happened to me when I first realized how much I loved mixes and before I knew what a mix that is to take a song that's like your favorite song think about something that you know, it could be your favorite song right now, but I think works even better think of a song that's been your favorite for, like, a couple of years are something that you've known for most of your life, something that you've heard a thousand times at least you guys know the kind of song I'm talking about, right? The kind where you know all the words to it, you know, when the changes their common so you could, you know, air drum along or you're going to sing along to it the whole time, something you know well, but this time when have you do is like, put on a pair of like the best headphones you confined or even better, if you can sit down in front of a real stereo system with two speakers, move them so they're you know, spaced apart like these two behind me and look at them, I'm going to be facing the wrong way, but you get a look at them and get rate in the middle so you're in the middle of that stereo field and realize the person that crafted this mix that's where their city right rating between a pair of speakers in the studio like I am sitting behind my logic pro mixer here and try to think about what they were doing when they made this mix but we don't think about him I think about this song first time you listen to it again get your nice spot just listen to it like you always do okay, check it out listen to it you know if you always sing along to it sing along to it that's fine if you always listened to the drums listen the drums listen the guitar if that's your thing but let it go through and stop it and the next time you go in hit play I want you to think about and it'll be hard at first but you tried again not to think about that instrument you normally go to our note think about those vocals but I want you to close your eyes and listen to the song now it's going to be different for everybody and for every song it's going to be different for you as well but what I want you to realize is we're making stereo music like this we've got a left and a right right and the idea of stereo on the wife you know, we use it and so effective because it should have the same kind of effect so it's, where we're listening to stuff and this is again the way that I think about mixing that is whenever I close my eyes like I told you I'm gonna have you do and if I have headphones on or have the speakers and the song starts, I should instantly get a sense of like an environment in front of me, okay? And I always think that this way I'm going to say things do you like look or you know, secret is I want you to visualize almost what you're hearing so first of all I always envisioned the space that the song at least starts in sometimes it's an evolving in space and it changes a bit, but I think about the first instrument I hear the first sound that comes in besides just being a sound, you know, a guitar, a voice, a drum we can hear in the mix that it was either recording in a way that we can hear the sound of the place it was in or you're going to be able to hear a space that weave through the mix made it appear to be in okay, that is like, sometimes you'll start with the vocal, maybe has echo or a delay, but if I close my eyes, what I'll see is our own visualize is like a big head of a vocalist and if it's like really far away sounding voice, that head will suddenly kind of shrink. And if it's something that sounds like it's right in front of me, it will actually see male visualize like a big face singing at me. Now, when I say the space that this vocal or this head is in, well, I didn't realize that when you have the headphones on you look straight ahead. You you know you should be able to visualize a place with stereo where it's like you can, almost from looking straight ahead, hear or see all the way out as far as like your peripheral vision ago. So it's a wide space that it certainly in right, and also when we listen to a mix, instead of just thinking of everything coming at you, it could be on the left side of the right side. And it also could be something a sound that sounds, it gets above you something that's high in the air or something, this download of the ground. All right, if you haven't realised that before, you're going to notice it right away, I'm sure a lot of people tell me yeah, I've heard stereo before I can tell when something's in this year over and this year but also and we're going to learn that when you listen to this, you're going to notice that maybe background vocals coming and they sound like yeah, they're over here and they're up in the air but then maybe a different instrument like a lower keyboard or guitar may sound like it's in the other side but down lower so not only do we have left and right in the space, where were you guys going to be listening to our favorite song? But there's also height to it so there's a ceiling basically or some kind of ah top part on a floor something that goes down okay, so now he knows we're going to see center left right everywhere in between plus something's up I something's down low also when you guys start listening song, you're going to notice that there's not a flat space is a three dimensional space right something's going to sound like they're really close to you up in front other thing is going to sound like they're way far back behind you are guest point that way behind you away so not now we have a place that's left right it's got those dimensions plus that there's up and there's down and there's also depth could be close could be far back and the way we mix is going to change it again for every song I've listened to some songs you it sounds like the instruments are basically floating in space other ones where it sounds like you know this is a band in a small club that I'm watching I can hear you know the drummer's over there on the side and the piano players over there something like that that's our choice is a mix engineered to use these tools to move around, but when it comes to guys doing you're listening the first time of your favorite song now the second time through again close your eyes start to visualize that space as the instruments come in and your favorite songs start too you know if I do this I look ridiculous if you guys saw me in my house listening less with my eyes closed and I'll be like there's a keyboard all right down there is a low vocal that came in hope there's some high vocals that just came in you can actually sort of pick where they're at my vision like and for their singers I imagine like I hadn't floating if it's a guitar imagine like a little cartoon guitar sitting where it would be if it sounds like a certain type imagine that looking at that type of a look to the instrument but when you start to do that also it's like you take this song where you heard everything but also that song sort of breaks apart and you can start to see things you're like yeah there's that vocal is right in front of me but behind him still in the center some places a snare drum that sounds like it's further back behind it wow I wonder how they did that we're gonna learn how to do that kind of thing but once you start to pick them out what I'm going to promise you you're going to notice rarely and almost never really does anyone ever come to me and be like yeah, what I listen to my song my favorite song and it sounded the way it always did almost always people come back and they don't just say like, yeah, I heard something like oh my god I heard something like there was totally a bunch of stuff in my favorite song that I never noticed because once you start you're really breaking in town you're like yeah this is a song for my favorite band they have a singer, a guitar player, a bass player and a drummer and I always know you know when they start playing ok that's my favorite guitar player and that's my favorite bass player that's my favorite singer but what they'll listen to now when you're checking out your song like well, I never knew this but my favorite guitar player I'm listening like he said and I'm pointing at that first guitar but then also and when it got like two the second verse or two the second course there was another one over here and he's playing almost the same thing but it's a little bit different I always thought it was one guitar that also just played a little bit different, but what I'm realizing now is that they must have put in a new track and here was a new guitar are you all here? You know, the keyboard part it was always in there I always heard it but now when I'm paying attention I realized that over here was that keyboard part but over here was where maybe they took like the same many file and put a different instrument it's like a seance playing the same line I thought it was all the same thing before or people come to me and they noticed like, wow, I always thought it was just one vocal and that person had a great voice. Well now when I pay attention I can hear when you know is listening too not just the words but like the tone and the shape and where that head was in the mix I'm realizing it was like two heads kind of shadowing each other after the side, they were saying the same thing, so they double tracked their vocal, and I always thought it was just one really great, full sounding vocal, but now I can pick out those things, so once you start to do that, listen this way. Dedicate a little bit of time to just listening to other people's music, especially stuff that you like or you thinking while it's really interesting. Do that. Put the headphones on, get between the speakers on dh, just pick it apart, analyze everything with it. You're also not only gonna be able to listen to music and a whole new way what's gonna be really exciting for you. I promise, you know, it's, like finding out all these cool new things that you're just hearing and enjoying, but that's the start of having to be a good mix or two, because now also, you realize, well, I love that song. I know they used a double vocal. I'm going to try to do that with my stuff how can I use maybe a processor if I haven't already tracked the second vocal? Maybe they have some kind of plug it in for me that can give me that sound of a second vocal or, you know, I noticed that that cool, cool guitar sound when I thought it was just a really great guitar when I listen to I heard little repeat, so that must be an echo or a delay let me try putting some of that on my tracks as well, so you'll be able to pick apart songs enjoy music a little bit more than you did before, but definitely you're also going to be able to know go in there and sort of mimic the things that you see so on build on that from, you know, your own way customize it, make it the way that you want it. So with that and that's your homework, everybody listen to music it's pretty pretty easy thing. Lovett um, so we're going to go in now and talk about how do we achieve this stuff? I've told you guys that were gonna remember that this song now is going to be going into a space besides just being in logic pro we're going to use logic pro so that when we're listening and not looking at the screen these guys that were in the room here, we're going to put them in their sounds into an actual space will be able to control that we're going to move some of these instruments so that some are right in the center, others going push off into the sides a little bit so that there's that clarity again so that people when they listen to our mix, they're going to be able to go in and say, yeah, there's that guitar that they did on the break and there's that vocal over there that they did when they were supposed to be lunch they're going to have to pick those out because they're not all going to be sitting on top of each other we're also going to learn one of the simple tools and our mixer logic pro that we can take those sounds if they all sound like they're right in the middle what's moving so there will be higher or maybe they go a little bit lower down to the ground so that's it we're going to do in this segment is a lot of me showing you maybe not how to mix this song exactly right now but the very simple tools we have to show you guys exactly this stuff um that I was just talking about so all right we're going to jump right in and the second here have any questions we should cover there's a conversation going on in the chat room crazy legs had asked if I had edited using flex and then disabled it with the way form still hold the flex edits or revert back to the original way form then people are saying it's this is non destructive is a nondestructive right so it's on and off whenever you turn on the old pop in there changing again you can also commit to it by flattening emerging those things too okay well they just wanted to make sure I asked you absolutely yeah this is something you keep going back and changing all the time you gotta treat it like many okay yeah and you saying that you loved to listen to music was a total shocker to me yeah you know thiss man over here I really thought you'd just like to talk hey I want to point out to get the guy's ready here that thank you xander soran who I'm from uh from the logic pro team from apple that sent me to class with the brand new macbook air I'm gonna be using this for mixing it's one of my favorite new things that you could see I have all the fader controls that we have in my mixer and every channels there so I'm gonna move this way but I can just see I did that was trying to do upside down bring this back I could adjust anything on the ipad like the failures is going to control, maybe see on the screen over here, same thing. But let me scroll through all the different ones, all the different channels, really handy. So I could do that. Same idea of sitting back, listening to the tunes, maybe close my eyes. And then just simply look at the ipad instead of running back up to the computer, hanging my head over the monitor and using the mouse. So I'm really happy that they included this. In this version. I'm excited for where my mixes are going. You're going to find me laying on the couch in the studio by mixing lane down for now. And, I think getting a little more relaxed sound.