Once your single, album, or EP has been written and recorded, it goes through a post-production process. During this time, songwriters are usually quite removed from the process…and this should NOT be the case! It’s important to be knowledgeable of what is happening to your music during these processes to allow you to get involved, have meaningful discussions with your engineers, and contribute constructively.
Sure, you can leave the task to the experts…they know what they’re doing after all. However, it’s still YOUR songs, YOUR album, and having influence at every part of the production funnel can only be beneficial.
So, let's learn how to speak the “Language of Post” - a language that every songwriter should “master.”
What mixing should contribute to your song
As a songwriter, you should have criteria in mind when listening to the mix of your song. “Does it sound cool or does it sound crappy?” is not a valuable or constructive way of assessing your song’s mix.
Here are some questions that an active listening session of your mix should answer.
- Are the instruments clearly distinguishable from another or are some being masked/overpowered?
- Is it sounding clear and crisp as opposed to cluttered?
- Do you pick up on any low frequencies that make the track sound muddy?
- Are there unwanted distortions present?
- Are elements that require emphasis given the appropriate amount of energy?
- Is there space and depth - is it sounding wide and full?
Mixing audio and the basic process involved
As set out above, these are goals that a mixing engineer should work to achieve with your song, and there are a few basic tools and techniques to bring this about. These are described below in summary.
Equalizing (EQ)
Equalization, or EQ, is a process of sculpting and manipulating sound frequencies in order to prevent the masking of tracks. Masking is when two sounds overlap, which makes them impossible to distinguish, therefore, squashing the timbre and killing what makes the instrument sonically unique. We get additive EQ and subtractive EQ: additive means boosting certain frequencies while subtractive involves filtering or cutting some out. This is achieved through mixing with filters.
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High-pass and low-pass filters (HPF & LPF)
These filters cut out frequencies where necessary, according to a set threshold. A high-pass filter (HPF) allows the high frequencies through while it cuts or filters out the low frequencies of instruments below a set level. This is useful to remove low range rumblings and distortions from tracks that shouldn’t be there, or to fine-tune tracks to be less bassy.
Low-pass filters (LPF) let the lower frequencies through while filtering out high frequencies on tracks. This is useful especially when emphasis needs to be placed on other high-frequency instruments. This technique of filtering stops the mix from sounding too cluttered (too many high frequencies) on one end of the spectrum and too muddy (too many low frequencies) on the other.
Panning and reverb
Panning is the process of placing tracks on the left, right or center of the audio field. During the duration of the song, tracks can be placed on the furthest extremes of the spectrum, in some parts of the song, while moving more to the center in other parts. Manipulating this kind of placement adds and subtracts energy or emphasis to the tracks.
Reverb is a kind of delay effect. It is the spacey effect that gives a sound length and depth. Without reverb, the track will sound dead and dry. Since most locations will add natural resonance to a singing voice or instrument, adding reverb actually makes a track sound more natural. However, it does more than just naturalize a sound. While panning pertains to left or right placement, reverb places tracks to the front and back of the mix. It can be used to manipulate a sense of spatial awareness.
Compression
Compressors have to do with volume: it is tightening the dynamic range from loudest to softest tracks so that they sound balanced when played together. The goal is to achieve a consistent level. Using compression can make your tracks sound more polished by controlling maximum levels and maintaining higher average loudness. It can also make some tracks play at a steady level throughout the song, and let others jump out at you when necessary. If a track is distorting heavily, this can be due to too much compression.
Having a good idea of the general processes described here will not only help you understand why certain elements sound the way they do but also highlight what might be needed should the mix fall short of your expectations.
What mastering should contribute to your song
Mastering is all about enhancing sound and ensuring consistency - throughout the song, throughout your album, and across a range of distribution mediums and playback devices.
Here are some questions that an active listening session of your mix should answer.
- Do the various instruments and parts sound “glued together”?
- Is it bright enough, according to your preference?
- Is there consistency in the volume?
- Does it feel polished and professional?
With the above criteria in mind, the best way to assess your master is to listen to it in comparison to your references. Mastering is about achieving perfection, so you are encouraged to compare it to a few songs that you find sonically perfect.
Mastering a song and the process involved
The most prominent difference between mastering and mixing is that mixing deals with individual tracks within a song while mastering deals with the total song - the SUM of the parts. Some of the same tools and techniques are used, but because they apply to different stages in the production funnel, they serve slightly different purposes.
While the task of mixing is geared towards making sure each track is distinguishable in balance, mastering is geared towards making the song sound deeply integrated, or “glued together”. Once again, the song’s frequencies are filtered (cut and boosted) through EQ to shape the tone of the complete song and make it sound clear, bright and brilliant. Compression is used for balancing volume levels while achieving the maximum industry loudness level.
So why can one engineer not do both?
Mastering is a separate process in the post journey of your music because of listening fatigue amongst mixing engineers. One’s ears get so used to certain sounds that one’s perception gets stained by subjectivity, and one starts to struggle to pick up on issues after a while. The mastering engineer provides a fresh pair of trained ears to consider the track from a non-biased, untainted, fresh and objective point of view.
For this reason, the final task of removing clicks, pops and weird rumbles is also left to the mastering engineer. Fresh ears are required to pick up and cut out any sonic anomalies. These are the tasks that will make the song sound polished and professional.
Finally, finishing touches like entering the track metadata and creating exports for relevant channels complete the mastering engineer’s work.
Constructive discussions with your engineers
It is crucial to understand the processes described above so that you and your engineers can have constructive discussions about your music, using terms that everyone understands, and you can comment and advise in a way that adds value to the process.
You need to know how to communicate… especially if things don’t quite end up sounding the way they should, or worse, if the results end up being far from what you imagined. Saying that the track needs more “oomph” won't cut it...” What? Oomph? English, please. Thanks.”
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Carla Malrowe is an avid alternative songwriter and vocalist from South Africa, currently residing in The Netherlands. Check out her electro-industrial project, Psycoco's single “Stay Awake.” Malrowe’s music is a haunting juxtaposition of electronic and analogue sounds with lyrics that explore a post-apocalyptic conflict between love and loss. Her solo EP, 'The petals and sand' is set to be released later this year.
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