Getting Better At Mixing Is Simple

No lie, getting better at mixing music is simple. It’s not complicated at all. You ready? You just have mix more! That’s right people, the only sure fire way to get better at mixing is to simply do a lot of it. Mix everything you can get your hands on, and then some!

Via eyeliam Flickr

More Plugins Won’t Help

Despite the fact that most of you likely agree with the above point, many of you still don’t like that answer. Why? I believe it’s because part of us still is holding on to the fantasy that the right combination of mixing plugins will make our mixes better. It sounds silly to say that aloud, but our buying habits definitely scream this truth out.

We see so many shiny  new plugins coming out and we drool. We read reviews, we hang out in audio forms, we try to convince ourselves that a new plugin (or bundle) is the missing link to getting our flat, dull, lifeless mixes to sound like the pros. Sorry people, it’s just not going to happen.

More Expensive Monitoring Won’t Help

Those of you who laughed at the poor soul who’s looking to plugins for the answer won’t want to hear this either. Expensive monitoring, converters,  and acoustic treatment aren’t the holy grail of better mixing either. As helpful as those tools can be, they alone will not make people better mixers.

The newbie mixer needs his ears to improve before he can take advantage of any “improvement” in monitoring. Besides, just changing the listening environment before a mixer has a chance to really learn his studio is a hindrance, not a help to the learning curve.

More Mixing Experience WILL Help

Like I said before, to get better at mixing is simply a matter of doing more mixing. Every mix you do, you’ll improve slightly. You’ll be able to try new things, stop doing old things, discover things about your style, and of course your ears will be improving too! You actually can’t stop the process from happening!

One great opportunity to practice mixing is through my buddy Joe Gilder over at HomeStudioCorner.com. He’s got a fantastic mixing course called Mix With Us where you join up and get to download tracks from his entire album, and then mix them. Each week he walks you through how HE mixed them and then you get to practice.

Check it out and sign up. After mixing a whole album like that, you’ll definitely start to improve!