Some great responses here guys. Thank you for that. I love the concept of focus, and I love the Michelangelo quote, it’s so true. I’d like to put down some of my thoughts on the subject.
Arrangement is probably the most important aspect of a mix. Without careful arrangement, there is no mix. I’m not going to go into all the rules of arranging, as technically, I’m not an arranger. But I do know a few things about how an arrangement can help a mix.
I’m going to stick to arrangement principles in songs with a vocal, as it’s the most prevalent form of music. With a vocal, you must constantly be aware that the vocal is the most important element of the mix. The vocal is King. You can make it the focal point with sheer volume, but you dwarf the track, so arrangement techniques allow you to bring it down in the mix, without being distracted from it. The following are some concepts that I find very effective in arranging a mix.
1. Don’t step on the vocal. If you have a guitar doing noodles all over the place and you’re mixing. Edit the thing. Open up the phrases that the guitar player does in the ‘holes’ (where the singer isn’t singing). Don’t let instruments play melodies under the vocal, unless they are designed as true counter-melodies.
2. Use the frequency spectrum to your advantage. If you have too much in the same frequency range, it becomes very difficult to mix. Try to give everything that you use in a mix its own frequency range. Sometimes this is impossible, depending on what the producer gave to you, but if you can, think along these lines. It makes for a more congealed mix.
3. Use contrast. If you want the chorus’ to lift via the mix, you have to allow it to do so with contrast. If you need to make the verse sparser for the chorus to appear bigger, then do it. B-sections on a songwriting plane will accelerate the song into the chorus. You must find the element in the mix that offers this section lift from the verse, but doesn’t over do it, because the chorus is what needs to explode.
4. Mute what doesn’t work. If an instrument doesn’t clearly help the mix, then don’t use it. Every instrument in a mix should have a purpose. It should do one of the following: Provide lift, groove, contrast, a frequency, or take the focus when the vocal is not present.
5. Consider doing drastic mutes (called drops) that allow most of the instruments to drop out before a big section, or to add interest along the way. This technique is very common in hip hop, but works great in all forms of music. Sometimes they seem a bit unnatural, but you have to make the determination whether that is OK or not.
6. Reduce and add reverb or delays (I prefer delays as they don’t tend to wash up the mix as much) on different sections. On big sections consider giving the singer more of a tail, so he seems bigger with the track.
7. Listen to the lyrics, and use those as cues to do things in the arrangement. These are the subtle things that really make a mix special. Do not underestimate the power of this. I can’t really explain this any other way than giving examples. If a singer is singing a big long “meeeeeeee” do you really want that background part there? If the singer is singing about an off-topic, and the production isn’t quite off enough for the subject matter, use an effect that throws it from being typical to the production style (I consider completely dry an effect as well). If normally the production style would call for a big reverb then use a flanger or something that lets the listener know that the subject matter is off. If the singer sings “stop” do a drop mute at that moment. If the singer sings “bang bang” add a shot of reverb on the next snare hit. If you get creative with this, it can really be the icing on the cake for a mix.
8. Use groove to your advantage. If a shaker is playing the same pattern the entire song, consider halving it on the b-sections, and then letting it rip in the chorus. Rhythm is a powerful tool in causing a song to push forward. Make sure you are aware of what its doing for the mix. Allowing a relentless groove to disappear for a beat or 2 in the right place can do wonders towards rejuvenating it.
A good songwriter can achieve a forward motion in a song with rhyme structure, rhythmic structure, harmonic structure, and melodic structure. A good production should help this process as well. The whole purpose of a modern song is to get to the chorus. It’s the payoff. Make sure you’re using arrangement to maximize that payoff. It makes a huge difference in a mix.
Mixerman
