How a song makes one feel, and the extent to which the mix contributed to that feeling has to do with the aesthetic effect of a mix. Most of the aesthetic impact of a mix occurs during the initial exposure to the song. The memories of the time and place when you first hear a song helps define how you feel about it when you hear it again at a later date. We often play songs to recapture a mood that we relate to those songs, which often relate back to when we first heard them.
How a mix was achieved has to do with the technique of the actual production of the recording; microphone selection, the quality of the instruments used, the performers, whether the performance was recorded using analog tape or digital means, and so forth. Some tracks capture a particular sound, and define a genre or a decade because of the equipment available at the time of the recording. Regardless of the era in which a recording was made, there are basic technical elements that all great mixes have in common. We’ll examine these in this discussion as well.
Aesthetic Considerations:
- “Is It Live or is it Memorex?”
One thing that I’ve always enjoyed about a mix is when it sounds like I’m in the room with the musicians, either in the studio, the club, or the concert hall. These recordings have a common thread connecting them; the way they were able to capture the dynamics of the performance. Many recordings today are very compressed and limit the highs (fortes) and the lows (pianos), giving the mix “loudness” but sacrificing a lot of the life found in recordings of the past. Here are a few examples of great mixes that sound like you’re in the venue while it’s being recorded.
John Williams - “Darth Vader” from the “Star Wars Trilogy” CD
Miles Davis - “New Rhumba” from the “Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall (Live)” CD
Cannonball Adderly - “Mercy Mercy Mercy (Live)” from the “Cannonball Plays Zawinul” CD
- “It Sounds Cool”
Some mixes captivate the listener because of their uniqueness. The performance may not be virtuosic and the composition may not be great, but there is something about the sound that makes the listener want to hear it again and again. George Martin was a master at doing this with the Beatles’ mixes. Below are a few examples of recordings I think stand out because they just sound cool.
Santo and Johnny - “Sleep Walk”
Jean Michel Jarre - “Oxygene IV”
Groove Collective - “Rent Strike” from the “Groove Collective” CD
- “It Grooves”
Groove is a funny thing. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Groove is too subjective a topic for me to say anything definitive on the matter. In my opinion, groove is anything that makes you want to move some part of your body. Groove usually implies a strong rhythmic element, especially when the bass player and drummer play particularly well together. Groove isn’t limited to one particular genre like funk, disco, or hip-hop. Folk music can groove hard; so can a ballad. Below are some examples of songs that I think have a nice groove. The first is an example of some Malaysian funk; a style called Dang Dut.
Amelina and Sheedah - “Secangkir Madu Merah” from the “Dang Dang Dut” CD
Steely Dan - “Babylon Sisters” from the “Gaucho” CD
James Brown - “Super Bad (Pts. 1 and 2)” from the “The Number 1’s” CD
Marvin Gaye - “What’s Going On” from the “What’s Going On” CD
- “It Rocks”
Some mixes get you “pumped-up”, and leave you with a feeling of invincibility. Perhaps they evoke the angst of your teenage years. Songs that rock tend to have strong guitar hooks, great vocals, and memorable (almost anthem-like) lyrics. Below are some examples of songs that I think “rock”.
Led Zeppelin - “Black Dog” from “Led Zeppelin IV” CD
Van Halen - “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” from the “Van Halen” CD
Queen - “Bohemian Rhapsody” from the “A Night at the Opera” CD
Dance Gavin Dance - “Lemon Merigue Tie” from the “Downtown Battle Mountain” CD
Technical Considerations:
- Balance of Levels
This is the meat and potatoes of mixing; making sure that everything is balanced in terms of volume. A good mix is one that has enough transparency in it to allow the listener to hear everything in the recording as intended by the composer, producer, and performer. Give another listen to Steely Dan’s “Babylon Sisters” and pay particular attention to the balance of the levels.
- Spatial Placement
Where things sit in a mix is another factor that good mixes have in common. Panning is the technique mixers use to place things in a mix from left to right. Some mixers use very extreme hard panning, while others like to keep things almost monophonic and dead-center. Style has a lot to do with this mixing decision. Time-based effects such as reverbs and delays influence the way a sound is perceived in a mix. Reverb gives the psycho-acoustic illusion of a sound being off in the distance. “What’s Going On” is a great example of a mix that has a lot of texture, but because of spatial placement doesn’t sound bogged down.
- Tonal Balance
A good mix is also one that has a nice frequency balance. When high frequencies dominate, a mix can be piercing. When the mid-range frequencies dominate a mix can sound boxy. When low frequencies dominate a mix can sound boomy. A good mix allows every element ito occupy it’s own space in the frequency spectrum, and allows the listener to enjoys the sizzle of the highs, the presence of the mids, and the meat of the lows.
Conclusion
These are by no means all of the elements of a good mix, but I think the basic ingredients have been touched upon in this short discussion.
I believe the best mixes are the ones that help communicate the story of the song the best, be it vocal or instrumental. I once read that the best paint brush was the one that the artist was unaware of while painting. I listen to mixes the same way. A song becomes “over-produced” when I find myself hearing the moves the engineer made. I think what ultimately makes for a good mix is when I am unaware of the mixer, and I’m only aware of the song.
-John Anthony Martinez
2 comments:
What Makes for a Good Mix?
I have to agree with John on what makes a good mix. We’ve had numerous conversations about this topic particularly as we are of different nationality (I am referring to the country we spent most of our growing up in as opposed to ethnicity) and trained by different teachers. The former is about popular culture or everyday behaviour. It is enlightening to note that in America when someone says “that groove is bad!” it is in fact a great groove. In the latter, we adopt what our teachers tell us is the ‘correct’ way. This is a subset of the bigger picture.
Ethnicity is a whole other topic though we must acknowledge that music is an invaluable and intrinsic part of any culture or community. Its role could be as a function in the community or is inspired by the philosophical makeup of the community, accommodating changes that can occur at different periods in its history.
Here is something to consider. In the present stereophonic world we forget that there was once only mono. Artists who existed in the world of mono found exciting ways of making ‘things stand out’. The afore mentioned ‘Beatles’ albums (in John’s blog) are prime examples of such adventurous spirit.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club came out in mono as well as stereo. Many fans purport to be so intrigued by the discernible difference they have dedicated web pages to describing it. One such individual noted that “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds has a noticeable echo on the vocal not present on the stereo version giving it a dreamier quality.“
The ‘Beatles’ albums were also known for their hard panning in their early years of stereophonic magic. Hard panning is when instruments are placed extreme right or left in the stereo mix. Such a device is not commonplace these days where subtle panning is the preferred way.
What makes a good mix ultimately boils down to who the individual listener is. John and I enjoy learning from a wide variety of music and once in awhile come back to the conclusion that music that is ‘edifying’ to man is a good way to go. What is ‘edifying’ is up to you the reader to decide and a whole other topic!
Shueh-li Ong
What Makes for a Good Mix?I have to agree with John on what makes a good mix. We’ve had numerous conversations about this topic particularly as we are of different nationality (I am referring to the country we spent most of our growing up in as opposed to ethnicity) and trained by different teachers. The former is about popular culture or everyday behaviour. It is enlightening to note that in America when someone says “that groove is bad!” it is in fact a great groove. In the latter, we adopt what our teachers tell us is the ‘correct’ way. This is a subset of the bigger picture.
Ethnicity is a whole other topic though we must acknowledge that music is an invaluable and intrinsic part of any culture or community. Its role could be as a function in the community or is inspired by the philosophical makeup of the community, accommodating changes that can occur at different periods in its history.
Here is something to consider. In the present stereophonic world we forget that there was once only mono. Artists who existed in the world of mono found exciting ways of making ‘things stand out’. The afore mentioned ‘Beatles’ albums (in John’s blog) are prime examples of such adventurous spirit.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club came out in mono as well as stereo. Many fans who have purported to hear a discernible difference, have dedicated web pages to describing it. One such individual noted that “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds has a noticeable echo on the vocal not present on the stereo version giving it a dreamier quality.“
The ‘Beatles’ albums were also known for their hard panning in the early years of stereophonic magic. Hard panning is when instruments are placed extreme right or left in the stereo spectrum. Such a device is not commonplace these days where subtle panning is the preferred way.
What makes a good mix ultimately boils down to who the individual listener is. John and I enjoy learning from a wide variety of music and once in awhile come back to the conclusion that music that is ‘edifying’ to man is a good way to go. What is ‘edifying’ is up to you the reader to decide and a whole other topic!
Shueh-li Ong
Xenovibes is Shueh-li Ong and John Anthony Martinez making great music they hope you'll enjoy!
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