Understanding Space In Music Production (Basics To A Full and Dynamic Mix)
Ahh the fateful track mix-down. This part of producing has created amazing hit singles such as "where is that sound coming from?" and "I can't hear my kick." I'm just kidding, but I'm also very serious. Mixing the elements of a track together in a way that both makes creative sense and "follows the rules" of production (I'll come back to why this is in parenthesis), can be a really hard task to achieve. The reason I put "follows the rules" is because in reality there aren't rules but there are some general guidelines on how things work. With that said, bending and breaking these rules is all part of being creative.
Think of your DAW as its own universe or 3-Dimensional room with its own physics. Things work a certain way in that world. It just takes some time and experimentation to understand. In this article, I'll go through some basic tips to help you understand the world you're navigating and how to make your productions sound how you want them to. We'll talk about: Volume (Leveling); The Frequency Spectrum; Equalization (EQ); Panning/Widening; and Side-Chaining. These are just a few vital things that will help you understand that little universe in the palm of your hand.
1. Leveling (Volume)
Leveling is the easiest and most crucial way to achieve a good mix. Simply put, leveling is when you adjust the volume fader of each sound/element individually. Things that you want to stand out (Vocals, Synths), are louder and things that are secondary (Effects, Percussive elements), are quieter. Think of volume as a way to move things to the forefront or to the background of the room. Volume is measured in Decibels (Db) with 0 being a starting point but you will generally move downward to the negatives.
Adjusting the faders of each element until they're in the correct place relative to each other, is a huge step in getting to a final mix. This is why it's called a mix, because you're combining everything together to co-exist within the same space (and believe me, space is limited). Setting everything at 0Db will not result in a cohesive track. Done properly you'll have elements at different levels across the board. Some will be at -5 and others at -20. It all depends on how things sound relative to the other elements in that project. With that said, every project is unique and none will ever have the same settings for similar elements. For example, in one project the kick drum is set at -6 but in other projects you might have a different kick drum, which you set at -4. This is because samples or sounds you put into your production will be recorded or synthesized differently, so their volumes can drastically differ.
There is a ceiling when it comes to volume. At a certain point if things are too loud they begin to hit a wall and become distorted. This is called peaking. Peaking is something most music aims to avoid (except when done with intention in certain genres i.e. Dubstep). When things are too loud and clash with each other it creates fuzz or distortion in a track that can make it sound muddy or broken. This is why leveling and watching peaks is important.
In summary, leveling is the first step to getting all the elements of your production sounding like they belong with each other in the same space. No two project levels will be exactly the same. This can be extremely subjective, depending on the person and the type of track you're making. A pop song with a vocal will have the vocal stand out; a dance track could focus on a bass-line or kick. Once you get all the elements volumes in place relative to each other, you'll be listening to a track that sounds more complete without things clashing and peaking.
2. The Frequency Spectrum
This part of music production is fairly simple but extremely key in making a track feel full and complete. The frequency spectrum ranges from 0-20,000 Kilohertz (kHz). Low bass sounds and kick drums, generally, fill the bottom of the spectrum from 0 to 250 kHz. Vocals and synths somewhere in the middle from 500-5000. Every sound has a frequency or frequency range associated with it, which is able to be viewed, measured and manipulated.
If your track overall is missing elements from different ranges, it could feel a bit empty or hollow. Now, this doesn't mean a track needs to have the whole spectrum filled at every moment nor do you need to 100% fill the spectrum for it to sound full. Filling the spectrum is a balancing act. Having moments of silence or just certain parts of the spectrum being filled at certain times can help emphasize important sections or indicate upcoming changes in the song. It's just as important to take away frequencies as it is to have them present.
Remember, we're thinking of this as a 3D room. Bass-lines and kick drums you can feel vibrate through the ground below you. A bass-line is the base of the track. It's the bottom and when there's a pulsing bass-line it reverberates through the floor. These are the sub frequencies at the very bottom in the 0-130 kHz range. They're hard to hear but easily felt on a large speaker system. Other drums like claps, hi-hats and percussion tend to fill the top of the spectrum
anywhere from 500-20,000 kHz. They are more heard than felt. These are the elements that we grasp onto that give a track movement and rhythm.
In tandem, the bass that rumbles the room and the sounds on top of it make for a full track that can make you dance, cry and everything in between. I don't speak in absolutes because these are simple overviews and are just a guide to help you understand the basics.
3. Equalization (EQ)
This is where things begin to get interesting. In essence, equalization is a way to cut out or boost frequencies within the spectrum. Either to remove unwanted extra sound or increase parts that you want to accent.
Most sounds have extra frequencies that linger and can become a problem, if left untreated. A clap sample with extra low end frequencies can interfere with a kick or bass sound and create muddiness. Same with a synth that has a lot of high end, which can interfere with a vocal or hi hat. These frequencies clash and can block each other out. Using an EQ you're able to remove the parts of a sound that bring no added value. The result is a cleaner sound that
doesn't muddy the others around it. Which, in turn, creates an overall cleaner mix.
The reverse of this is boosting. You can use an EQ to boost the high frequencies of a sound to make it shine or the low parts to give it weight. EQ, essentially is a way to manipulate frequencies of a sound to accent and give them more character. It doesn't create anything that isn't there already. It just makes what already exists stand out more.
Think of EQ as a dynamic cleaning tool that cleans up undesired frequencies and enhances those that are.
4. Panning/Widening
Another relatively simple tool but effective in creating wideness and movement within a track, is panning. Panning is moving sounds/elements to the right, left and center.
This creates a sense of space to the track. If everything was lined up directly in the middle, then a song could feel very 1-Dimensional. By slightly (or majorly) panning a sound you make it feel like the song has depth and exists within a multi-dimensional space.
Common elements that are panned to the right or left include, percussive elements, background vocals, effects and secondary synths.
Another aspect of panning is widening. If you have a lead element you want to accentuate, you can use a widening tool to expand it to cover more space and add depth. This helps it stand out in the mix. I widen things like hi-hats and lead synths to help them cut through as the focal point.
The contrast of things panned to each side, down the middle and widened gives a song depth and versatility. It makes a track come alive and gives the listener a sense of space.
5. Side-Chaining
To cap off this article, I wanted to touch on the topic of Side-Chaining. This idea in some ways encompasses everything we've talked about up until this point. It allows you to manipulate the space within the production. At its core, side-chaining is when you link two elements to each other, so when one plays, the other will duck out of its way.
The most basic use for this is when you have two sounds in the same frequency range, you would link the secondary sound to the one that is more important, so the second one will duck when the other comes in. A most common example is linking the sub frequencies of a bassline to a kick drum. The essence of both of these sounds is in the 30-130 kHz range. This means that when they play at the same time they smash into each other and create chaos and mayhem within your mix. This comes in the form of muddiness, phasing and peaking. By linking them together the bass-line will quickly duck out of the way when the kick plays so there is minimal clashing.
This sounds fairly simple but there are many many applications and ways to sidechain. You can achieve sidechaining by using compression or volume. You can use a simple volume tool, a compressor or a specially made plug-in. It's not cut and dry because depending on what is being sidechained, it could be better to use a certain tool or style of sidechain.
Questions to ask are: Is it a consistent sound being sidechained, like a kick? Or something more sporadic, like a vocal or synth? Do you just want to duck a certain frequency range of a sound or the entire sound itself?
Side-chaining in essence is a sculpting tool to carve out space within a track. It stops things from clashing with each other and allows certain things to cut through the mix better. You can mold a sidechain to the shape of the sound or to a specific frequency range. The applications and usefulness are endless.
Wow, that was quite a journey. If you've stuck with me through this, thank you and I hope you were able to get some usefulness out of this article. We talked about some of the essential concepts in music production ranging from Leveling (Volume), The Frequency Spectrum, Equalization (EQ), Panning/Widening and Side-Chaining.
Remember, utilize the space and work within that 3-Dimensional world.
Now that you've learned some of the basics, get out there and conquer that little universe!
