How I Got Into Mixing

Getting into recording and mixing was not a seamless journey for me. In fact, it was not until a year or two ago that I really knew the type of business I wanted to start.

            Back in high school I had a band that I played bass in and we played a gig almost every weekend. I love to perform and entertain and the stage is one of the most comfortable places for me. I also knew I wanted to go to Rowan University for music education and be a music teacher though, as well.

            I purchased my first recording interface while in high school and I just fell in love with the concept of recording my band or just simply, my practice sessions and track my progress. I never had any formal education in recording; I simply used my ear and had a trial and error type of experience.

           

            If I had to equate how I got to mixing music I would have to connect it to my love for arranging music. All throughout high school and college, I loved to take a certain piece of music and arrange it to fit my style or taste. I do like composing but one of my favorite things to do is take an idea and make it my own with my style. I lived in Sibelius, which is a great notation software for music composers and arrangers.

How does this connect to mixing?

            This connects to mixing because just like arranging, mixing is an art and mixing gives the engineer the opportunity to put his style in the mix. Of course it is the band or artist’s choice how the song sounds but all mix engineers have their style. For example, some mixers might use different techniques on vocals or compression. Maybe they use different plugins to achieve a certain sound they like to advertise. I realized that my love for arranging was not in music notation and composition but in mixing music. Having the background in recording and learning it since high school, I now have honed in on a skill that is extremely needed by any artist or band. I love getting a new mix and then being able to hear the raw recordings but then envision how I want it to sound post-mix.

            I am very fortunate to be involved in almost every aspect of music and I intend to always be connected with everything around music, but for now, I have made mixing a huge part of my life and I want to not only make my music better but help others get the full potential out of their music.

            I would love for you to check out my website to get all the latest info about my studio and myself as well! Also, subscribe to the blog because I will be updating this constantly. I am also going to start putting some tips and trick on here for anyone looking to start in the recording/mixing business or maybe different techniques to maybe help improve your mixing!