Mixing vs. Mastering

January 9, 2009 by Scot.

Art, mathematics and science tend to converge in the creation of music.  If the muse strikes(refer to related blog), art plays the major role.  Even if you are commissioned to write for another purpose(i.e. film scoring), you must take in a visual and come up with something ‘inspired’ to fit the moving picture.

Mathematics are the building blocks of music.  All rhythms, melodic phrasings(Intervals), harmonic structuring(chords) can be explained thru mathematics.  There are only so many possibilities of motion in music.  There is not necessarily only one way to go…or 1 answer as math suggests, but we have many of the same deductions to get us to a final composition.

Science has allowed us a means to get our ideas down, not just on paper.  Recording has become a huge medium in and of itself.  Careers are built on it and musicians come to rely on it.  Once a musician has laid their ideas down(recorded), there are 2 processes left prior to a final CD.  Mixing and Mastering.  People often confuse these.  Here are the main distinctions:

Mixing is done when all the (musical) parts have been recorded on separate tracks.  For ex., you may have lead vocals on track 1; guitar on track 2, bass on track 3; keys on track 4; drums on tracks 5-7 and maybe backup vocals on track 8.  Now, these are all separately tracked so you have total control in the ‘mixing’ process.  You want to be able to do anything from panning(balance) a track left, right or keeping it center; eq to bring out or diminish highs, mids, lows; add f/x like reverb and chorus if appropriate, etc.. Mixing also allows you to set the level of each track.  You probably want the vocal louder than any instrument, so you place the level higher.  If the guitar takes a solo, you’ll need to have the level adjust accordingly at the right time in the song/piece.  Once you have all these moves made, you record to a stereo track and that becomes your mixed master.  Now what?

Some people skip mastering and just burn the mixed copy to cd and done.  It is often said that mastering is the ’sheen’ placed on a mix.  Here’s the deal……..Once you have a mixed version of your work, mastering allows you to color it a bit more.  There are mastering tools in self contained recording devices.  There are also thousands of dollars of mastering programs on computers used by the record industry. At the novice level, what you want from  mastering is to brighten your overall mix(sheen), add a little more compression(make the low volumes higher and the abrasively loud sections lower).  This tightens the band/orchestra….Mastering is also effective when you have let’s say, 10 songs going onto a cd.  Since it is unrealistic that they were all recorded in the same day, many variable come into play.  The overall tone and volume from song to song.  When you listen to an album start to finish, you shouldn’t feel the need to turn up and down the volume from tune to tune.  You shouldn’t feel the need to re-eq from tune to tune.  You and the artist need consistency.  Mastering is the tool that provides that.  Once all tunes are recorded and mixed, you may color them to sound more unified thru eq and compression.  Get the volumes consistent from tune to tune.  Advanced mastering gets even more involved. It can explore  excerpts within a tune and allow one to bring out specified nuances necessary for an overall sheen.

So, whether your aspirations are to remain an artist exclusively, understanding the mathematics and science involved to see your project to fruition is a lesson worth exploring.  Keep shedding!

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