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Art of Mixing Course

Overview

The Art of Mixing Course guides students through a comprehensive program of learning designed to propel them towards becoming advanced mix engineers. With the focus on the art of mixing itself, the course includes extensive practical tutorials over a wide variety of musical genres: Dance, Rock, Pop and Hip Hop. If you want to make any music sound as good as it possibly can, then this is the course for you. Students will learn to listen to music from a critical perspective and understand the science behind the sound. You will learn how to use the mixing tools available to you as part of the overall sound mixing process to create that perfect mix. Students on this course have access to an unprecedented selection of practical video tutorials - including some very special exclusives with top industry professionals sharing their own mixing tips, tricks and techniques. Balancing, panning, aural perception, EQ, compression, limiting, gates, and effects are all covered in detail. Upload your music each week for DVR™- expert analysis and video feedback from professional sound engineers who have worked with La Roux, Primal Scream,Freemasons, Stereophonics, The Rakes and Terry Callier. Youtube

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Course Materials

1-2-1 video feedback on your music
Weekly online masterclass with a pro producer
Over 20 exclusive video tutorials

300 pages of course notes
Exclusive samples & audio resources
24/7 access to student / tutor discussion forums

Course Contents

Week 1: Understanding Acoustics

What is a Mix? Aims and challenges
Environment: monitoring, acoustics, treatment
Mix Technology: analogue or “in the box”
Preparing to Mix: preparing your song for mixing

Week 2: Fundamentals – Balance and Pan

Level Balancing: balance, optimising headroom
Panning: create an interesting stereo image
In Practice: approaching different sound sources
Stereo Image: enhancement, faking stereo

Week 3: Equalisation and the Nature of Sound

Nature of Sound: Physics behind music
Equalisation: how EQ works and why we use it
In Practice: identifying audio problems
Approaches to EQ: practical tutorials

Week 4: Dynamics

Dynamics : what is Dynamic Range?
Compression: what is Compression?
Limiters: using Limiters within a mix
Noise Gates: how they work, why use them?

Week 5: Spacial Awareness

Natural Space: ambience, reflections and reverb
Reverb: importance, development and anatomy
How to create a 3D mix: mixing reverbs
Delays: tempo sync, note values, depth

Week 6: Getting Creative

Creative Mixing: FX for textures and transitions
Tape delays, ping pong, dub-style and filtered
Chorus, Phasers and Flangers: mix techniques
Distortion: overdrive, distortion and amp simulation

Week 7: Mastering Automation

Automation: history, track and region-based
Offline v Online, automation modes, control surfaces
Volume automation, vocal rides and other techniques
Automating plug-ins for creative purposes

Week 8: Mixing Vocals

Mix Considerations: approaching vocals
Housekeeping: cleaning up “vocal noise”
Processing: EQ, compression and spatial tricks
Backing Vox: compression and EQ, delays and FX

Week 9: Masterclass - Advanced Compression

What is Parallel Compression? Advantages of using it
Side-Chain Compression: classic and innovative FX
Other Dynamic Processors eg transient shapers
Electrical component and tape compression

Week 10: The Mix Process

The Mix Process: A Step-by-Step Tutorial guiding you through each phase
How to use all of the techniques we have demonstrated in the course as part of the overall mix process

Week 11: Industry Masterclass - Mixing a Hit

Exclusive: Top professionals share their mix secrets
Practical tutorials show you the tricks of the trade
Your chance to see first hand how the pro's do it
In depth discussion of above

Week 12: DIY Mastering

Pre and post mastering, mix bus, bouncing your mix
DIY Mastering: reference tracks, mastering sessions
Level meters, master EQ, limiting, fades, dithering, bouncing CD
Compiling Album: utilising Waveburner

Tutor profile

JC Concato
JC's previous projects include production, engineering and remix work for the likes of Bjork, Portishead, The Cure, Erasure, Allister Whitehead, Galliano, Pressure Drop, Raggatwins and Renegade Soundwave.