The Dimensions of Audio Mixing

While you’re mixing the tracks within a song you should keep in mind the dimensions of your music and how you can use them to help you create a better mix. Knowledge of the dimensions of music will also help you approach mixing more easily and understand the structure of your mix.

Width

The width of your song is tied to the panning of your instruments and tracks. Panning is the placement of instruments throughout the stereo sound field. In other terms, panning is the placement of instruments between your two speakers. Panning hard left places an instrument almost entirely in the left speaker and panning hard right does the same for the right speaker. Thinking in terms of width allows you to make a place in the stereo field for each instrument and make sure that your song has a cleaner, wider sound. A song with every instrument in the center of the stereo field is boring, plus it probably doesn’t sound too great. Use the panning tool for each track in your song to widen your sound and clean up the mix.

Depth

Depth is tied to the volume of your tracks. Turning a track up makes the instrument on the track appear closer to the listener. Use the volume fader for each track to place instruments closer or farther away in the sound field. Depth is a very important factor that adds to the dimension to your songs. Considering the volume of each track lets you create a more balanced mix and makes your songs more interesting. Additionally, using automation to control the volume of your tracks throughout the song can work wonders for a mix. Automating the volume of your tracks to focus on the lead instruments throughout a song will give the listener an idea of what instruments you believe are the most important and deserve the listener’s attention.

Height

Height is usually associated with the frequencies of the instruments on your tracks. It’s possible to place a bass guitar and a violin on top of each other in the mix without having them fight each other for the attention of the listener. Placing multiple instruments with different timbres and frequencies on top of each other in a mix is what adds to the dimension of height. Continuing to place instruments on top of each other throughout the stereo field is a great way to make your mix sound really large and full. Experimenting with height and different combinations of instruments enables you to create a more interesting mix for the listener and keep their attention for the whole length of the song.

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