Starting a project

Previous chapter gave you all the tools for working with a DAW! This chapter can, therefore, be quite simple.

Just create a new project from the main menu. The general layout, buttons, and more should be familiar.

• Want to hear only some tracks? Use the Mute/Solo buttons.
• Need to record something extra? “Record Enable” the track, make sure the right microphone input is selected (or MIDI instrument), and go.
• Want to change volume or panning? Do so with the default faders / knobs on that track.

Most of mixing happens by using those basic tools. I actually discourage trying to learn more than this—at least right now. It would be overwhelming, without helping you in any way. Some “neat trick” or “rare plugin” to use in specific situations will not help beginning audio engineers.

Below are just some practical tips, for the new project you just started.

Templates

They often provide many templates to start from. (Which already gives you the tracks, busses, plugins, whatever needed for that template.)

I do recommend starting with one. But it should be a template you created yourself. Once you mix a few tracks, you learn what you like. What workflow works for you and your projects. Which busses, plugins, or instruments you surely want.

Create a template for that, so you don’t have to “do the setup” again and again.

However, don’t overdo it. Using the same template limits creativity. All your productions sound the same! Because they are the same! You probably forget to “remove” plugins or tracks when it turns out you don’t need them. Your computer slows down. Or you get unintended side effects because you forgot part the template did something.

Keep the template lean. Create multiple templates for yourself, for different purposes.

The best tip: naming

Name your tracks. Name them immediately (otherwise you forget) and sensibly.

“Chords” is meaningless. What instrument played the chords? Are they the regular chords, or that higher version we did to make the solo more powerful?

“Dave” is meaningless. Yes, the singer is named Dave, so it will be vocals. But what vocals? Regular? Second voice? Only the chorus? One of many takes?

If you start seeing name clashes (“Chords”, “Chords2”, “ChordsOther”), you’re doing it wrong :p

As early as possible, group related tracks and send them through one bus. Maybe color code them.

Order

In what order should you add the audio? In what order should you mix them? That could be a whole course on its own! This question is discussed often throughout this guide.

But the general idea is that you can’t mix something on its own. You might think “let’s start with vocals, those are the most important part of the song, right?”

But … how do you mix vocals on their own? They’re supposed to be backed by instruments. Without hearing the instruments, how do you know what to do with the voice?

This is a sure pitfall for beginners. They make something sound pretty when isolated. Then the other recordings are added, and everything sounds awful together.

So just add everything at once. Everything should already be there before mixing starts. Don’t listen to something “in solo” too much.

Now you can apply that intuition you probably had.

When mixing, start with the most important instruments. Usually, this is the rhythm (drums), the key pitches (bass or chords), and the vocal. In that order.

There is creative freedom here. If the absolute peak of your song is a wild guitar solo that lasts two minutes … yeah, make that one of the first things that you mix. If one repeated chord progression (on piano) supports the whole song … yeah, make that flawless first.

Yes! You’ve started your first project and are ready to do some music mixing magic.

But wait. Wait a minute. Wait one more chapter. To make any sensible decisions, you need to hear what you’re doing. Without bias, without noise, without subjectivity. Yes, let’s finally talk about “monitoring” in the next chapter.