If you missed this week's podcast, then you will not have heard William Wittman, Sara Carter and me discussing mixing issues we see time and again. It's those things that we sit there and think, oh not again or how the f*ck am I going to make this sound good?
Interestingly enough, although some of the discussion got technical the most time was spent discussing a problem that almost impossible to fix by the time you get to mix.
The issue is a poor arrangement.
If more songs were better arranged before anyone pressed record, then it would make tracking and mixing easier. In our conversation, Grammy-winning producer Willian Wittman said; "Mixers should try, but mixing is no substitute for a well put together record." He continues; "If it's well arranged it's easy to record, and if it's well recorded it's easy to mix... that should be self-evident to everybody."
Too many bands and would-be producers are getting into a studio and with little thought for the end result. In a previous article for The Experts, producer/mixer Vance Powell said this;
"When I tracked the Stray Cats we set them up at Blackbird Studios as the band and then spent time getting the sound just right. What's important is that the band know the tracks before they get to the studio and they arrange the tracks so that when the vocals come in there is space to hear them. I had to mix another band recently where so many instruments were crowding out the vocals it made mixing so much harder, so I said to the band that I need to mute about six guitar parts if this is going to sound any good. Listen to any of the old Sinatra recordings, a masterclass in how to arrange songs for a live recording session. You get the big band blasting at the start and then when Frank came to sing the dynamics dropped down to give him space."
In one song Sting famously sang that 'History Will Teach Us Nothing." However, musical history has plenty to teach us about the power of musical arrangement, be that classical, four-part vocal harmony or more recently Jazz. The ensemble may consist of two hundred or just five components, but in every case, there is an understanding of the symbiotic relationship between each one.
The arrangement has several purposes, the use of it for dynamics is beneficial. Still, a more important one is to give, in the case of modern music, a much better shape. In storytelling and movie making we call this the narrative arc. William Wittman; "I think the biggest mistake I hear is that balances tend to be too democratic. I talk a lot about what I call the spotlight which is if you're watching the singers sing the verse you want your attention spotlight is on the singer. Then when it comes to a little pause what do I want you to turn your attention to? Do I want you to hear the little guitar break before the singer comes back, in or is it a drum fill? What's the thing that should be grabbing your attention and the mix should be focusing your intention purposefully on that thing at any given moment. I hear an awful lot of mixes where it seems to me they've decided every single element should be equally audible and in your face at the same time and it ends up just sounding like a bit of a musical mush."
Reading this you may think that good arrangement is restricted to certain genres of music, so here are three entirely different songs to give you some examples.
The Killers - Human
The first one is The Killers and Human. The use of narrative arc in many of their tracks is fantastic. They use it both for storytelling, but it's also likely used to ensure clarity in mixes. Listen how there are loud sections where the instrumentation is complex, but when the vocals sing, most of it drops away to leave space for the vocals. This would be hard to do in a mix unless of course, you want to use the mute buttons a lot! This is in effect what the arrangement is doing - natural mutes!
As an experiment, I decided to try and place the main vocal over the musical segment that comes after the first chorus, it was possible, but it took a hell of a lot of work and made everything sound more confusing.
The Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
The second track, just to prove this point is 'God Save The Queen' by the Sex Pistols. Yes, late 70s punk, known for anarchy and little musical talent. Well, this song proves that wrong. Listen to how the main vocal and guitar dance around each other like a call and response. It's genius, although I'm not sure if that or merely a happy accident - whichever it is, it serves the mix brilliantly. Secondly, listen as the song progresses and the music gets more complex, at this point, of course, the message has been clearly stated, so it's less important for the listener to be able to make out the words, what matters now is energy, and this song has it in spades.
Frank Sinatra/Nelson Riddle
An article on arrangement would be remiss not to include perhaps one of the finest musical arrangers of modern times, the genius who was Nelson Riddle. Famous for his work with Sinatra, Riddle was the master.
Many of Sinatra's recordings were a full big band but technically limited by the number of tracks available on tape, which of course meant live takes in the same room. We could list hundreds of examples, but here's one example of his magic. Listen to how the instruments both in terms of when they play and the range they play weave around the vocal so there's always a sense of energy, but the voice is still centre stage.
What the examples also demonstrate is that these songs were figured out as a band. I was talking to a live sound engineer, and he was telling me how often he can be struggling to make a sound great, and then the next band appear on stage, and the mix sounds fantastic. The difference he said was they had figured out that all playing at the same time doesn't work.
How To Improve Your Mixes
One of the downsides of modern recording, especially self-production at home is that we don't have the benefit of having other players to work out an arrangement with, so in many cases, we throw the kitchen sink at a track, and it sounds a mess.
Ironically, what this approach requires is for one to become a producer, a term so many think is all about technology, but the best producers are the ones who can take a idea and take it from beginning to end to bring the very best out of it.
So some quick tips;
If you work with a band or write in a duo figure out your parts before you get into the studio. Don’t arrive and expect the engineer to become a producer as is often the case. They want to give you the best they can but they can’t if you haven’t put in the work first.
If you work on your own then consider collaborating with other people who can help you with drums, bass, guitars, synths. Whatever your genre, having a second set of ears at the writing/arranging stage can make a huge difference.
If you are self producing then avoid the temptation to over-produce, less really is more if you have a great song in the first place.
If you are mixing tracks for other people and are presented with a poorly arranged track that is just a wall of sound then you best mixing tool is probably the mute button. Don’t use compressors to try and squeeze a herd of elephants into a small car - it might be technically possible but it’s never a good idea. Vance Powell in a interview with Exponential Audio said that he often mutes half the guitars on a mix he is sent, in his words “make some f*cking decisions!”
As a last resort if you get sent a track that suffers from a poor arrangement try and talk to the client and ask them to consider re-arranging it to make the song better. It’s a high risk strategy but do you just want to mix and get paid or do you want to create music that sounds great?
In conclusion, if you want to improve your mixes, then start with the arrangement. It's a 'prevention is better than cure' approach that avoids having to try and fix-it-in-the-mix, because in all honesty by the time you come to mix, at best it will be hard to fix and at worst impossible.