Welcome to Hand-Picked: Mix Clarity
Chosen carefully from the extensive catalogue of my videos on YouTube, welcome to a new, free course: Hand-Picked: Mix Clarity.
The Course
Mixes can get muddy when Kick Drums and Basslines fight each other. At the opposite end of the spectrum, over-fizzy Hi-Hats and High Percussion can converge in the middle of the mix, incessantly and relentlessly taking up space needed by other instruments. And in the low mid-range - the engine room of so many productions - it's easy for things to be harsh and raspy or - conversely - lacking the punch and weight a production needs to pull listeners in.
Whether sounds need frequency-taming, dynamic processing, movement across the stereo field or simple placement to a specific corner of a mix, there are so many ways in which we can bring extra clarity to our mixes.
Across the chapters of this course, I'm going to introduce you to the issues which face different areas of the freqeuncy spectrum, to discover how we can go about creatively tackling them. Having watched, you'll be armed with a toolkit of options when you encounter similar issues in your mixes.
- What is 'mix space'? Let's define what 'clarity in a mix' means
- Learn why moving sounds away from the middle of the mix instantly enhances a sense of stereo
- Discover the power of the 'engine room' of a track: the low mid-range
- Explore the power of movement, using Auto-panning to add dynamism to stereo width
What You Will Learn
The techniques explored in each chapter won't only help you when you apply them directly to the same frequency areas in your own productions; instead, think of them as a suite of techniques which you can refer to and apply across the frequency spectrum and to sounds of all kinds.
If you discover a technique explored in a chapter designed to help you craft and sculpt the pad sounds in your mixes and you want to apply it to high frequency percussive material, the course will have done exactly what I hoped.
I believe it will provide inspiration and practical advice and will encourage you to apply both, guided by your ears and intuition. Remember too that a new episode of technques, tips, tricks and deep technical dives arrives every week on YouTube, so if you haven't Subscribed already, hit the button to ensure you never miss an epsiode.
- Think about sounds like the voices of an orchestra on stage - left to right, front to back. Define a space for each one
- Find out how Logic's FX and Automation can help carve space and defintion into your sounds
- Use your imagination to creatively apply the techniques learnt to your mixes
- Free curated content from 200+ episodes of Logic tips from my YouTube channel
Curriculum
Focus
Focus your attention on individual sounds to compare and contrast your mix choices as they take shape. Highlighting individual sounds and making careful decisions will help provide extra mix sophistication and build tighter relationships between the sonic character of the instruments in your mixes.
Creative
Find creative ways to forge bonds between the sounds in your mixes. Noise Gates provide one way to do that, using one track to trigger another. And with careful use of a Noise Gate's controls, everything from extreme to subtle ducking techniques can help provide extra mix room.
Space
It's so easy to be seduced by the all-singing, all-dancing sounds packed into our favourite software instruments. Yet - because they're so keen to compete for our attention - they're frequently 'bigger' than we need them to be. Sometimes too loud, sometimes too busy, sometimes too frequency rich. Learning to choose a space in the stereo field for each one helps provide control.
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Your Instructor
I’m Jono Buchanan. I’m a composer and producer specialising in music for TV and Production Music.
I write extensively for some of the largest broadcasters around the world, having also worked on films, documentaries, composed for sports broadcasts and much more besides. I’ve always been a huge fan of electronic dance music too and in the early to mid 2000s, worked as a producer of remixes for some of the biggest pop acts of the day, including Whitney Houston, Pet Shop Boys, Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes.
I have been a visiting lecturer at London’s prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama for 25 years. Despite a busy life as a media composer, I’ve never been able to stop myself wanting to teach - I love seeing creativity unlocked in anyone who wants to learn more. For me, the mix of composing, producing and being fascinated by developments in music technology have all developed side-by-side.
YouTube has provided a platform to offer free Logic Pro instruction and on the Jono Buchanan Music channel, a new longer-form video and a Short are posted every week. My Teachable courses will let you take your knowledge deeper, as they're all designed to allow you to unlock your creativity in a more immersive and focused way.
- Learn from a Guildhall School of Music & Drama Professor with 25 years’ experience
- Jono’s extensive experience as a media composer is central to this course
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Immersive, focused teaching