The importance of Mixing!! (Part 2)

Tips for Independent Artist!!!

After compression, the next important step in the mixing process is EQing (Equalization).  EQing is act of munipulating low, med, and high frequecies of your vocals or instruments.   In simple terms a frequencey has a low bass end, a med range that isn't all low end but isn't all high end, and a high in where all the high frequencies are.  EQing allows you to alter and change the fundemental of any audio signal.  This allows you to make what you recorded sound better then it does right after recording.  This is neccessary to understand as an artist because this process allows your song to reach a higher level of clarity, and clarity is your mixing goal.  The better the clarity the greater the chance people will like your music.  As an engineer mastering  these things are mandatory, however if you are building your own studio as an artist you should have a standard understanding of this process to help cut cost, because whatever you don't know how to do you will have to pay someone to do.  So learning this process can be extremely beneficial in the long run. For example, learning how to take the low end out of some kick drums can make the difference in your entire song.  The smallest most minute adjustment can take a song from just being ok to becoming an amazing song.  You have to remember that your mixing goal is to achieve the best clarity without lossing the musical integrity.  The mix should not be noticed by the listener, and this is only accomplished by having the proper mix.  A listener can not like a song because of the mix but not know they dislike the song because of the mix, it just want appeal to them.  So this adds to the importance of perfecting your mix weather you are engineering a song yourself or hiring someone else to handle the task.