introduction - 

• What are Cody's Top picks for plugins? NO! I'm not going to get into specific brands. To be honest, I use GNU/Linux and I have more plugins than i can ever possibly use. The price was steep in the learning curve of switching to a new operating system though. The Fab filter and anything from Native Instruments is probably worth a look-see. My philosophy is 'use the best you can get,' apply 'sound' principles, 'make it work.'  Most innovation in plugin technology is cosmetic anyways, If you know what the tool is for, you can figure out how to use it.  now lets begin.

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EQ

• An EQ is in my opinion, the most powerful tool for mixing. Make room certain instrument, frequencies of your tracks will compete for space and the EQ can solve that problem.
  
  now, we've got several types of Equalizers, Parametric, Graphic, Shelving, band-pass filters. If you're curious about which type to use and when? Let me google that for you...

So how do you apply the EQ anyways?
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• As i've said, or will say in the future, the answer is 'it depends,' but remember the principle behind an EQ. Use it to make space in your mix so that each track has room to breathe in it's correct frequency range. Here are some examples of common places I'll use EQ's

 

• • Hi-pass filter - On guitars, vocals, any track that does not need to be in the sub-frequencies.
  • Subtractive EQ - usually parametric- Clears out some space in an otherwise dense mix. Adds clarity to instruments, by removing competing frequencies. (ex an EQ cut at 300hz on a Keyboard track, to make room for a Vocal)
  • Hi-shelf - This can add some extra crispness (air) to a track to make it sound a little livlier
  • use your imagination. trust your ears. experiment and have fun with it.
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Dynamics

• Here, let me google that for you...
• every audio blogger and his dog has written an article or made a youtube video about compression/dynamics and how they work. so in order to keep it short, I'll refer you to this Article with video that explains compression it's entirety.
• To keep it short and sweet, dynamics (specifically compression) can make a track more consistant in it's loudness. It can bring up the quiet parts, or bring down the loud parts, depending on how it's used. 
• That's not to be confused with the dynamic range of a crescendo in an orchestra. If a song is meant to breathe, please don't treat it like a Pop Song. Seriously, Show some Respect for genres like classical and Jazz where musicians can actually care about the performance!

Colour

Yeah, I'm making this last part up as I go. essentially adding colour to a track, is to change it's sonic characteristics in a very broad, Undefined way. Imagine adding a layer of saturation to your overall mix to help blend it together. Imagine adding some reverb to your guitar and vocals to put them in the same 'space.' Using some amp-simulation, re-amping, using guitar plugins. are you duplicating that guitar or vocal track and adding some sonic characteristics?, If you're doing this you're changing the 'colour of your sound.'  

There are an unlimited number of things you can do with the concept of colour. It depends what you're trying to do with your song. 

Often, when I sit down to write a new song, I find myself reaching beyond my technical abilities, almost like the song I imagine is too difficult to actualize. Now, here's the thing folks, I'm not bothered by the fact that I can't always play the song at first. I know it will come in time, with practice, and the satisfaction will be in a song that's better than the one before, along with a level-up of musicial abilities.

​Okay, so you've had an idea and you've captured it to whatever recording device you've got.

So sit down and break the idea down to bare-bones. 
Play it to your skill level. If its too fast, slow it down at first.
If it's too technical, simplify at first, and practice practice practice. 
Focus on the technique and build muscle memory.
Practice to a metronome at all tempos, and in multiple keys.

​Realize that you won't get that perfect take right away. It's the same as anything. Musical ability is a a skill-set like muscle, it takes training to build it up, and it takes routine to keep it consistant. Break the song down and build it back up. If you're feeling frustrated. take a break. get some fresh air, play some vids, let it rest. When you come back next time - this is where the routine comes in - push yourself a little harder. Speed the tempo up a little. Try to add some more nuance to the idea, expand on it, and bring the whole thing closer to your vision. 

​Breaking a song down into bite-sized pieces to chew on and digest properly. This could mean playing only  one thing, over and over again. Could be just the transition between a verse and chorus, or like that part you're stuck on, is it really that simple? Can i get the metre of this vocal part to fit better? play it over and over again until you start to get it right. I'd recommend at least 15 minutes every day if you don't already practice every day.

​Block off some time in your practice session every day to focus on the one thing. could be 5 minutes, could be 30, could be more. There's no one right way to do this, it's a preference thing. In music there are no rules but as you start to go through the motions, You'll start to realize steady progress. Take note of the areas that need improvement to focus on later. 

Recognize that over time and consistant routine practice, you'll get the feel for where you are vs where you want to go, vs what you need to do to get there. You might not realize it at first. but once you've got things rolling, you might suddenly ask yourself 'okay what's next?'

​I'm grateful for the satisfaction I feel in the challenge of musical development. It's a real thing to me and it's probably the most rewarding part about being a musician in general, to know that I've pushed myself to grow in a way that is meaningful, to make a song that's better than the song before it, and to present things in a way that is useful.

A new song gives me a new challenge, and I'd like to invite you to challenge yourself too.

Do you solo out tracks and mix them by themselves? What does it mean to keep things in context?

The most important tools are your ears and your mind. Use them, trust them. If it sounds good it sounds good. but remember the context. From your sound in the space it's in, to the interaction of frequencies in your mix.

Reference mixes can help you understand how your track is sounding compared to other songs. If you're listening to a playlist, and one song is drastically quieter than the one before it, thats no good. Reference mixes can help you avoid that.

using ducking. if you hear a displeasing sound in your guitar track, a useful trick (if it is supported by your hardware) is called ducking (or listening in place.) This is basically just turning down everything, and keeping the track that has your attention at the forefront. imagine it like a lens through which you can still seee what's happening in the rest of the song as you're doing surgery on that guitar track.

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If it feels right, it probably is. I've seen many an indie go way overboard with mixing each individual track to perfection, only to to turn off solo and have to do it again. They end up to their necks in audio problems they barely understand.

Solo out that track and it sounds fine alone but in the mix it sounds wrong. What is actually happening and why? Which interaction of instruments/tracks is causing that? Use solo to find that. Remember that sounds interact with other sounds. Just because one track is a vocal and another is a guitar doesn't mean frequencies are not competing for space. The sound is combined and played back through your sound system, and if you're not mixing in headphones, they're interacting with your room too.

So how to conclude this article, and mix it right. If you're having to solo out a track, tweak it to get it sounding perfect, and then start over again to get it sounding good in context, You're doing it twice. You don't have to. Don't worry, these skills are like learning a new instrument. they come with time and practice. Luckily we live in an age where people are sharing their years of skills and experience for free on the internet. Need some tips?  Let me google that for you...

The ability to dentify the challenges is an important skill for the career musician. In order to this, you'll need to use your imagination. First, I'd like to invite you to accept everything as possible. anything otherwise would just be making excuses.

​Imagine a single path before you. The road ahead branches and each one of those branches represents your decisions. Imagine at the end of these paths, your goals. It's not about wandering aimlessly down a path that's already laid out for you. Nope, we're making our own path, our own way. So what's it gonna take to blaze a trail, a road, a highway. what does the landscape look like? are we going to need bridges and tunnels?

So in anticipation of challenges as a part of goal-setting. I'd recommend putting pen to paper. list everything you've got, from things you're already doing, to ideas that might seem like a pipe dream, unreachable, impossible.

As you begin to understand more about what your options are, you can start to understand what's attainable, and what it might take to make it happen. This Link, gives an animated breakdown that goes into more detail. 

​Basically, this part is going back through what you thought about during this mental excersise. say x ammount of time later and asking questions like: