If you want to improve your mix skills then in this article Steve DeMott shares some wisdom and some great advice.

As we draw near to closing the book on 2020, I wanted to offer a small dose of inspiration for us all. An encouragement to keep at it and stay focused.

In college my lyric writing teacher, Pat, used to have a saying, “Writers write.” When someone doubted themselves he’d say, “Writers write.” When asked how to know if one was really meant to be a songwriter he’d say, “Writers write.” When pressed harder he’d expand that nugget with, “Writers write. Just keep writing and let someone else decide if it’s good or bad.”

What I understood that to mean was that it was more important to continue the pursuit than to stop and question the “reality” of your situation, because the persistent actions became the reality. The practice became the work, and the work became the reality of who or what we were. If we were writing we were writers. The logic seems very simple and elegant. It proves itself by feeding itself. I was pondering this advice when I realized it was also very good advice for mixers (or anyone really).

With all the places we can be spending our energy, can you honestly say the majority of your energy is spent in pursuit of your goals? Said another way, if you consider yourself a mix engineer, are you mixing? I don’t mean talking about mixing, or reading forums about mixing. I mean actually sitting there with your DAW or at the console and physically mixing music on a regular basis?

Your Best Work Is Your Next Work

I remember a master class at college where Nashville songwriter Fred Koller came to speak with the songwriting majors. Fred had written the hit “Angel Eyes” for the Jeff Healy Band, which was a hit at the time I was in college. After the class there was the Q&A, and I asked the question: “How can you write a song & just give it to someone else to perform? Don’t you feel like you’re giving away a part of yourself?” I will never forget the answer. Fred looked at me, smiled and said “No! Because I always remember the best song I write is the next song I write.” Those words of wisdom have stuck with me all these years, and I have learned that they apply to a lot more than just songwriting.

When you mix you get better at mixing. Each mix will be better than the last, and your current mix will not be as good as your next. This is all right and good. It’s the natural progression of learning and honing a skill. Practice makes perfect, as they say.

You may be in a situation where you don’t have any projects to work on. It’s been that kind of year for many. There are plenty of great resources online to help you hone your skills while you wait for the clients to return. Some are paid, many are free. A quick search for “free multitracks to mix” brings back many promising hits. I’ll let you decide which might be best for you. But, by engaging in your craft in this way you will have time to play with new tools and new techniques (try out some ideas you may have read about in an Experts article, even).

Whatever 2020 has thrown at you, I hope you can keep your eyes focused on your goals, and take whatever steps you can to move closer to them. As Pat says, “Writers write.” And, to that I will add: “Mixers mix,” and “Producers produce.” Find a way to do what you do.