Most people begin mixing at the beginning of the song. Don’t.
Instead you should identify the most important section of the song, where there’s the most going on sonically and begin to mix there.
And there are a couple really big reasons why…
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
I’m just cleaning up some tracks from a piece that’ll be around 18 minutes long 🙂 I attempted to mix it a few years ago and spent yesterday getting rid of a ton of mixing errors, use of effects I wasn’t even sure I wanted, eq for no reason, that sort of thing. I then began wondering what the hell to do now it’s all clean and tidy. So I’ll be going at this track anew in the next few days and will be using the method you mention in the video. I’d not even thought of mixing the “busy bits” first. Great advice Graham. Thanks.
Never tried it perfect just getting into recording but I will try incorporating that thanks for the information be blessed
18 minutes!! Yikes!
Yes but I do know where the busy bit is 🙂
Great advice, thanks.
I like this tip! I don’t know if I will use it much, because I like mixing in order from the beginning but I’ll definitely give this a try!
actually this is my M.O. for mixing..I always start with a dense section of the mix to get balances and tones in the right place and then go back to the beginning and clean up or re adjust as needed…thx as usual for the good advice.
Hi,
I’ll sure try this advice soon !
Seems so obvious, I don’t know why I never thought to apply it….
Always very interesting to listen to your videos.
Keep on…
Nice tip. Makes allot of sense.
Thanks
Nice tip. Makes allot of sense.
Thanks Graham
Hi Graham,
Once the main section is mixed and you go on to mix another section, how do you go about adjusting your plugin settings to accommodate the next section? Do you automate all your plugin settings for “preset changes” for the next section or do you leave all your plugin settings the same and just automate your track levels for each mixed section? I hope that makes sense. Thanks!
I rarely automate any EQ. It should work for the entire song.
Great tip. Could have used it 3 hours ago, before I mixed the whole song. In a way I did this, making sure at the final hook that everything was where I wanted it, then going back for a final listen-through.
Thanks Gram, This tip really makes since, In life I’ve, did the hardest things first and the rest is easier. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it here, but thanks a lot for bringing it to my attention. Thanks a lot. Michael
Hi Graham
Most of what I mix is traditional British folk music so voice and acoustic instruments. No electrics, amps or virtual instruments.
One of the most complex areas to mix is a shanty (chanty) where it’s “a capella” and several voices, some in the same vocal register and all with different timbres.
Arguably the most important part of the shanty is the chorus.
Getting the separation right in the shanty chorus is tricky and mixing the chorus first where there is a lot going on, especially syncopation, is something I have always done.
So initially my mixing process flow is
Gain staging
Pan to get individual voices separated
Individual fader adjustments to get the voices balanced
Plugins on master BUSS to get close to the sound I want
Then plugins on the individual voices where needed
Automation (often on the shanty leader) so they don’t get lost in the chorus.
So you method is just as applicable for folk music as it is for rock, hip-hop etc.
Keep up the good work – it is much appreciated
Thanks for sharing your process!
I thought everyone did this:)
When I write anything I start with what has the most instruments, notes, etc., and then figure out how to get here and how to end. The beginning of the song is always the last thing that gets done.
Thanks again Graham. I like to level set, pan, compress and EQ the drums first, then move out from there to the bass and so on. Steve.
never really considered that, very helpful
I’ve thought about this alot since finishing Mixing University.
Though I see issues (especially with EQ).
In the biggest sections instruments are carved out and thinned out creating their own sonic space. However, where the arrangement is thinner these tracks lose body/presence.
For example, when a song is just piano and vocals, you don’t want to roll off the piano low end – you want that body, but once the kick and bass come in, perhaps you need to roll off piano low end, because it gets a bit muddy.
To me it seems every time an instrument comes in, you need to change EQ, every time an instrument falls out, you need to change EQ.
So it seems to me, if you mix the biggest chorus first when everything is in, lots of EQ cuts are made to make room for everything. But if you use these settings in the 1st verse when it’s all stripped back, it would be way too thin – and you’d need to EQ back in more of the “body” (supporting frequencies of the fundamental) of the instrument that was cut out
Just thinking out loud, but not sure how others attack this (besides perhaps automating EQ on each track)
I think that certainly CAN be an issue to think about. But remember, if you are doing subtle EQ moves then it shouldn’t affect your tracks too much. Mix it like you would a live record. You don’t automate EQ live. You find the EQ curves that work pretty well for most of the song.
Interesting idea! I’m sure I will test it in my next mix.
I can imagine it working and speeding up the mixing process.
Let’s see.
Thanks!
This is great advice even for the most simple recordings. I’m making an acoustic album with just guitar, vocal, harmonica, and *maybe* some drums and bass – but not a lot of it.
Even simple songs have a part that’s the most dense; where it gets more energetic or emotive. This technique of recording the most dense parts first, works, no matter you’re doing.
Great video, Graham, thanks again!
Exactly Joel!
Yes, very good advice. Couldn’t agree more.
This is a great tip! I just finished a song that builds to a big finish, and I mixed it beginning to end. I think if I had followed this advice and mixed the ending first then worked back to the beginning, I would have a better mix and it would have gone faster. Moreover, I would have been mixing the earlier versions by backing off, instead of mixing the end by Adding To. As Graham always says, the best way to mix is to take things away rather than just adding more and more. Less is more, right?
Excellent!
Hey Graham … Your mixing tips are always worth a shot. Thanks.