Resist Level Managing…

(WARNING: rant coming…this post is a result of more notes, conclusions, and action steps from audio breakout classes at the Willow Arts Conference this year. Proceed at your own risk. You’re about to discover one of my big hot buttons!)

I’m extremely passionate about the value of a great live mix. ESPECIALLY in the church world, you must make the best mix you possibly can – people’s souls are at stake for pete’s sake! Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a single sweeping move you can make to accomplish a great mix. Mixing audio is the result of a quadrillion itty bitty moves and really is a black art. It is impossible to just “teach” someone to mix. It has to be in their bones – it’s as important of a calling as that placed on an artist or a pastor.

MIXING IS A SKILL!!! Thriving at FOH requires continually learning the skill of mixing. You have never arrived…there is always new perspectives and techniques that will make you better and better.

I’m tired of seeing people “coast” through mixing. Many “engineers” I have seen aren’t actually mixing – they’re level managing! If you want to be a better engineer, learn your craft! Get somewhere (in the studio, in rehearsal, at a bar – I don’t care) and learn how to mix. It is a developed skill and requires practice. It’s easy to fall into the trap of watching great engineers and thinking that it really is as easy as they make it look. IT’S NOT! They didn’t get where they are, creating their art, by accident. It took years of HARD WORK! Your journey will require the same work ethic if you expect to be successful.

This is important: resist the temptation to become a “paint by numbers” engineer. It’s easy to read books and watch other engineers work and borrow their techniques because if they do it, it must work for you too. I learned a long time ago that it is more important to learn the “why” than the “how” in someone’s technique. The reality is that one approach does not work for all styles of music.

Simple stuff is often the source of the biggest improvements. As I was coming up in my professional life, I was constantly driven to understand the basic tools (eq, compression/expansion, gating, verb, delay), learn what they do and how to use them to make things sound good. There is no excuse for not knowing how the various ratios on a compressor change your sound, what pre-delay does to your reverbs, or what EQ bands affect which elements of an instrument or vocal tone. Don’t keep having to ask someone what frequency is ringing or missing – come in on your own time with a mic and a RTA and learn your frequencies.

Finally, know the music. Know what works for the style (should the B3 be prevalent as it is in gospel or just ear candy, should this be guitar heavy or percussion heavy, etc) and hit your cues! I am being challenged to be more accurate in my cues. A beat or two late is still late on a guitar solo. The audience knows if its right and they know if you miss it. So don’t miss it. Challenge yourself to raise your bar.

MIX AS IF HEAVEN IS ON THE LINE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S LISTENING BECAUSE IT IS!

Whether you mix for 50 or 5,000, make the most of the opportunities the Lord has given you and challenge yourself to take your mixes to the next level. Excellence matters.

DON’T WAIT – START NOW!