Equipment that help make music

Every music producer should be familiar with the stages of great music. Those are as follows: songwriting, arranging, tracking, editing, mixing and finally mastering. This is the second part of the text “How to make music” that will focus on three aspects of editing, mixing and mastering.

Editing

Nowadays, digital editing is much more developed than ever before and it is very easy to do. However, you should not focus only on those tools. When it comes to editing, there are many reasons why you should treat it as a separated stage.

Firstly, it is pointless to perform an editing process during recording and writing. It is worth to dedicate some time to catch all mistakes and still achieve a desired effect.

Secondly, if you want to have great sound without a “chopped up” effect, it is worth to give it some time.

Finally, when the time comes for editing, try to make use of the “do not harm” principle. If the song sounds great, you do not need to edit it. This stage may be used to adjust pitches, polish tracks and move around parts which are not placed in time.

Mixing (one of the most important thing when you make music)

Some people claim that it is the most important stage. The song is written, some parts are recorded and now it is the highest time to make a masterpiece. The knowledge of how to mix is a form of art. It takes many years of education and practise. However, no one says that you (as an inexperienced person) cannot do it – you may do it!

Mixing is a stage where all recorded instruments are combined into a stereo – 2-track mix. When the mix is done correctly, you are able to hear all the virtual percussion instruments clearly. A great mix will make you and your song popular. As an outcome, you have to come to hundreds of decisions to achieve the final effect, the masterpiece.

If you are a beginner when it comes to mixing and plugins, it is worth to start with watching tutorials where you may learn more about this stage. When you learn the basics, you will have more control over your tracks and the way they sound.

Mastering

It is the last stage of mixing for many people. However, this process is mainly a concern for artists who record in a few studios. In this way, when each part is combined together, it may sound chaotic. The person who takes care of mastering is called a mastering engineer and has to have impeccable ears and skills to make use of proper equipment to erase all imperfections. The person will adjust parts of the song to the same level to achieve a smooth result.

Nowadays, there are many independent artists who make music from their bedrooms. The majority of them do not need the mastering services. The only thing the master engineer may do is make the song more accurate.

If you are interested in this solution, you can make use of numerous tools and plugins and master your tracks on your own. If you cannot afford to pay for the professional mastering services, this solution may be dedicated to your needs.

If you don’t read first part of this guid – How to make music – six steps to achieve success – part one