Getting Yourself In The Right Headspace To Mix

One overlooked area of mix prep is personal preparation, which means getting yourself into the best physical and mental state to mix. Each mix requires focus and concentration, and this time is where you get yourself into that proper headspace. This excerpt from the 4th edition of my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook can help set the stage for a great mix.

Calibrate Your Hearing

Our ears are amazing organs that are capable of hearing sounds so faint that they move the eardrum less than the diameter of a hydrogen molecule. It’s important that we first calibrate them to take advantage of their enormous capabilities. Here’s how:

Try to stay in the quietest area that you can for as long as you can before you begin your mix. Concentrate on the sounds that you’re hearing and try to identify what they are and the direction they’re coming from. Studies have found that this can make your hearing much more acute.
Stay away from a large meal before you mix, because it will temporarily make your hearing less sharp during digestion.
To improve your ability to hear faint sounds, relax your jaw or just smile. There are tiny muscles in your jaw that can actually disrupt the action of your eardrums and Eustachian tubes, which control the inner-ear pressure.
If you will be doing work that requires your attention on a computer monitor screen, even small noises can subtly blur your vision. Turn the level down and try to keep the uninvited noises at bay.

TIP: Also remember that closing your eyes while mixing can sometimes improve your hearing by both lessening the distractions and allowing your brain to concentrate additional processing power on that sense.

“I’ve been mixing with my eyes closed for most of my career. I think I have an easier time visualizing the three- dimensional panorama that’s coming out of the speakers. Somehow when I close my eyes it’s easier for me to see an instrument or vocal by removing my eyes from the equation altogether.” —mixer “Bassy” Bob Brockman

Get Your Listening Reference Point

Even if you know your room very well, it’s still important that you establish your listening reference point before you begin. This is accomplished by playing at least one recording or mix that you know well so you have a reference point as to what the room and monitors sound like. Listening to a mix or two will also calibrate your ears to the listening environment, which will help to keep you from over- or under-EQing as you go along.

Prepare For Note-Taking

During the course of a long mix, you’ll probably have to take some notes, so have a pen and a pad of paper or even some Post-it notes ready to write on. If you’re using a hardware controller, you’ll need a roll of console tape. Shurtape FP 726 is the type that can be reapplied to mark the names of the channels without leaving any sticky residue behind.

Make Yourself Comfortable

Most mixes take a while, so both you and your environment need to be comfortable in order to attain that perfect mixing headspace. Make sure your clothes and shoes are comfy, the room temperature is just right, and the lighting is adjusted so you can easily see any monitor screens that you may be using without squinting, because this can lead to fatigue before you realize it. It’s also a good idea to have some beverages and a snack ready for later when you need a break.

TIP: A comfortable chair can provide a greater feeling of well-being, which in turn can heighten your senses, like your most important one for mixing: hearing.

It’s easy to overlook this type of personal preparation, but it can really help to get you into the proper mixing headspace in a short amount of time.