MetaMindMusic

You’ve got a song arranged, recorded, and edited to perfection. Now you face the final creative step of music production. Before we dive deep into the concepts of mixing, let’s step back for a second and think:

What is your purpose as a mixer?

In other words, what is the role of a mixer? What should the end goal be?

You might be thinking “To make it sound good? Geez, what’s with this guy? Always going on about visions, inner purpose n stuff.”

I heard that!

Trust me this will save you from:

The problem with that definition of mixing is that “good” is a very ambiguous term. How do you define good? When do you know what the mix is “good” enough and call it a day?

Since mixing is a highly technical and complex form of art, we all-to-often get overwhelmed by the details. We get completely sucked into adjusting faders here, EQ’s there, compressors everywhere trying to get the “perfect” sound.

The biggest problem...

The most useful tool that you have in your arsenal for mixing is the all-mighty equalizer (EQ).

It’s also super fun to call it a spectrum processor and imagine your navigating a harmonicraft.

What Is it?

A good analogy for EQ is modeling a sculpture. You can add or subtract material to adjust the overall shape and perception of the piece. Apply this to mixing, and your sculpting sound!

EQ allows you to adjust the various frequencies of a sound, imagine a bunch of mini faders spread across the whole frequency spectrum. You can alter the frequencies in two ways by boosting or cutting.

The goal is to make enough room for all your sounds, remove unnecessary information, and accentuate their shining qualities. You can also use it as a fun, creative tool.

Filter sweeps for dayz.

Whether they are in plug-in (software) or outboard (hardware) form, the principles of EQ are universal. You’ll see these on guitar amps, home studio systems, and even your phone’s audio...

As music producers, we often face internal resistance. We face self-doubt and have to listen to the dreaded imposter syndrome.

Who invited him anyway?

This type of hesitation is something we will constantly face as creatives, we have to develop the skills and work ethic to overcome these types of problems.

+1 Creative Confidence!

I don’t know about you, but I’m somewhat of a gamer myself. I know Super Mario World like the back of my hand, and can definitely destroy you in Smash Bros.

Hadoken!

Gotta say it… I’m kind of a nerd. Though, I think I’ve struck a healthy balance.

I’d like to explore the mental framework of the “gamer” attitude and how it can level up your creative confidence within music production.

Researcher and game designer Jane McGonigal coined the term “Urgent Optimism”. Described as: extreme self-motivation, the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle. Coupled with the belief that we have reasonable...

Matters Of The Mind

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room…

Yeah, I’m talking about the elephant meme I saw on facebook of course.

More seriously, let’s address the heavy words in the title that always leave an impactful impression—Mind Control.

As shocking as this masterpiece animation is, it encapsulates the insidious truth. I’ll be honest, the imagery in the video fulled this article, so it may be a bit more freaky than my typical post.

The perfect article for your Halloween celebrations.

We Don’t Need No Thoughts Controlled

You can look at investigating mind control simply as observing what influences your thinking and influences your actions. If you have developed enough self-awareness, you can guide and moderate your thoughts and actions; you harness mind control.

However, if you don’t have control of your own mind, it’s a different story. Now you must begin to question the origin and intention behind your...

What if I told you that achieving greater creative freedom, developing your authentic voice and finishing more projects, are all directly linked to your flow state?

You know you’ve experienced it. It could be described as an ecstatic bliss; the liquid moment when you are actively engaged in creative acts.

When you “lose yourself” in the moment.

Flow state is what drives the creative process of music’s most gifted artists. A sort of transcendental experience that gives rise to raw inspired creation.

Your authenticity will show itself when you allow yourself to create from that place of zen.

The question is, how can you tap into your flow state on the regular?

The Flow, Defined

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a major contributor to positive psychology. His research spawned many discoveries that contributed greatly to creativity and mindset. Cool dude.

Being a psychologist, and author of “Flow: The psychology of optimal experience” he founded the...

I went to see Joker. Though I’m not a huge thriller fan, I do like psychologically stimulating or the “mind-bending” genre. Plus I vividly remember dressing as Joker for Halloween in high-school. Not having the highest expectations for the movie, I walked out of the theatre blown away!

Have you ever seen a movie that left a lasting impact on you after you saw it? Why? What is it in a movie that creates that kind of meaning, that leaves an imprint in your psyche?

I think it has to do with the power of a familiar narrative, exceptional character development, and masterful storytelling. Which all can be echoed, in some way, shape or form, in any expression of art.

Like music for example. How can you apply the notion of a narrative and storytelling to your music?

People Relate To A Narrative

I remember the first time I saw the Matrix. It totally obliterated my current way of perceiving things.

It ultimately showed me that things are not always what they seem to be. It...

What’s needed in today’s music world to achieve a successful career?

MINDSET.

More specifically, a creative mindset of success.

A headspace that supports your creative talents and guides you towards building the career of your dreams.

What is “mindset” though?

Your mindset can be defined as your general attitude and how you shape your perceptions of the world (and yourself) based on your experiences. It is the single most powerful tool in your arsenal to support and serve you throughout the entirety of your life. DEEP

Your attitude and thought patterns are the mental architecture that will support all of your future efforts, opportunities and artistic creations.

Did I build it up enough? Lol

Ze Musicpreneur, Hon Hon

To be successful as a musicpreneur, you need the right mindset. Thankfully your mindset is something that you can control, you just have to learn to utilize it properly.

Success in the music world today has greatly changed from a linear to a...

Decision anxiety, talk about a first-world problem…

Have you ever been sifting through the massive Netflix catalog to then realize you’ve been browsing for half an hour? This is a great example of what happens with too many choices.

It stifles your decision-making abilities, and thus your creativity.

While this applies to practically every creative pursuit, it is especially true when it comes to the modern 21st-century music-making DAW.

We’re bombarded with possibilities: plugins, effects, routing possibilities, instruments, microphones, arrangements, chord progressions, samples, melodies, etc. The choices are endless.

You must find a way to render the vastness of infinity into your creative work. You have to constrain, clarify and calibrate your options to stimulate your creativity.

Analysis Paralysis

The myth we seem to have bought into is that if choice is good, more choice is better.

However, in his book “The Paradox Of Choice” Barry Schwartz says...

You know you’ve felt it…

Harnessing an insatiable desire to create and express yourself. The constant presence of a melody, a drum beat, a lyrical metaphor or even a whole symphony orchestra singing in your mind’s eye.

You think deeper. You see different. You feel… passionately.

Behold, the diagnosis of an artistic mind.

The Artists Struggle

Most definitions that are made about being a musical artist are those who write songs, create sonic expressions, sing, play an instrument, entertain, experiment, and are a free spirit. All can be very true!

What’s often overlooked is the internal conflict of being an artist. It's difficult in general to process intense emotions, and an even bigger struggle to express them in your craft.

Getting caught in a spiral of writing music seamlessly void of meaning, writer’s block, life on the road, fruitless efforts, hesitation, self-doubt and feeling isolated are all common symptoms of the artist.

The struggle...

Three languages in one title? Come on Alex…

“Raison d’être”. You may have heard that expression before, which means a reason for being. You’ve got to give me that one… cause I’m French.

As for “Ikigai” its a Japanese concept that also means “a reason for being”.

Funny how both of these very different cultures have concepts built around the idea of a reason for being. A life’s purpose. Maybe they’re onto something?

Your Music’s Purpose

I’d like to take that idea and apply it to YOUR music.

I believe that to best embody the role of a musician, producer or artist is to establish a way of life built around your craft. If your beliefs, values, habits, lifestyle, passions, purpose and ambitions, all express your essence as a human being…

Where does music fit in?

The purpose and meaning of your life’s journey should guide your creative pursuits. The more you can answer the...