Mixing the whole piece

▶ Open in Aratu to hear the examples, change them and do the exercises

With several parts playing together, there is still the job of the person at the mixing desk: putting each instrument at the right volume, each in its place between the speakers, all of them in the same room. That is mixing.

Volume: who stands out

Each part has a volume, from 0 (silent) to 1. Drums that are too loud hide the melody; turn them down:

tempo: 100
drums { hh = cc cc cc cc; bd = b - b -; sd = - s - s }
melody: keys.epiano
melody = | e4 g a g | e d c _ |
drums.volume = 0.5
melody.volume = 0.9

Drag both knobs while the music plays, as if they were the faders on a mixing desk.

Pan: where each one sits

pan places the part between the speakers: -1 is all the way left, 1 all the way right, 0 in the middle. Spreading the instruments to the sides makes each one clearer:

tempo: 100
guitar: guitar.nylon
guitar { chords = | Am | F | C | G |; strum = D du -u du }
keys: keys.epiano
keys = | a4 _ c5 _ | a4 _ f4 _ | g4 _ e4 _ | d4 _ g4 _ |
guitar.pan = -0.6
keys.pan = 0.6

Listen with headphones: the guitar on the left, the keys on the right. The bass and the bass drum usually stay in the middle.

The same room for everyone

Aratu's mix has a shared reverb, like the room the band plays in. Each part's reverb.mix says how much of it goes into that room.

A number written with no part holds for every part. To put the whole piece in the room, one line is enough:

tempo: 90
melody: piano.grand
melody = | e4 g a g | e d c _ |
bass: bass.finger
bass = | c2 _ g1 _ | a1 _ f1 _ |
reverb.mix = 0.5

A part can have its own value, which holds in place of the general one: bass.reverb.mix = 0.1 makes the bass drier, closer to the listener.

Effects for everyone: all:

A chain written for all puts its effects on every part, after each part's own effects:

tempo: 90
melody: keys.epiano -> tremolo
melody = | e4 g a g | e d c _ |
bass: bass.finger
bass = | c2 _ g1 _ | a1 _ f1 _ |
all: chorus -> delay
delay.mix = 0.2

The melody goes through tremolo, chorus and delay; the bass through chorus and delay. And delay.mix = 0.2, with no part, sets the delay of them all.

The master

Everything ends in one last channel, the master: the shared room, a compressor that "glues" the parts together and a limiter that keeps the sound from clipping. Its numbers start with master.:

tempo: 90
melody: piano.grand
melody = | e4 g a g | e d c _ |
reverb.mix = 0.5
master.reverb.decay = 4 s
master.glue.on = 1
master.limiter.ceiling = -1

Exercises

Turn the drums down to 0.4, so the melody stands out.

drums { hh = cc cc cc cc; bd = b - b - }
melody = | e4 g a g |

drums { hh = cc cc cc cc; bd = b - b - }
melody = | e4 g a g |
drums.volume = 0.4

Put the guitar on the left (-0.5) and the keys on the right (0.5).

guitar = | e3 _ g3 _ |
keys = | c5 _ e5 _ |

guitar = | e3 _ g3 _ |
keys = | c5 _ e5 _ |
guitar.pan = -0.5
keys.pan = 0.5

Put the whole piece in the reverb, at 0.6, with a single line.

melody = | e4 g a g |
bass = | c2 _ g1 _ |

melody = | e4 g a g |
bass = | c2 _ g1 _ |
reverb.mix = 0.6

Put a chorus on every part, with a single line.

melody: keys.epiano
melody = | e4 g a g |
bass: bass.finger
bass = | c2 _ g1 _ |

melody: keys.epiano
melody = | e4 g a g |
bass: bass.finger
bass = | c2 _ g1 _ |
all: chorus

Make the master's room ring for 5 seconds.

melody = | e4 g a g |
reverb.mix = 0.5

melody = | e4 g a g |
reverb.mix = 0.5
master.reverb.decay = 5 s