Joshua D. Peterson

Got a new job tonight! I will be creating an intro song out of a remixed song and some unlikely “instruments.” More to come on that, but for now…sleeeep.

Mixing, mixing, and re-mixing.  As a composer, I never used to focus on the production side of things (sounds ironic, but it’s not).  Composers generally focus on the music vs. how the music sounds through speakers.  Anyone who is not an A-list composer -  commercially, for movies or other productions - knows that we have to learn the art of mixing if we want to climb the ladder.  The production must be as if you had a team of engineers.

This is so daunting, I know.  BUT one of the most helpful things I’ve discovered is simple comparison.  I know orchestrators and composers that do this all the time, not to mention the A-list engineers and mixers.  It’s known as A/B mixing.  Just get a professional production that you like the sound of, and compare it with your own mixes.  You will learn a TON from this alone.  Along with that, compare your mixes with other mixes on several sets of speakers.  Car, home theater, boombox, etc.

I would also encourage you to know what gear does.  Look it up and find out what it’s used for and how to use it. This gives great insight for internal software usage for compressors, limiters, etc. in programs like Logic.  Outboard is generally better if you can afford it, but the internal stuff works well enough for most commercial production.  In fact I know A-listers who only use software.

The bottom line is, produce whatever you like and whatever sounds good to a diverse crowd of listeners.