In previous videos, I've introduced you to my favorite ear training method for audio engineers.
If you haven't seen any of my other videos on ear training, here's the basic concept. You can
learn to identify frequencies by associating a vowel sound to each octave frequency band.
This video is all about how to improve your ability to EQ drums, vocals,
and other instruments by harnessing the power of that simple technique.
But if this is our first time meeting, my name is Kyle. Welcome to Audio University.
If you want to get started right away, I put together a guide that
gives you instructions on how to get started with a free online tool for
practicing this method. You can find that guide at audiouniversityonline.com/ear-training-guide/.
Now, I always demonstrate this technique using pink noise because that's the easiest
way for beginners to hear the vowel sounds for the first time. But it's a little bit
unrealistic. In a real world situation you won't be mixing pink noise. You'll be mixing music,
which is made up of many different instruments and can be a bit more difficult. Let's take a
look at a few examples that are more realistic when it comes to mixing a song in the real world.
We'll start by listening to drums.
I'll play it again with no filter and then I'll add the filter in
and I want you to listen for one of these vowel sounds when I do that.
You may have heard an "ah" sound when I switched on the filter. Looking at the guide
I mentioned at the beginning of the video, I can see that "ah" corresponds to 1 kHz.
Okay another example with drums. Try to hear the
vowel sound that pops out when I engage the filter.
Did you hear at that time? Here it is again.
This time 4 kHz was boosted, which corresponds to an "ee" sound.
Okay one more example with drums and then we'll move on to some other instruments.
Again, listen to which vowel sound cuts through the mix when I engage the filter.
This one's a bit more subtle, especially if you're not listening on
a good pair of headphones or speakers. Listen particularly to the low-mid frequency bands.
This time it was an "oo" sound, or 250 Hz.
Now, in these examples we were able to listen to both the unfiltered version of the drums
compared to the filtered version of the drums, which makes it easier to hear the change.
In a real situation you won't have that luxury. In a real mix you'll need to rely on what you
think sounds good and listen for which changes at which vowel sounds will help you get there.
Let's listen to this acoustic guitar I just recorded in my office here.
Now, this time I just want you to listen to the recording as it is and make a subjective judgment
on which vowel sound you would turn down in order to make the recording sound better.
Everyone will have a different opinion here, so you're not right or wrong. But in my opinion,
the guitar sounds a little bit boomy, which could be due to excess of "oo",
or 250 Hz. So let's try removing some 250 Hz to see how it sounds.
Of course, if it's possible I'd recommend just
moving the microphone until you find a placement that sounds good as is.
But re-recording isn't always an option and that's when a little bit of EQ can be helpful.
In all of the examples up until this point we've been mixing only a single instrument.
In a real situation - in a live performance or a recording with multiple instruments - you'll
need to listen to the mix as a whole. Sometimes soloing an instrument can sound terrible alone
but in the context of the larger mix it fits right in. Let's do one more example to get
a feel for making adjustments to a single instrument in the context of a whole mix.
I want you to pay special attention to the vocal in this mix. What do you think could be better?
[MUSIC]
To me it sounds like the vocal is getting buried beneath the acoustic guitar.
Now, there are endless ways you could address this problem. You could use compression.
You could use EQ on the acoustic guitar to create space for the vocal.
But for the purpose of this video, I want you to ask yourself "What additive
EQ - what frequency bands would you boost - in the vocal to make this mix sound better?
[MUSIC]
I think if we used an EQ to boost some of the higher frequencies in the vocal,
we would get a closer-sounding vocal. And it doesn't always have to be only
a single vowel sound. This high shelf will boost everything above 1 kHz. That includes
"ah", "a", "e", and even some more sibilant sounds like "s".
[MUSIC]
There might be a better way to accomplish this,
but I think that the vocal sets better after making that simple change.
Again, get started right away by downloading the guide -
audiouniversityonline.com/ear-training-guide/. But in addition to practicing with the free tool
you'll find in that guide, I think it's also very important to simply listen to
music you're familiar with as often as you can. Listening to music that you think sounds good
will help you establish a reference point in your mind between what sounds good and what doesn't.
Over time, you'll start to automatically recognize when a frequency band is too prominent, too weak,
or when it's masking another higher frequency band. All you've got to do is take it one step
at a time and keep practicing. Now, I will never claim to be the best mixing engineer in the world.
I'll never claim to be the best mixing engineer in the room. But what I know is that when you
practice, you get better. Hit the "Like" button if you enjoyed this video and share
it with somebody else who you think would find it interesting. I'll see you in the next video.