"Mixing To Standard"-New Mix Up

[hazineju]

Does anyone know what that means? On one of my critiques for an electronica song, the reviewer recommended mixing the song to standard before i resubmit. (he/she gave me an 8 for engineering and a 7 for production). The reviewer mentioned some pitch problems on the vocal, do you think that is what they are referring to, or does it mean i need to rework eqs, etc?

[hazineju]

yeah i totally agree about vocals, and pitch isn't usually an issue for me. interestingly this song has gotten forwards before without any mention of pitch issues. some people have eagle ears though, and i respect that. listening back i can hear some off notes here and there that i plan to touch up. the melody does have some funky notes intentionally (like the first phrase "do you FEAR me,") to give it a bit of a creepy vibe, but i don't think that's what they were talking about. (?)looking forward to your opinion, especially about "mixing to standard." thanks so much for helping me out on this and giving it a listen! here goes:Listing:S080225ELA wide range of great ELECTRONICA/TRIP HOP SONGS & INSTRUMENTALS from up-tempo club-like tracks a la the Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, and Fatboy Slim to mid- and slow-tempo tracks a la Tricky, Portishead, and Morcheeba are needed by a West Coast-based Music Publisher who typically supplies music to companies such as Muzak (tracks for retail shops, restaurants, malls, etc.). He's now expanding his repertoire and wants to find great material for the upcoming TV season, as he has numerous contacts in that world as well. Male or female vocals are OK. He's asked us to be extra selective in what we forward - he wants quality over quantity - so your vocal and instrumental performances must be excellent. And your tracks/songs also need to be of the highest qualityCritique:Music - 8Lyrics - 7Marketability - 7Arrangement - 7Production - 7Engineering - 8Musicianship - 7Lead Vocal - 7I thoroughly enjoyed the music track and emotion that this track carries. However, there are moments when the vocalist seemed to have had a few pitch recognition challenges throughout the song. The Style and approach taken was truly 'on target', andthe vocalist's tone was simply heavenly and the interpretation was perfect. However, there were notes in the harmony parts as well as the main vocal that might have made it difficult to enjoy this piece. (that's an ouch, baby ) - Consider applying autotune to each vocal track or rerecording the necessary parts by going back and simply 'punching in' the phases or words that are out of tune. -Consider mixing to standard before resubmissionHere is the link:http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... 1&stream=1

[allends]

Apr 27, 2008, 5:59pm, hazineju wrote:... i listened to shamaness, that's an awesome track, and i love the vocal!... I am glad to learn that the example I used was helpful to you. I thought maybe I was out of line because the two songs aren't similar in many ways.Last year I received a negative comment from a screener who said my tracks were not broadcast quality. Now I feel the need to help others by sharing what I have learned since then.Good Luck,Allen

[hummingbird]

May 21, 2008, 1:11pm, jeffabbey wrote:Mixing is an art within itself and should not be part of the Musician's critique.The critiquers of TAXI should be judging the song and musicianship only and should know that on all professional recordings that it is not the musician who does the mixing, but that this is hired out to a profesional in this field.JeffHi Jeff - you would be right if this was a song pitch. However, this was a pitch for film & tv - meaning they are going to use the track as is, and therefore it must be well-mixed and reach the standard of "broadcast quality".ergo... "...wants to find great material for the upcoming TV season, as he has numerous contacts in that world as well. Male or female vocals are OK. He's asked us to be extra selective in what we forward - he wants quality over quantity - so your vocal and instrumental performances must be excellent. And your tracks/songs also need to be of the highest quality"Secondly I disagree with this statement: "on all professional recordings it is not the musician who does the mixing, this is hired out to a professional in this field." - that may be true for some of the songwriters here, but many of us do (or aspire to) mix our own work, with the aim of pitching it to film & tv as well as other opportunities.Therefore it is *crucial* that the mixing or production of a piece submitted to a film/tv listing be screened as well as the composition of the piece itself. In fact, this has been the hugest learning curve for me and the feedback from Taxi screeners and my peers on this forum have played a major role in my growth as a producer.One of the things we discuss a lot here is how to target our submissions effectively, and that means, paying close to attention to the wording of the listing, listening to the 'a la's' provided and trying to honestly assess whether we will be "on target for the listing" in every way.I'm sure you didn't read the text of the listing before making your post, so it's understandable that you might have misunderstood what we were discussing & why production would matter in this instance.warmlyHummin'bird

[sgs4u]

No apology deeded whatsoever. I'm totally fine with you disagreeing. I think you just earned yourself official Dot status. Except, Vikka made the point, that actually matters. For this listing, the client wants to be able to use the track, as is. Without re-recording it. This part of the listing description,Quote:He's asked us to be extra selective in what we forward - he wants quality over quantity - so your vocal and instrumental performances must be excellent. And your tracks/songs also need to be of the highest qualitymakes your point Quote:(The critiquers of TAXI should be judging the song and musicianship only and should know that on all proffesional recordings that it is not the musician who does the mixing, but that this is hired out to a profesional in this feild.) moot I repeat for emphasis Quote:tracks/songs also need to be of the highest qualityeht trooth is rIIeeete thre ina lsistink C?Submitting a track to this listing that has everything but the mix, up to the highest quality, would be worth learning from. I just wouldn't be surprised if it didn't forwarded because of anything sub-standard, in the mix. and I wouldn't be surprised even if the MIX was perfect, either. It all depends on what the screener knows about the listing/party's, intentions, and what they deem to be the "highest quality". And I know they won't be fuzzy about deciding what is highest quality to them. If it's close to what they're looking for, it'll get forwarded. But NOT if the mix is sub-standard, which could mean a lot of different mix/arrangement issues. Personally, I've learned to be Ok with this. And the bonus is, it's pushed the mixes of my tunes, to be better.

[Mark Kaufman]

Hi Jeff,Perhaps you're right, and mixing certainly is an art. TAXI has encouraged many of us to learn more than we ever thought possible, and to actually wear ALL the hats. But even if one was only a musician, the fact remains that a critique of any submission can only come back to the submitter. So whatever needs to be addressed is said right there to that person...it's up to the musician to correct it, even if that means bringing it to a professional engineer. Can't expect TAXI to ring up a third party for the critiques.Listen to some of this stuff...man, most of these musicians can produce like pros. Cheers,-Mark

[sgs4u]

Being a DOT is a good thing. You were willing to argue your point with me, that's also a good thing. Relax. I like you. May 21, 2008, 3:35pm, jeffabbey wrote:Hello Humming’Bird,You are correct in your entire statement to me in that I did not read the entire post to understand just what you were talking about. Thus my error in making the post. But I’m sure that it will not be my last. And so I thank you for your gracious response.And to Steve, I offer my sincerest apology for my previous statement.So from now on I will read entire post prior to posting.However, while writing this post on my second monitor, in Microsoft word to correct my spelling, I see that Steve now will not accept my apology and that he has awarded me a Dot status. Very well… but you have still neither frustrated me nor have discouraged me. I’m here simply having a good time and will continue to do so regardless of my Dot status.I would like to thank the both of you for bringing this to my attention,Jeff

[anne]

Hi Jeff - nice to meet you. I'm glad to see someone else debate a point besides ol' Steve there Do you mix your own material or do you send it out? I'm just wondering. I mix mine, and record / mix other people's material. I'm finding it harder and harder to mix my own material though! I was wondering if that is because I'm investing more time in my songwriting , and its just a natural part of learning to say "its done" at the right time. Welcome to the boards - Hazineju, I could only listen on my laptop speakers, so I won't comment on the mixing but it did seem a bit low on the levels. HTH

[jeffabbey]

May 21, 2008, 3:53pm, sgs4u wrote: Being a DOT is a good thing. You were willing to argue your point with me, that's also a good thing. Relax. I like you. Wow, yet another thing that I didn’t know about TAXI… “DOT is good”. But don’t worry about me being un-relaxed, (if there is such a word). I’m always relaxed.So I guess we can both look forward to future arguments.Thanks for dat DOT reward you gave me,Jeff

[Casey H]

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