Learn The Art Of Mixing & Mastering

Bring Your Musical Visions to Life!

This class is designed to put the student in the driver’s seat. Every week for 12 weeks, student projects and mixes are dissected in a workshop setting to determine what works and what doesn’t using a set of specified objective criteria. This class synthesizes ALL of the subjects learned to date – from producing and arranging, production techniques, and audio engineering concepts – as the students realize what a piece of music must go through to be finished!

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Topics of the Class Include:

  • Maximizing song arrangement during the mixing process 
  • Dissecting & understanding emotional arc 
  • Delivery levels 
  • Balancing the elements of the song 
  • Advanced automation & FX 
  • Vocals and tuning issues 
  • Cleaning up noisy tracks 
  • EQ and compression in action 
  • Submixes 
  • Mastering 
  • Setting up Pro Tools for surround mixing 
MIxing and Mastering

Course Overview

There will be work due on specific days of the course.  The majority of projects will be done through in-class participation.  In-class assignments must be completed to pass this class.  Students are expected to participate in all class activities. 

  • What is Mixing?
  • Mix Planning For Ableton
  • Track Preparation & layout for any DAW
  • Gain Staging
  • VU Metering
  • Volume Balance
  • Panning and Stereo Width Techniques
  • LCR Panning
  • Difference between Pan and Balance
  • How pan affects volume levels
  • Creative panning effects using third-party tools
  • Explore different types of EQ software
  • Explore various EQ Methodology
  • Mud & unwanted frequencies
  • Cutting
  • Boosting 
  • Shelving
  • Exploring both primary and advanced uses of Compression
  • Exploring Native and 3rd party compression tools
  • Setting up Side-Chain compression as an effect
  • Inserted Compression vs. Parallel Compression
  • Explore Multiband Compression
  • Parallel Compression
  • Recreating our FX Sends in our Mix Session
  • Exploring the proper use of Reverb & Delay
  • Employing any final FX processing to enhance the mix
  • Time-based FX and dynamic FX
  • Processing w/ Ableton’s Drum Bus
  • What is mix automation
  • How to set up automation in your DAW
  • Grid vs Manual automation
  • Automation techniques
  • Intro to Bus or Group Processing – how, when, and why to process groups and buses
  • The number of buses do you need?
  • Difference between sub-groups and buses 
  • What busing or grouping do we/Pyramind recommend for a beginner? Drum bus, vox bus, instrument bus, etc
  • How to bus and how to process them using compression, limiting, delay, reverb, sidechaining, etc
  • Philosophies or personal anecdotes for a finished mix
  • Final touches to the mix before mastering 
  • Final Review of Mix
  • What is mastering?
  • Should you do your own mastering?
  • Reviewing your final mix
  • Preparing to create our Mastering Session
  • Creating a pre-master
  • Mastering EQ
  • Differences between mixing and mastering EQ
  • Mastering reverb
  • Differences between mixing and mastering reverb technique
  • Building a Mastering Chain
  • Exploring Individual Elements of the Chain
  • Frequency Splitting
  • Harmonic Excitement
  • What the bulk of the mastering process looks like
  • Frequency Splitting Rack
  • Harmonic Excitement
  • Mastering Reverb
  • Stereo Width and Phase
  • Mastering Tape Recorder
  • Secondary EQ
  • Other Techniques
  • Deploy the Final Limiter in your Mastering Chain
  • Explore AVID and 3rd Party Limiters
  • Metering and Loudness 
  • Understanding various types of Metering
  • The Loudness Wars
  • Loudness Deception

1-on-1 coaching

24/7 access to our extensive learning management system

group accountability

Andrew-Scheps

"As I work on a mix, the one thing I want is for it to hit me emotionally. Until it's doing that, I'm not done.."

Ready to Enroll?

Class Starts:
Monday January 8th 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Tuesday January 9th 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

  • In Studio Training
  • Day & Evening schedules
  • 1 three hour session per week for 12 weeks
  • book Personal studio time each week
  • access to our fully loaded studios with great mics & pre-amps
  • Join our in studio classes from the comfort of your own home or studio
  • Get all your burning questions answered
  • Unlimited access to our extensive online learning management system