Are You Taking A Break From Your Mixes?

Have you ever mixed a song, only to come back days later and hear something that just sounds totally off? If you have been mixing for any amount of time, then this probably has happened to you. You get an awesome sounding mix, spending hours upon hours, bounce it down, and think your done. Then you come back in a couple days and suddenly that snare is way  too loud. Or maybe that vocal is a bit too quiet. How we can fix this problem? Unfortunately, you really can't. Instead, here's what you need to do.

Get in the habit of taking a break from your mixes. 

Whether you are working on a mix for your own music or for a client, you need to get into the habit of taking breaks. This means spending the time you'd normally spend on a mix, but then take a break for a day or two. Don't think about it. Just a get away. This gives your ears time to "reset" so to speak. This is especially important when dealing with clients. Do you really want to send a mix to your client, only to listen to it days later and realize you have goofed something up? Probably not. So simply take a day or so break, come back, and give it another listen. You'll probably notice something off that needs to be fixed.

If you are spending more than three hours on a mix, you need to take a break in between. 

Not only should you take breaks from the entire song, but you might should take breaks during as well, depending on how long it takes you to do a song. If it takes you less than three hours on average to do a mix, then you may not really need to take a break in between, although you could still benefit from you. However, if it is taking you longer than three or so hours, you need to take a break. Give yourself 30 minutes and go grab a snack or go for a walk. You need to clear your head. I don't really understand all of the psychology behind this but I promise you that this will help. 

We can't always trust our ears, and sometimes we need ways to get outside of our own heads. The only way to do this sometimes is to take a break. This will not only save you time in the long run, but also help you get a better mix.


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