No matter what field you are in, stagnation is one of your biggest enemies. You never want to hit the point where you think, "Okay, I've got it all figured out now. I'm awesome, and there is no more for me to learn." On the contrary, there are always people out there who are better and smarter than you at what you do. If change your perspective and look at discontentment as a good thing, it will help push you to get better sounding mixes and recordings. Here's a few ways you can keep yourself moving forward and getting better as an audio engineer.
Know that your mix sucks.
Just go ahead and come to terms with it now. If you are new to mixing, your mix sucks. I know, you're girlfriend/boyfriend lied to you and told you it was awesome. It isn't. Heck, even if you aren't new to mixing, your mix probably sucks. But this isn't bad news! This is good news. When you are aware of the "suckage" of your mix, you can begin to improve. This is the first step: admitting there is a problem. (This sounds like therapy doesn't it?)
Compare your mixes and recordings with the pros.
If you don't think there is room for improvement, go ahead and compare your mixes with some professionals like Pensade, Lord Alge, etc. I'm pretty sure real quickly you will realize just in fact how much room for improvement there is. Reference professional mixes and recordings with your work, and it will help you tremendously. Not only will you realize where your song stands, but it will help you figure out what doesn't sound right and begin to improve on that.
Learn from those who are better than you.
Never be the biggest fish in the sea. Surround yourself with people who are smarter and better than you, and have done what you want to do. This may mean getting a mentor. Maybe you have a friend who has been doing audio engineering for a long time. Learn from them! And even if you don't, there are some really great guys on the web sharing helpful information that can take you a long way. Sure, there's a lot of junk out there too that will lead you down a dead end road, but if you find the right guys, you can learn a tremendous amount. I recommend Graham Cochrane, Joe Gilder, and Dave Pensado. All of these guys have YouTube channels where they share boatloads of awesome and helpful information for free. Check them out.
Don't get discouraged.
Discontentment does not equal discouragement. Discontentment is about perspective and should actually encourage you to do better! You are never going to be perfect and there is always room for growth. That's part of fun though isn't it? You get to constantly learn new things and grow as a musician and engineer. The only way you can grow is if you realize you need to.
If you put these mentalities into practice and work hard, your mixes and recordings will start to sound awesome. Learn from others, be discontented, and work really hard. Remember that even if you are learning a lot, you have got to put it into practice. If you are only mixing or recording one song a month, you probably aren't growing very fast. You should be doing maybe 10 to 20 a month. Imagine how much better you will be at the end of the year?
I hope this helps you get a good perspective on where you are and how you can grow as an audio engineer!
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2 comments:
I think there needs to be a balance between this and being confident. If you always think you suck, you may eventually get discouraged and even give up. I know as a musician I was more hampered by this mindset than helped, and I think it applies almost anywhere. On the other hand, being overconfident will keep you from improving and can also lead to arrogance, making it less likely people will want to work with you.
Glad you included the last section to balance it out. I think letting others be the judge of your work may be the best solution. If your clients are happy, be grateful but never satisfied!
Great points!
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