Week 5

 I often go on walks to solve problems. My mind usually drifts through the immediate problems organizing my weekly schedule, pondering on a discussion question from class, or deciding I should stop buying Oreos when I go to Aldi. But the most common problem by far I take to my walks is the problem of my audio mixes. I am a part of the local Bloomington/Indiana D.I.Y. music scene and it is where I pour almost all of my passion. I love doing it and part of being a D.I.Y. musician is having to produce all of my own music. Even if I could afford professional studio time and mixing, I think I’d still do it myself just to be in control and better my craft. 

At some point in every song I find myself at a plateau in front of the computer screen and unable to figure out the minute problems in the mix. Is that guitar too hidden? Does the kick drum bury the bass in EQ? What’s that clicking noise? After so long everything starts to sound the same and solutions seem to disappear from my thoughts. I used to give up and come back to the song sometimes days later but it’s hard to get into the same state I was in when I was initially creating. Some mixers prefer the “car test” or sending the mix to others to listen. But I prefer walking.I remember reading an interview with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and he talked about his experience of taking a walk around a Chicago city block when he ran into musical plateaus. Reading this inspired me to start taking my songs with me on these short walks to give myself fresh ears and something else to look at and feel while I’m listening. I’ll pop on a pair of headphones and walk down Southdowns Drive towards Bryan Park or on my way to campus and let my legs and the song carry me. The steps always find themselves syncing up to the rhythm and the bird chirps and passing cars become part of the song. Sometimes I’ll get sick of listening to the song on repeat and listening to different music searching for answers in other people’s own solutions on their mixes.

Most recently while working on my song “Magnolia” for my next record, I could not figure out where to place the back up vocal in relation to the lead. While working on the mix I noticed the time and realized I needed to leave for class. Without listening to any music I huffed it to the Student Building. After class, I popped some earbuds in and listened to a new release a friend had suggested by a new band from Phoenix named Imagine We Had Antlers. I was intrigued at the raw production and the way the singer’s voice sounded in the mix. The way they split the lead vocal into two individual takes, one playing in the right speaker and one in the left, created so much space and character for each take to exist on their own. Once home I opened up my laptop and tried a similar move with the backup and lead vocals I was struggling with. Once again walking led me to the answer. 

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