Teacher Training in Music Technology Courses
Mixing Techniques for Teachers
Mixing skills are critical for any student that wants to share their music with the world.
No longer do you need to spend a lot of money hiring a recording studio for mixing tracks to a high standard. The tools are now cheap and easily accessible to anyone with a decent laptop. However, most teachers don’t have a background in mixing, and feel inadequate when it comes to helping students produce their original compositions to the highest quality possible.
One-day workshops are good for giving an overview of the tools required, but teachers often come out of them wishing they had more time to develop the skills themselves.
This is a six-week course designed to give high school teachers quality instruction about the various parts of the mixing process.
Each week participants will receive/take part in:
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A one-hour tutorial on Zoom (usually on a Sunday or Monday evening)
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An information pack with readings and tutorial videos
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A weekly assignment to practise the skills they are learning (feedback will be given each week)
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A series of mini-tasks to practise concepts and skills
At the end of the course participants:
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will know about all stages of the mix process
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will have completed five full mixes
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gained greater confidence in their mixing skills which they can share with students
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will have a huge amount of resources they can share with their students
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will have developed their own course plan that works for their unique environment
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will have greater confidence using a variety of software music tools
Registrations for term 3 2024 are now available. Further courses in term 4 are TBC depending upon interest. Click here to register.
Depending on your level of prior experience the time commitment for these courses is most likely between 6-10 hours per week.
At the conclusion of this course you will be provided with a certificate of completion. In New Zealand this can be used as evidence of Teacher Professional Development for teacher registration. For Australian teachers, we are not NESA (NSW) or TQI (ACT) accredited but you can use these hours as Teacher Directed PD.
COURSE OUTLINE
BEGINNER COURSES Term 3: 18 August-28 September | Term 4 courses TBC
WEEK ONE
Overview of DAW’s
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Arrange window
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Mixer window
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Tracks – volume control,
pan control, meters -
Similarities between Logic, Pro Tools, Studio One,
Ableton, Reaper -
Configuring DAW with interface (preferences/
options menus) -
Assigning inputs for recording
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Recording on a track (with interface or through laptop mic)
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Exporting as MP3
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Assignment 1
– Record spoken word onto
a track
WEEK FOUR
Reverb and Delay Effects
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Reverb – basic settings
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Delay – basic settings and tempo sync
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Using on aux tracks with bussing
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Assignment 4
– mix with EQ, reverb and delay (multi-track files)
WEEK TWO
Balancing Tracks and Editing
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Setting up a DAW continued
– sample rate and bit depth -
Importing audio (stems)
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Creating a stable balance
with stems -
Editing audio – remove bleed in mics, creating fades, editing at zero crossing
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Assignment 2
– mixing with stems
WEEK FIVE
Recording live music
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Dynamic/Condenser mics
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Pick up patterns
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Stereo mics
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Recording ensembles
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Close miking band instruments
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Acoustics
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Assignment 5
– mix a full multi-track session
WEEK THREE
Using EQ
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Inserting plugins – EQ
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Parts of paramedic EQ
– gain, frequency, bandwidth -
Parametric EQ – how to eliminate nasty frequencies
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High pass on non bass tracks
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Assignment 3
– mixing stems with EQ, volume, panning
WEEK SIX
Exporting and sharing
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File formats (mp3, WAV,
AIF AAC, etc) -
Checking mixes on other systems (car stereos, bluetooth speakers, etc)
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Uploading to Soundcloud
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Matching with video in video editor and exporting to YouTube
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Assignment 6
– mix a student band and combine with video in an editor - upload to YouTube
INTERMEDIATE COURSES Term 3: 18 August-28 September | Term 4 courses TBC
WEEK ONE
Basic Principals of Mixing
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Overview of course
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Organising DAW sessions
– sends, returns, groups -
Mixer of the week
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Assignment 1
– Balancing tracks with volume and pan automation
WEEK FOUR
Compression
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Compression and limiting
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Significant hardware compressors and their software emulations
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Using a FET compressor
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Using ‘standard’ compressors
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Mixer of the week
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Assignment 4
– EQ, reverb, balance, delay and dynamics
WEEK TWO
Using EQ
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Types of EQ
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Corrective vs creative EQ approaches
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Tips for EQ’ing
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Mixer of the week
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Assignment 2
– Develop a mix only using volume, panning, muting & EQ (no other effects)
WEEK FIVE
Loudness and Peak Limiting Controls
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Limiters
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Loudness wars
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Peak limiter controls
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Using Ozone maximiser and alternative limiters
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Using Noise Gates
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De-essing vocals
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Parallel compression techniques
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Mixer of the week
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Assignment 5
WEEK THREE
Reverb and Delay
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Famous Reverb and delay units
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Creative use of delay
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‘Go to’ reverb settings
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Mixer of the week
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Assignment 3
– Develop a mix using EQ
and Reverb
WEEK SIX
Chorus and Flange,
Teaching Mixing to High Schoolers
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Chorus and flange
– synth FX on audio -
Resources for teaching mixing
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Assignment 6
– compile teaching plan for mixing with your students
ADVANCED COURSES Term 3: 18 August-28 September | Term 4 courses TBC
WEEK ONE
EQ, editing and general
mix techniques
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Top down mixing
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Mix organisation
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Gain staging
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Tuning vocals
WEEK FOUR
Shaping tools
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De-essing with side chain compression
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Dynamic EQ
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Multiband compression
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Exciters
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Transient shaping
WEEK TWO
Advanced Compression
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Types of compressors
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Which instruments to use them on
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Parallel compression techniques
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Using compressors and limiters in series
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Side chain compression
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Distortion and saturation
WEEK FIVE
Instrumental mixing techniques
Part 1
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Mixing drums and loops
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Bass and low frequency management
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Keys and virtual instruments/synths
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Special effects
WEEK THREE
Noise Gates,
and drum replacement
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Noise Gates
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Phrase correction
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Drum replacement
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Using channel strip plugins
WEEK SIX
Instrumental mixing techniques
Part 2
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Mixing samples and acoustic strings
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Acoustic and electric guitars
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Mixing doubles, BVs, harmonies
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High frequency management
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
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One of the following DAWs is recommended: Current version of Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper or Nuendo. Note that GarageBand is not recommended but we can make it work for the Beginner course.
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Recommended (but not essential): One year subscription to Slate Everything Bundle
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Recommended (but not essential): iZotope Music Production Suite Pro subscription
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Storage capacity capable of supporting large multitrack DAW sessions with up to 100 tracks of playback
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Audio interface
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Speakers/monitors and headphones
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Webcam
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Internet connection with at least 4 Mbps download speed (www.speedtest.net to verify or download the Speedtest by Ookla app from your mobile app store)
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Latest version of Google Chrome
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Zoom meeting software (available in the course when joining your first chat)
COURSE PRE-REQUISITES
In order to be successful in these courses, you should have the following requirements prior to enrolling:
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Basic multi-track production and mixing experience working with a Digital Audio Workstation, such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, Studio One, Traktor, or Ableton Live (this is less necessary for the beginner course)
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Access to basic equipment to mix engineer music (DAW, audio interface, monitors, headphones, plus the required plug-ins)
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Ability to write effectively and clearly when conveying information and ideas
Cost: $699 + GST (please note, non-New Zealand customers are not required to pay sales tax/GST).