Once I started mixing, I started wondering what separates good songs from the bad ones. The more songs I mixed, the more I noticed certain patterns or indicators for both categories, recording and songwriting. For me this was so valuable because I am new to song writing and wanted to avoid the mistakes that were not so obvious. Some are technical while others fall into a more creative or subjective nature. Most of this material can be found in various sites on the internet but I thought it would be great to summarize them here to help those that I work with or for anyone who wants to improve.

When a song is mixed, each instrument part has its own space in the song. If there are two or more parts that occupy the same space, then you typically wind up with a mushy, muddy sound. One example of this is two electric guitars that have almost identical sound. While this may make the song louder, it will not typically be better. One way to fix this would be to have one instrument playing an octave higher than the other one. A mixing engineer should not be trying to fix a problem like this. A great song will have been carefully planned out on what instruments and parts should be filling in all the spaces. It does seem like many of us have the urge to fill up the open tracks we have access to but that old saying “Sometimes Less is Actually More” holds true in so many cases.

This may seem like a contradiction to problem number 1 but sometimes instrument parts are too thin or are lacking in fullness. Or they may be too plain sounding. Adding additional layers can enrich the original sound, or end up with a unique new sound. In this case adding more layers is helpful. If you have two electric guitars, for example, one could cover the bass tones while the other occupies the upper octaves. Another very common example would be to take a few kick samples and layer them to make a single solid sound. One kick sample covers the sub bass range (low frequency) while another might have the punch of the beater (high frequency). These are complimentary layers and do not compete in frequencies. Many original EDM synth sounds are created by layering, but it is done with purpose and careful planning

Nothing is more boring and monotonous than hearing the same parts being played over and over without any change. As listeners, we always expect to hear a change every 4-8 bars. It could be a rhythmic change, or it could be a new instrument sound or even both. Sometimes more layers can be added for more subtle variation such as in a second verse or chorus.

If the song just plays at a single level, then it is hard to feel the change when the chorus hits. Taking parts away in certain places provides a level of excitement just as you get to a chorus. Many bridges are also less busy with a lower overall level just before the final chorus.

If the chords are almost the same in the verse and chorus, then it becomes hard to feel a real transition. It is better if the verse chords and melodies are distinctive from the chorus. Remember that a chorus should be the loudest, fullest, widest, and the highest and lowest notes of the entire song

Counter melodies may sound great on their own, but be careful that they do not pull the listener away from the lead vocal. A second verse may be busier than the first, but check it against the vocal and other lead elements and adjust/change it to fit.

Make sure to use the right chords that enable the verse to get to the chorus without confusing the listener. The change should be natural and almost expected. To give the impact, we often will use drum fills, risers or even drop out all instruments to make things interesting. Don’t forget to add cymbal hits where needed to accent the beginning of a new section

When you decide where you put your instruments, you will need to consider the overall balance. If you have an electric guitar on one side and an acoustic guitar on the other side, that may not work well. You may need to add another electric guitar to the other side and move the acoustic guitar toward the center. Again this takes a well-planned arrangement to sound the best