Mixing philosophy

I am gratified by the response to Looking Up, both from customers who are ordering CDs/DVDs as well as those who are watching clips on YouTube.

Not all the response has been positive of course, and for a variety of reasons. However, the most common negative feedback has been in regards to a mixing decision: many have mentioned that the piano is not loud enough in the mix. In other words, it is often buried by the orchestra or band.

Some have even wondered if that is a mistake. The answer is no; it is an intentional philosophical decision. I have always tended in that direction though it may be a bit more pronounced in this project.

Again, mixing that way is a philosophical decision and it reflects how I view myself and my music. Because of the number of people that have brought it up, I thought I would explain myself.

First of all, I have preached on this blog for years that trying to impress people with technical ability is setting the bar too low. The bigger goal of music is to impact people. If you want to impact people, you have to make some hard decisions as a performer. There might be a time where you are really doing something wonderfully technical that supports the music but is not the main thing in the music. During those times, while it might be tempting to boost yourself in the mix, but if you do, you do so at the expense of the music.

Here is an example of what I mean. If you click on this link, you will hear “No More Night” starting at 3:20 in where everyone is building into a massive chorus. What I am playing through that build up and chorus is pretty technical (fast octave runs in both hands) but rather than pushing that up in the mix, we pushed it down so that you hear hints of those runs but not too prominently.

The reason why is simple. That technical stuff is not really what is important there. It supports where the arrangement is going but it is not what people should be focused on. I really do believe that the music I record should be bigger than me and I strive to make music that is bigger than me. Mixing decisions have to reflect that.

Second, I don’t see myself as a lead performer with some background support. The reality is that the musicians on every project I have worked on have been fabulous. That is especially true for Looking Up. Close to 100 musicians worked on that project and most of them are probably better musicians than me.

I see it as a true collaboration and it goes beyond the musicians. There were many dozens of talented professionals who worked tirelessly on that project in every way you can imagine. Without the help of numerous other musicians and technical people, Looking Up does not happen and honestly, what I do on the piano is actually a small piece of the puzzle.

The more important role that I take on is that of executive producer: developing and planning the idea, picking and arranging the songs, and putting together a team that makes the project actually happen. That is my focus and I don’t feel any need to show off on the piano to prove something to myself or anyone else. My goal is just to produce high impact music. If I can do that, I am happy regardless of how loud the piano is in the mix.

And the last reason I want the piano mixed down is because of the way the music is written. I am always comfortable giving up melody to the orchestra and I like featuring other instruments in the band, letting them solo even if not playing melody. The goal is for the piano to be out front only when I have melody or am doing an improvisational solo of some sort. On most songs, there is a lot of trading going on. In songs like “Brethren We Have Met To Worship,” every instrument gets an entire verse to be featured.

I haven’t spent much time going through the project counting minutes, but I would suspect that piano is out front between 50-60% of the time. I am pretty happy with that actually. For what I am trying to do, that is about right.

Remember this: Christian performance is not about a performer. It is about music and the music is about God. If you keep that order of priorities in your mind, you are more likely to create high impact music–music that hits people in the gut and makes them want to listen again and again. Whether I achieved that with Looking Up is not clear yet. But that was the goal and that drove the way we mixed it.