In previous videos, I've introduced you to my
favorite ear training method for audio engineers. If you haven't seen any of my other videos on
ear training, here's the basic concept. You can learn to identify frequencies by associating
a vowel sound to each octave frequency band. This video is all about how to improve
your ability to EQ drums, vocals, and other instruments by harnessing
the power of that simple technique. But if this is our first time meeting, my
name is Kyle. Welcome to Audio University. If you want to get started right
away, I put together a guide that gives you instructions on how to get
started with a free online tool for practicing this method. You can find that guide
at audiouniversityonline.com/ear-training-guide/. Now, I always demonstrate this technique
using pink noise because that's the easiest way for beginners to hear the vowel sounds
for the first time. But it's a little bit unrealistic. In a real world situation you won't
be mixing pink noise. You'll be mixing music, which is made up of many different instruments
and can be a bit more difficult. Let's take a look at a few examples that are more realistic
when it comes to mixing a song in the real world. We'll start by listening to drums. I'll play it again with no filter
and then I'll add the filter in and I want you to listen for one of
these vowel sounds when I do that. You may have heard an "ah" sound when I
switched on the filter. Looking at the guide I mentioned at the beginning of the video,
I can see that "ah" corresponds to 1 kHz. Okay another example with drums. Try to hear the vowel sound that pops out
when I engage the filter. Did you hear at that time? Here it is again. This time 4 kHz was boosted, which
corresponds to an "ee" sound. Okay one more example with drums and then
we'll move on to some other instruments. Again, listen to which vowel sound cuts
through the mix when I engage the filter. This one's a bit more subtle,
especially if you're not listening on a good pair of headphones or speakers. Listen
particularly to the low-mid frequency bands. This time it was an "oo" sound, or 250 Hz. Now, in these examples we were able to listen
to both the unfiltered version of the drums compared to the filtered version of the drums,
which makes it easier to hear the change. In a real situation you won't have that luxury.
In a real mix you'll need to rely on what you think sounds good and listen for which changes
at which vowel sounds will help you get there. Let's listen to this acoustic guitar
I just recorded in my office here. Now, this time I just want you to listen to the
recording as it is and make a subjective judgment on which vowel sound you would turn down in
order to make the recording sound better. Everyone will have a different opinion here, so
you're not right or wrong. But in my opinion, the guitar sounds a little bit boomy,
which could be due to excess of "oo", or 250 Hz. So let's try removing
some 250 Hz to see how it sounds. Of course, if it's possible I'd recommend just moving the microphone until you find
a placement that sounds good as is. But re-recording isn't always an option and
that's when a little bit of EQ can be helpful. In all of the examples up until this point
we've been mixing only a single instrument. In a real situation - in a live performance or
a recording with multiple instruments - you'll need to listen to the mix as a whole. Sometimes
soloing an instrument can sound terrible alone but in the context of the larger mix it fits
right in. Let's do one more example to get a feel for making adjustments to a single
instrument in the context of a whole mix. I want you to pay special attention to the vocal
in this mix. What do you think could be better? [MUSIC] To me it sounds like the vocal is getting
buried beneath the acoustic guitar. Now, there are endless ways you could address
this problem. You could use compression. You could use EQ on the acoustic
guitar to create space for the vocal. But for the purpose of this video, I
want you to ask yourself "What additive EQ - what frequency bands would you boost -
in the vocal to make this mix sound better? [MUSIC] I think if we used an EQ to boost some
of the higher frequencies in the vocal, we would get a closer-sounding vocal.
And it doesn't always have to be only a single vowel sound. This high shelf will
boost everything above 1 kHz. That includes "ah", "a", "e", and even some
more sibilant sounds like "s". [MUSIC] There might be a better way to accomplish this, but I think that the vocal sets better
after making that simple change. Again, get started right away
by downloading the guide - audiouniversityonline.com/ear-training-guide/.
But in addition to practicing with the free tool you'll find in that guide, I think it's
also very important to simply listen to music you're familiar with as often as you can.
Listening to music that you think sounds good will help you establish a reference point in your
mind between what sounds good and what doesn't. Over time, you'll start to automatically recognize
when a frequency band is too prominent, too weak, or when it's masking another higher frequency
band. All you've got to do is take it one step at a time and keep practicing. Now, I will never
claim to be the best mixing engineer in the world. I'll never claim to be the best mixing engineer
in the room. But what I know is that when you practice, you get better. Hit the "Like"
button if you enjoyed this video and share it with somebody else who you think would find
it interesting. I'll see you in the next video.
