The human voice is a remarkable instrument that contains an enormous potential for creative expression. Through the use of melodies and lyrics, vocals are perhaps one of the most accessible and dynamic musical tools when used correctly.
Due to its accessibility and familiarity, a vocal is often the element of a song that people will be most drawn to and connect with the easiest. However, even if you capture an incredible vocal performance for your song, it still needs to be mixed correctly in order to maximise its impact.
In this article we break down some general tips for achieving a stunning vocal mix, and take you through the process from start to finish.
First Considerations
There are several initial things that must be understood when it comes to learning how to mix vocals correctly. Once you understand these fundamentals then you will be in a better place to start mixing your vocals and ensuring they are as sounding as high quality as possible.
Voice Types
One of the first things to consider when mixing vocals is to identify what type of voice you are working with, and the core characteristics of its sound.
Gender
What gender is the singer? A male voice will typically have a lower pitch than a female voice, and vice-versa. By identifying the gender we are then better equipped to make decisions around which frequencies to cut or boost for example, or how to set the volume level of the vocal. The human hearing range tends to be more sensitive to frequencies in the range of 2kHz-5kHz, meaning that generally a female voice will stick out more clearly amongst all of the other instruments in a song.
Voice Register
Going one step further than the gender of the singer, we can then break down the voice into what vocal register it fits into.
For male voices, most singers will fall into either bass, baritone or tenor vocal registers. For female voices, a singer will commonly fit into one of 2 registers - Alto or Soprano. Once we understand which register the singer fits into then we can adjust our mixing process accordingly. A baritone voice for example will require more boosting of frequencies in the mid-high frequencies for example than a tenor voice.
For more information on vocal registers you can check out our blog post on the subject here - https://www.controlla.xyz/post/how-to-find-your-vocal-register
Genre
Moving forward, we can now analyse the genre of the song and use this as information to inform our vocal mixing process. Styles of music such as rock or Jazz will generally suit a more gritty or raspy vocal tone, whereas for genres such as pop or folk, a cleaner and more pure vocal tone will be appropriate.
Vocal Style
The final consideration when mixing vocals is to then identify what style of vocal we are working with. Depending on what style the vocal falls into, you will take a slightly different approach with the mixing process.
There are generally 3 main vocal types you will encounter when mixing vocals:
Lead Vocal - The lead vocal track of the song containing the main vocal performance. This vocal should generally be front-and-centre and the most prominent ingredient for the listener to hear.
Backing Vocal - Backing vocals typically follow the lead vocals and offer harmonic support, or double up certain lines and phrases for added impact. Backing ovals are typically pushed further back in the mix, and may also be panned out to the sides in the stereo field.
Gang Vocals - Gang vocals are vocals that contain multiple voices singing at once as are mostly used for added punch and gravitas to the vocal parts in a track. When mixing gang vocals we are typically using them in a supporting role as the main vocal, so they will be mixed in a similar fashion to backing vocals.
Key Terminology
There are a few key terms to understand when it comes to mixing vocals which we will break down below for you.
Plosives
Plosives are bursts of low-frequency energy caused by fast-moving air hitting the microphone when certain consonants are pronounced, such as P, B, or sometimes T and K sounds. Impact on Mixing: They can cause unpleasant thumps or pops in the recording, which can distort or overwhelm the mix. To reduce the impact of plosives on your vocals you can use a pop filter during recording and apply EQ or automation to reduce their impact during mixing.
Sibilance
Sibilance refers to the harsh, high-frequency sounds produced by consonants like S, Z, Sh, and Ch. These sounds can become piercing or distracting if not controlled. Too much sibilance can make vocals sound harsh and unpleasant and draw attention away from the overall balance of the mix. We can remedy unwanted sibilance through the use of a de-esser plugin to target and reduce excessive sibilant frequencies.
That brings us to the end of part 1 of our vocal mixing guide. Stay tuned for part 2 where we will be getting into all things EQ and Compression as it relates to vocal mixing. Thanks for checking out this post!
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