What’s the difference between making good or bad mixing decisions?

For many, it’s the difference between looking and listening.

As modern music makers, we are constantly being lured into a world that shouldn’t be our priority.

We’re visual creatures by nature. It’s instinctive to judge the world based on what we see. This poses a challenge in music making, which has become increasingly visual over the years. Focusing on looking makes it harder to listen.

There’s only a certain capacity in our brain to process sensory information. If a large part of that capacity is used up processing visual inputs, there’s less available for processing what we hear.

I’m not a brain scientist, but the assumption is easy to validate. Close your eyes and listen without looking. It instantly becomes easier to notice things, right?

The modern music making environment has its perks — and its downfalls. It’s a blessing and a curse. I’m not here to turn back time, though.

But is there something we could do to help us listen better? I can think of a few things.

1. Focus on listening by using tools that offer less visual cues, like interactive EQ curves and spectrum graphs.

2. Invest in tools with great UI design — they’ll guide you and get you the info you need quickly. Result: Less time spent looking, more listening.

3. Use more outboard equipment and instruments. Get away from the computer screen — even for a bit — it always helps.

4. Use controllers that enable you to work without looking so much. Even if it slows down your workflow, it buys you time to listen better and make smarter decisions.

5. Use visual metering tools to help confirm what you are hearing or spot potential problems — but don’t rely on them exclusively.

6. Take moments to listen without looking at the DAW. Close your eyes or just look elsewhere. Take a pause and listen to it in another room/outside/on your phone speaker, etc

Remembering to listen properly when everyone else is focused on looking can be your competitive advantage!