Question 1 answered
Keep the questions coming, I'll answer as many as i can - Ken
This question comes from Dimitar from Bulgaria.....
"How can you work on, or mix a song, when you don't like it or you see that this song has no potential (polite for a bad musicianship in a particular peace)"
Thanks Dimitar, thats a very easy one for me to answer as I've had to answer this question to myself hundreds of times. I'll speak only from my personal beliefs and not try to preach toooo much.
The first issue is whether this is a professional gig (in other words are you being hired to do a job), or is this a personal session. If your working on a song just to help out a friend, or in school or in some circumstance other than a professional environment. If the song you are working on falls into this more personal category, then i think you need to ask yourself if your time is better spent doing other things, working on other songs, or working on the song at hand. Only you have the answer to that question.
However, speaking as a professional who is hired to work on a different song every day, obviously some songs are better than others, some musicians are better than others, and everybody is in a different stage of their development. For instance, i helped Just Blaze mix a few of his beats when he was just getting started, and also showed him alot of engineering techniques. He was an intern at the studio I was doing a project out of, and had no industry placements and no credits yet. I just helped him out because he always helped me on my sessions. I could have easily said to myself "I'm not wasting my time helping some intern mix some beats that i dont care about", but i helped him because i love to make music, and he had always helped me. Little did i know that he would go on to become "THE" Just Blaze and hire me to do artists like Usher, Lenny Kravitz, and the Beastie Boys. I took him seriously when he was learning and developing his craft, and that good karma came back to reward me in ways i could have never forseen.
But as a professional hired to sometimes produce, sometimes mix, sometimes record or perform, quite often on songs i dont initially think are very good, I realize that I am not being hired to dislike their music. I am being hired to help that person make the most amazing representation of that song that can be made, and they are paying me to do it. I dont get the luxury of doing a bad job because i have a bad first impression of the music. Do you know how many long term clients I've earned because i took a song that they had a vision for but not the skills to turn it into a great song, and I took it under my wing and worked it until it sounded like what they envisioned. The "bad" songs are often the most fun for me to mix because it really tests my skills both technically and creatively. Its much easier to make a great song sound good than a not so great song, but as a professional, I love to constantly challenge myself to get better, improve, find new techniques, new ideas. How else really am i going to get better? Sure i get better every time i mix a great song too, they certainly pose their own set of challenges.
Lets face it, nobody loves their job every day. But that doesnt mean that you do a bad job on the days your not inspired. The truly great people in this business (and i hope to be one someday) find inspiration not from what they are given, but inspiration from within, to always give 100% of their ability, to always strive to do the best work they can do regardless of the circumstance, because at the end of the day, i want to look in the mirror and know I've done my best work. I strive to treat every client equally from Mariah Carey to Kanye West to the smallest unsigned artist.
One last note. Keep in mind that keeping your musical skills sharp is crucial. If i only bring out my "A Game" for my big clients, then maybe my A Game wont be as razor sharp as if i bring my A Game to work with me every single day. Every day is a job but every day is also practice and preparation so that you are ready when the career changing opportunities present themselves. And again, you never know when you'll stumble upon that big opportunity. ALOT of the biggest selling records I've ever worked on, i had no idea they were going to be big when i was actually doing the work. Maybe the fact that i cared enough to do my best work on those records helped make a difference in how well those records were recieved in the marketplace. Something to think about.
Next Question?
-Ken Lewis
This question comes from Dimitar from Bulgaria.....
"How can you work on, or mix a song, when you don't like it or you see that this song has no potential (polite for a bad musicianship in a particular peace)"
Thanks Dimitar, thats a very easy one for me to answer as I've had to answer this question to myself hundreds of times. I'll speak only from my personal beliefs and not try to preach toooo much.
The first issue is whether this is a professional gig (in other words are you being hired to do a job), or is this a personal session. If your working on a song just to help out a friend, or in school or in some circumstance other than a professional environment. If the song you are working on falls into this more personal category, then i think you need to ask yourself if your time is better spent doing other things, working on other songs, or working on the song at hand. Only you have the answer to that question.
However, speaking as a professional who is hired to work on a different song every day, obviously some songs are better than others, some musicians are better than others, and everybody is in a different stage of their development. For instance, i helped Just Blaze mix a few of his beats when he was just getting started, and also showed him alot of engineering techniques. He was an intern at the studio I was doing a project out of, and had no industry placements and no credits yet. I just helped him out because he always helped me on my sessions. I could have easily said to myself "I'm not wasting my time helping some intern mix some beats that i dont care about", but i helped him because i love to make music, and he had always helped me. Little did i know that he would go on to become "THE" Just Blaze and hire me to do artists like Usher, Lenny Kravitz, and the Beastie Boys. I took him seriously when he was learning and developing his craft, and that good karma came back to reward me in ways i could have never forseen.
But as a professional hired to sometimes produce, sometimes mix, sometimes record or perform, quite often on songs i dont initially think are very good, I realize that I am not being hired to dislike their music. I am being hired to help that person make the most amazing representation of that song that can be made, and they are paying me to do it. I dont get the luxury of doing a bad job because i have a bad first impression of the music. Do you know how many long term clients I've earned because i took a song that they had a vision for but not the skills to turn it into a great song, and I took it under my wing and worked it until it sounded like what they envisioned. The "bad" songs are often the most fun for me to mix because it really tests my skills both technically and creatively. Its much easier to make a great song sound good than a not so great song, but as a professional, I love to constantly challenge myself to get better, improve, find new techniques, new ideas. How else really am i going to get better? Sure i get better every time i mix a great song too, they certainly pose their own set of challenges.
Lets face it, nobody loves their job every day. But that doesnt mean that you do a bad job on the days your not inspired. The truly great people in this business (and i hope to be one someday) find inspiration not from what they are given, but inspiration from within, to always give 100% of their ability, to always strive to do the best work they can do regardless of the circumstance, because at the end of the day, i want to look in the mirror and know I've done my best work. I strive to treat every client equally from Mariah Carey to Kanye West to the smallest unsigned artist.
One last note. Keep in mind that keeping your musical skills sharp is crucial. If i only bring out my "A Game" for my big clients, then maybe my A Game wont be as razor sharp as if i bring my A Game to work with me every single day. Every day is a job but every day is also practice and preparation so that you are ready when the career changing opportunities present themselves. And again, you never know when you'll stumble upon that big opportunity. ALOT of the biggest selling records I've ever worked on, i had no idea they were going to be big when i was actually doing the work. Maybe the fact that i cared enough to do my best work on those records helped make a difference in how well those records were recieved in the marketplace. Something to think about.
Next Question?
-Ken Lewis
posted by Protools Mixing at 6:32 PM
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