It’s very important to become familiar with and use great-sounding reference tracks. In an album, the loudness of one song may depend on the song before and after it, whereas the loudness of a single should be competitive with other songs in that genre. Keep in mind that we master for a specific context, be it an album, a compilation, or a top streaming service. For example, maybe one song needs a bit more top end, or the vocal isn’t loud enough, or track 5 of the album is much darker than all the other tracks. As you listen, take notes on what you feel needs fixing.
The mastering process starts with listening to the song or collection of songs.
Simpler is often the better path in mastering. If not, squash your ego and undo your last few moves. Make sure you keep listening back to the raw mix and asking yourself “Am I actually making the music sound better?” If it’s improving, proceed. My goal is to give you a map-an outline of the skills you need to develop so you can start mastering music. Studying the art of mastering will improve your mixing technique because, through mastering, you will develop a deeper understanding of how a proper mix sounds and feels. Mastering is a mindset that is different than production or mixing.
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You don’t need to use all the steps every time and bear in mind that there’s much more to mastering than just learning how to use the tools. In this article, you’ll learn the most common steps to master a song.