Subtractive Mixing

Too often in life I try and add things to make things "better". When learning how to mix sound when I was eight or nine years old one of my mentors would always ask me "what could you remove to get the same outcome?" Now that's a good question.

When you're dialing in a mix, you might say to yourself "I want to hear more keyboard or piano" so naturally you are going to turn the keyboard up. Makes sense. But what if you try to achieve the same outcome but through different means? What else in the mix is drowning out the keyboard?

At our house, we try not to say "we don't have time for x" when in fact we do, it's that we did not prioritize x thus it did not get done. So when you want more of something I am challenged to come up with what might I remove to either make space for, or affect the same outcome, as adding that something.

In your life, do you have too much noise? Too much going on? Often I say "I need more downtime", or vacation, or maybe even money. If you were to turn up the keyboard in the mix, the whole mix is going to get louder. Suddenly you realize that you can't hear the backing vocalists as well so you turn them up, too. Then where'd the guitars go? Up they go. Suddenly you're dealing with noise noise noise!

Instead of more money, could you have fewer subscriptions?
Instead of more downtime, could you commit to fewer things?
Instead of more vacation, could stop working after hours?

Just like in mixing, don't always look to add, but look at what can be removed and you'll have a better time, and less noise.