While this may impact intelligibility (Mick Jagger, among others, was famous for vocal performances where people were not quite sure of the words), letting the instruments almost overpower the vocal (mixing the vocal “into the track”) can create the impression of a much more powerful, aggressive, energetic track-it’s a trick that mixers have used for years, but of course only for musical styles where a more aggressive track would be appropriate.įig 2 The right amount and type of compression is needed for vocalsĬompression is usually key to getting a vocal track to sit well against the mix, but too much compression can not only rob the performance of some of its power, but also overemphasize noises and performance artifacts. By contrast, in many rock songs, a lot of mixers shoot for a vocal level that’s just barely above the track. But it can also make the backing track sound less aggressive, and, in a worst-case scenario, a little anemic (lacking in energy). This not only puts the emphasis of the song on melody, but also makes for the best intelligibility, ensuring that every word of the lyric comes through as cleanly and clearly as possible. But there are different schools of thought as to just how loud and clear that vocal should be mixed-exactly what the optimal level will be may vary from song to song and with different different musical genres.įor example, in a lot of pop music, the lead vocal is often significantly louder than the backing track. Of course, the (lead) vocal is the focus of the arrangement (when the vocalist is singing), and so it needs to be heard clearly. But, like I said, the devil’s in the details, and exactly what level constitutes “just right” is not always the so clear-cut. Ok, so this is a pretty obvious suggestion-when it comes to the level of the vocal(s) against the rest of the mix, they shouldn’t be too loud or too soft-they should be set at the level that’s “just right”. Fig 1 Various songs and musical genres may treat the vocal a little differently, when it comes to level

Fl studio vocals mixing