One of the most elusive instruments to mix is the acoustic piano. Thanks to such a wide range of dynamics, tonal range, and overtones; there are virtually an unlimited number of sonic textures and moods you can produce from a piano recording.
It’s important to start with a good-quality recording before you start mixing. For tips on getting a good piano recording, check out this article.
When thinking about mixing piano, it’s easiest to think in terms of EQ, compression and reverb. If you’re going to have a stereo mix of piano, then you can add panning to that list as well.
EQ
It’s often best to start with EQ in your signal chain, so unwanted frequencies don’t get passed down to subsequent processing steps.
When equalizing piano, a lot of what you do will be determined by the other elements in your mix. It also risks muddying up your mix by interacting with several other instruments because the piano has such a wide range of tonality.
If you have a lot of bass and/or kick drum in your mix, it’s generally a good practice to put a high-pass on the piano around 200 Hz. To keep it in the back of your mix, behind vocals and guitars, you may want to dip the piano around 6dB at the 2000 Hz to 3000 Hz range.
If the piano is going to be a solo instrument in the track, then it’s best to only EQ minimally to your taste. However, ideally you would want to procure the tone by taking the time to place the mics properly during the recording process.
Compression
Like EQ, the application of compression when mixing will have a great deal to do with the context. What genre is your music? What other instruments are in the track? Traditionally, a more classical or jazz piece of music will try to preserve more of the dynamic range of the piano recording, while pop and country tend to use more compression.
If you’re wanting to preserve much of the dynamic range of your piano track, it’s best to try a smoother compression. Try setting the threshold to around -7dB, the ratio at 3:1, the attack at 10ms and the release at around 1,000ms. If you want to make it more aggressive, drop the threshold down and make the ratio 2:1.
In our next post, we’ll cover tips for reverb and panning.
Make Pro Songs
There are 8 unique value-points inside the Sage Audio membership, so let’s go over each one so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
1. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You’ll get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Get Access
2. 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio 1:1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us to answer all your questions and receive unlimited advanced mixing feedback directly from us.
- Unlimited direct access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve your mixes and masters.
- Unlimited advanced mixing feedback with detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Fast communication to answer all your questions and get tailored guidance that’s specific to your needs.
Get Access
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited mixing feedback so you can improve your mixes quickly.
- This is highly valuable - giving you access to a thriving community of mixing engineers who can provide feedback about what you can improve before sending your mix to be professionally mastered.
Get Access
4. Sage Audio University™ (SAU) — (Mixing and Mastering Education Platform)
- SAU is a modern audio engineering education platform that includes in-depth mixing and mastering course curriculums that match the new music industry.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from first-time mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout every course curriculum.
- SAU course curriculums include Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website, social channels, and portfolio for as long as you remain a member.
- Get first access to all future SAU course curriculums to continually build and refine your mixing and mastering skills as the industry evolves.
Get Access
5. Mixing and Mastering Competitions
- Compete in Mixing Competitions and Mastering Competitions to win prizes and connect with friends and colleagues.
- This is a great collaborative way to improve your skills alongside both aspiring engineers and seasoned industry professionals.
Get Access
6. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
Get Access
7. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content, Including:
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 58 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Get Access
8. 700+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into playlists so you can take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your mixing and mastering skills at your own pace.
Get Access
