GarageBand For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 10

Mixing Tracks into Songs

IN THIS CHAPTER

Finding out what mixing is

Setting levels

Panning tracks left or right

Adding effects

Doubling tracks

The tracks are in the can. You’ve edited, tweaked, and cleaned each track until it’s the best it can be, and added a few more tracks to sweeten your project. Now you're ready to convert that pile of individual tracks into a song. I’m talking, of course, about mixing.

In this chapter, you learn what mixing is, and then you discover how to mix a song. You conclude with an age-old studio trick that can make your mix better with little effort.

What Is Mixing?

When you’ve done all you can with individual tracks, it is time to blend them harmoniously by mixing the tracks together to create a stereo track you can master and then export, listen to, and share with others.

Here’s how mixing works. Play each track and do the following:

1. Set its level so it blends harmoniously with the others.
2. Set its pan (left/right) to place this instrument ...