Have you ever turned on the radio and been immediately hooked by a song? There's something about it you ponder that you keep coming back to and your not sure why. Generally mixing is the process by which tracks in a musical composition be it a song or instrumental are carefully calibrated in order to reach a sonic equilibrium or balance between the instruments.
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To elaborate, finding the " perfect " balance between tracks is key, even one track that hasn't been mixed down correctly can affect the overall effect of the music. For example, too much reverb on the vocal can make it sound overly roomy so this might sound a bit out of place if the other tracks or instrumentation aren't so reverb heavy.
This leads me on to the next question. Is mixing an art or a science? Well, in truth it's a bit of both, there is absolutely a fundamental technical aspect to mixing which requires an effective producer to utilise the tools in their mixing " tool box " in the right way to achieving the desired overall sound. Then there are differences between producers in the way they prefer to mix.
At the same time, there is a lot of middle ground for producers to just get creative with the way they mix. Every good mixer knows what makes a "bad" mix, so generally amongst sound engineers and mixers they might all agree if there is a poorly mixed composition, for example if clipping or distortion occurs then clearly a good "mixer" should detect this. But once all technical discrepancies have been identified then mixing styles and preferences may come into effect. This perhaps can be seen as the more "creative" side to mixing.
Mixers and producers work closely with the artists to determine the overall styling of their sound. This requirement can vary depending on the artist and song. For example the "sound" for a female pop artist may differ noticeably from the sound preferred by a male rock artist. If there are electronic elements in the Pop composition and more acoustic elements in the rock composition/production then the way the tracks are mixed have to factor such differences in the nature of sounds used. For example, the same amount of distortion applied on a Mastering Services guitar track may not work as effectively on a synth program. To elaborate, if it causes the synth program to become unnaturally warped in it's character then the effect of applying the same amount of distortion in relation to the guitar track has effectively diminished or reduced the tonal quality of the synth program.
So to summarize, mixing is a combination of identifying technical discrepancies that can result in a "poorly mixed" recording, understanding the vision and sound the artist is looking for and requires and being creative in your own mixing styles and preferences, hopefully to create something that people might consider "cool".
Audio production software allows one to create and mix music, podcasts, voices or diction. Music production can also be in the form of MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) or audio recordings. MIDI recording is done through playing of music synthesizer or drum pads or whichever other suitable instrument that is connected to the computer through the MIDI interface. Audio recording is done through connecting a microphone or mixing board to a computer's sound card. The audio production software tools make the process of producing tracks much easier and the outcome is of much better quality.
Steinberg Cubase 5 is the newest generation of Cubase that's got more power and flexibility than the previous versions. Some of its features include MIDI/compositional tools i.e. Key Editor which is a transparent tool that in development of melodies, chords and performances and ensures that generated ideas are developed to their full potential. Score Editor is a notional environment that enables one to view music in form of musical scores.
Another feature is the next-generation audio engine that delivers clear 32-bit floating-point resolution and 96 kHz rate for optimal sound quality. Control Room is another feature of Cubase 5 which is a recording and monitoring environment that is integrated with performance mixes into the recording and mixing workflow.
Behringer energyXT Plus audio production software has incorporated technology to expand ReWire compatible devices with audio recording and VST instruments as well as effects. It has flexible audio and MIDI routing of ReWire instruments, it supports multi-channel audio and gives a chance for synchronizing playback or using fully-fledged sequencers inside the energy XT2.5 Plus which is the latest version. This software is mostly used for digital recording of musical ideas into MP3. It allows one to record vocals to the computer using an USB interface then the ability to copy, paste, edit, add effects and mix the tracks according to ones wish.
Cakewalk audio production software is used for both MIDI and audio recording. This software has specialized customized features called key bindings that allow a Cakewalk function to be assigned a key on either the MIDI controller or computer keystroke. Thus it's possible to perform note and pedal combinations to record and playback without having to physically move as the MIDI controller is some distance from the computer keyboard.
PreSonus Studio One Pro audio production software uses the Mac operating system and Windows XP/Vista to make audio recording and MIDI sequencing. Some of the features of this software include 64-bit audio engine, PreSonus native effects and 64-bit plug-in library. It also has 26 dynamic processors, sound modulation devices, amp simulators and reverbs.
Ableton Live audio production software provides an intuitive interface for songwriting, recording, remixing and DJing. Its features include 32-bit of quality recording, creative MIDI sequencing, 20 built-in audio effects, filters and studio compressors. It offers 2 software instruments Simpler for the creative and sample-based synthesis and Impulse for the dynamic sampled drums. DJing and remixing is made possible by use of MIDI-maps where one chooses from a list of popular supported controllers for instant mapping.