Music Production Session Preparation

1. Session Setup

The first thing I do when preparing the session is to load in a template.

• I quickly hide all the template tracks, leaving us with an empty session.

2. Importing Audio

Next, I import the audio:

• Finding Audio Files: I locate the audio on my device. These files are typically sent as a zip file, Dropbox, or WeTransfer.

Once I open the import audio page and locate all the audio files, I add them to the session.
Important: It's best to work in the sample rate that the session has been delivered in. In this case, we are on 44.1 kHz, which is fine.

• Creating Tracks: The software will prompt me to make a new track for each audio file. This feature is essential because it saves time by creating tracks automatically.

3. Organizing Audio Files

Upon importing, the audio files can appear chaotic. To streamline the workflow, I:

• Listening and Sorting: Start listening to the tracks while sorting and coloring them for visual clarity.
  • Drum Tracks: I find all the drum tracks, place them at the top, color them red, and group them.
  • Bass Tracks: I put the bass tracks underneath and color them green.
  • Percussion Tracks: I position the percussion tracks under the bass.

Note: Organizing files in this manner enhances visibility and makes it easier to work.

4. Session Example

I will now close the previous setup and open a prepared session:

• Visual Improvements: You'll see that I've already grouped the drum tracks at the top in red, making for a more user-friendly layout.
• Percussion Tracks: These are colored orange, showing that I prioritize working on drums first.

5. Stripping Silence

Another technique I employ is stripping silence:

• I use the shortcut Command + U (Apple U) to bring up the strip silence window:
  • This action strips out all audio areas where nothing is happening, making it easier for the computer to process only active audio.

Result: After stripping the silence, the screen displays where the action occurs, improving clarity and organization.

6. Final Organization

Continuing with the organization:

• Color Coding: I color the bass tracks green, guitars blue, and various keyboards in different colors.
• It can sometimes be challenging to categorize sounds, but adapting as you go is key.

Lead Vocals:

• The lead vocals are always placed at the bottom and colored pink. They are usually worked on once the rest of the mix sounds decent.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can create a well-organized mixing page that is much friendlier than the chaotic black-and-white view we started with.