Harmonizing Sound Layers: A No-Mixing Approach

Alright, we're going to examine a solution for layering a multitude of sounds that require little to no mixing. Instead, we'll focus on ensuring the correctness of your chord structures. This strategy is particularly useful when working with chords. Often, it's the rhythmical aspect of sounds that constitute a layer or make things sound cohesive, rather than the notes themselves. Let's delve into an example of how you can adjust chord structures and notes to create space for other components in a group of sounds.

Choosing the Right Sounds

I've preselected a couple of sounds from ANA that I want to layer together. The primary sound we're using here is a piano, but I aim to incorporate some synth sounds to layer this up and generate a rich-sounding chord progression. The sounds I have include one with a sort of hissy top end on these super saw leads, a synth stab with more midrange content, and a plucky sound with a nice attack.

The Initial Sound: Overlapping and Conflicting

Notably, the piano and the pluck, both having quite the attack, occupy the same space. Similarly, we have two lead sounds which share the same space. The piano, being quite full range, has a lot happening in its middle section. When played all together and run through a bus with an LA 76 compressor, the result is a powerful but messy sound. It's challenging to discern different sounds from each other due to varying loudness and the overwhelming mix.

Adjusting the Chord Structures

However, we can improve the layering by focusing on the chord structures. Let's first explore this layer. Quite simply, we're going to invert all of our chords to remove them from the piano's mid-range. We'll also eliminate the bass notes since they're not needed here. We're going to invert these chords and shift them slightly higher, maintaining the A minor chord throughout the sequence. This change alone brings about a marked difference; the notes, though different from the original piano ones, sound coherent as part of a layer and are no longer interfering with the piano's midrange.

Enhancing the Pluck Sound

Next, let's examine the pluck sound. The weight of these plucks is a significant factor for me. Given the piano's thin low end, I aim to bring out more of that low end. To achieve this, we'll retain the same rhythm but focus only on the lower notes, effectively doubling the power part of the piano.

Focusing on the Synth Lead Layer

Lastly, we'll focus on a layer that closely resembles the first synth lead, but with a pleasant hissy quality on top. We'll trim a lot of the chord content here, focusing on moving these notes into the higher registers.

Listening to the Harmonized Result

Now, having the same chord progression and rhythmical qualities, let's listen to everything playing together. The result is significantly clearer, and all individual components can be discerned. Remarkably, we've achieved this improvement without any mixing, save for a touch of compression on the bus.

Conclusion: The Effectiveness of this Approach

In essence, this approach is akin to mixing where the goal is to create space for elements within a part. However, instead of using EQ, filtering, or volume adjustments, we're merely moving the notes out of each other's way. We retain the same chords and the same feeling, but every element now has its unique space in this collection of instruments, making up this part.