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Great links. In post #3 below, the part about the brain is where my thinking was headed with my previous post.
He might be on to something. I feel we likely are mixing in a DAW, having tracked and soloed every sound or MIDI instrument individually, so we get to ‘know’ each sound in isolation. So if the brain is making note of how this sounds [which is where I was going with the playing by ear example], then we’re making a ‘memory’ of that sound as we go further into the mix.
The closer we are to a sound (increasing the volume, basically) the more our ears compensate and hear it. No different than the dips in a monitor’s frequency response chart where the frequency is there but not as loud. Plus, we sit close to the nearfields. So is it feasible that this is why we’re doing OK in mixing when technically the hearing chart says otherwise?
I usually have to turn up the volume on the TV to hear speech because I don’t sit that near to it and can’t hear it well otherwise, as opposed to the nearfields where it seems to me like I am hearing alright. So to me, it seems we are ‘tuned in’ and get absorbed in the mix which is kind of like being in our own little world at the time. Since we know the sounds that are supposed to be in there and what they sound like, perhaps the brain does the rest. I don’t know scientifically if that’s so, or just crazy talk…but that’s my experience, anyway. 😉
Art, I’m glad you brought this subject up because I’ve thought about it as well. I’ve had some hearing loss since childhood which has been noted in adulthood hearing tests too. What perplexes me is mixing, because it seems logical that one would overcompensate for the frequency loss. Somehow it just feels like when I’m mixing, I’m “tuned in” and hear it all including the little stuff.
I too use references and the analyzers only to check myself after making any moves, but I find I never have to back off. I also ask my husband if anything is jumping out or too harsh (says no), and then run the finished mix by a mixing engineer friend who also has great hearing. According to him, these mixes are fine. I don’t understand why. The doctor says it can’t be. I can only think that somehow total focus takes over when I mix. It’s baffling to me. From when I was a kid, I always played by ear which really was from my head or soul, so I wonder if it’s something like that.