What Notes Should I Send to My Mixing Engineer?
The most useful “notes” you can send your mixing engineer are usually your rough mix. It already shows how you hear the song, including the balance, vocal placement, effects, arrangement, energy and which elements are meant to sit at the front or disappear into the background.
Written notes are best used to supplement that rough mix, particularly where there’s a difference between what you managed to achieve and what you actually wanted. You don’t need to write a detailed professional brief or explain how every track should be processed. You just need to fill in any gaps that the rough mix can’t communicate on its own.
Start With Your Rough Mix
Your rough mix already communicates an enormous amount about the record you’re trying to make.
If you’ve pushed the lead vocal well out in front, I know it’s meant to command attention. If the guitars get louder and wider when the chorus arrives, I can hear that the section should feel bigger. If the vocal disappears into a huge reverb during the bridge, that tells me something about the atmosphere you’re trying to create, even if the reverb itself isn’t quite working yet.
The rough mix doesn’t need to sound polished for any of this to be useful. It may have balance problems, unfinished automation, effects you aren’t happy with or a limiter making the whole thing sound a bit battered. I’m not listening to judge your mixing ability, I’m listening for the choices and intentions underneath it.
You also don’t need to create a special new rough mix for the engineer if you already have one you’ve been listening to throughout the production. That existing version is often the most useful because it reflects how you genuinely know the song.
If you’re not completely sure what counts as a rough mix or what it should include, I’ve covered that separately in What Is a Rough Mix?.
What Written Notes Are Useful?
Written notes become most valuable when they tell me something I can’t clearly hear from the rough mix.
Perhaps you had a creative idea but couldn’t quite make it work. Maybe you removed an effect before exporting the multitracks, but you still want something similar in the finished mix. You might also know that a certain balance isn’t right in the rough, and you don’t want me to assume it was a deliberate choice.
Useful notes might include things like:
“I wanted a huge reverb on the lead vocal, but I couldn’t get it sounding right.”
“I removed the delay before exporting the vocal, but I’d still like a delay throw on the last word of each chorus.”
“The chorus should feel much wider than the verse.”
“I’d like the bass to feel more aggressive than it does in the rough.”
“The vocal feels too exposed in my version, but I couldn’t get it to sit properly.”
“I want the ending to become more chaotic than I managed to make it.”
“I really like the dark drum sound in the rough and would like to preserve that.”
“The first chorus feels too small at the moment, but the final chorus is much closer to what I had in mind.”
These notes explain the difference between what you managed to create and what you were aiming for. That’s much more useful than simply providing a long description of every instrument in the song.
It’s also helpful to point out things you actively like. If there’s a strange effect, unusual balance or deliberately rough sound that’s important to the character of the track, let me know. Otherwise, I may hear it as something that needs cleaning up when it was actually one of your favourite parts.
If you’ve removed effects from the files but want their general character recreated, include them in the rough mix and mention what you liked about them. My guide to leaving effects on when exporting multitracks explains when to send dry tracks, wet tracks or both.
Describe What You Want, Not How to Achieve It
You don’t need to speak like an audio engineer when you write your notes. Musical, emotional and practical descriptions are often much more useful than technical processing instructions.
You can say:
“I want the chorus to hit harder.”
“The vocal should feel more intimate.”
“I want the drums to feel darker and heavier.”
“The bridge should open up.”
“Please keep the vocal fairly dry in the verses.”
“The guitars should feel messy and aggressive without covering the vocal.”
“I want the last chorus to feel like everything has suddenly become much bigger.”
Those comments tell me what you want the listener to experience while still giving me the freedom to decide how best to achieve it.
You don’t need to tell me to boost 3 kHz by 2 dB, use a compressor at a 4:1 ratio or cut 200 Hz from the guitars. There may be a completely different way to achieve the result you’re after, and part of my job is working that out.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with making a technical request if you understand exactly what it does and genuinely want that particular treatment. The point is simply that you shouldn’t feel obliged to diagnose the technical cause of every problem. “The vocal feels harsh when the chorus gets busy” is already a useful note, you don’t need to identify the offending frequency yourself.
How Much Detail Do You Need?
Usually, not very much.
You don’t need to write an essay about the song, describe every individual track or repeat things that are already obvious from the rough mix. If the piano is quiet in the rough because it’s meant to sit behind the vocal, you probably don’t need a separate paragraph explaining that the piano should sit behind the vocal.
Focus on the things that matter most to you. That might only be two or three notes for the whole song.
If you’re concerned about one particular moment, include a timestamp or name the section so I know exactly where to listen. For example, “The backing vocals at 2:14 should feel much wider” is clearer than saying the backing vocals need work when you’re actually happy with them everywhere else.
You also don’t need to have every creative decision completely figured out before sending the track. If you know the chorus isn’t having the impact you want but you aren’t sure why, just say that. If you feel the vocal isn’t sitting properly but can’t decide whether it’s too loud, too dry or simply too exposed, tell me what you’re hearing and let me investigate.
It’s absolutely fine to leave room for the engineer’s judgement too. You’re hiring another set of ears partly because you don’t have to solve every problem yourself before the mixing even begins.
An Example of Useful Mix Notes
A perfectly useful set of notes might be as simple as this:
I’ve included the rough mix I’ve been working with. I like the general vocal placement and the darker drum sound, so I’d like to keep that overall direction.
The choruses should feel bigger and wider than they currently do, particularly the final one. I’d also like the bass to feel a bit more aggressive, but I couldn’t push it any further without making the low end messy.
I removed the delay from the exported lead vocal, but I’d still like a delay throw on the final word of each chorus. At around 2:48, I want the ending to start feeling more chaotic and out of control than it does in the rough.
Other than that, I’m happy for you to use your judgement and do whatever you think best serves the song.
That gives me a strong sense of what matters without prescribing every balance, effect and processing decision. Alongside the rough mix itself, it’s more than enough to provide a clear starting point.
What Else Should You Send?
Along with your notes and rough mix, you’ll normally need to send the individual multitracks for the song. These should be clearly labelled, exported cleanly and lined up from the same starting point. The full practical checklist is available in Preparing Your Multitracks for Mixing.
You’re also welcome to include a commercially released reference track if there’s something specific about it that helps explain your taste. References are optional, though, and they’re secondary to your own song, rough mix and notes. If you do include one, tell me what you want me to listen for rather than simply sending a link. I’ve written more about that in Should I Send a Reference Track to My Mixing or Mastering Engineer?.
The main takeaway is that there's no need to make things more complicated than they need to be! Your rough mix will usually do most of the talking, while your written notes explain anything it doesn’t communicate properly.
If you’re getting a track ready for mixing and you’re not sure whether your rough mix and notes give me enough to work with, you can upload your current version here along with a text document for your notes. I’ll have a listen and let you know if there’s anything else I need before we get started.