by 
The Curious Bag
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Mixing music is a common stumbling block for amateur musicians venturing into recording. The individual drum, vocal and guitar tracks may sound great on their own, but putting the pieces together into an appealing recording creates an entirely new challenge.
Definition
Mixing music is the process of meshing individually recorded tracks into a song, as stated at PCMusicStuff.com.
Elements
Roland's guide to the basics of mixing recognizes four main elements: levels (volume), panning, compression and EQ (equalizing).
Effects
Effects are to be used in a simple, minimal manner, as encouraged in an article from TheWhippinPost.co.uk. Letting too many effects enter the mix can quickly cause a loss of definition and clarity.
Subjectivity
Paul White of Sound on Sound magazine states that sound engineers can approach a project many different ways and find success. Each song presents its own unique qualities, and how these qualities are mixed together produces the final result. In many cases, there is no wrong or right approach, only opinion.
Rest
Sound mixing is a time-consuming project. Paul White recommends resting your ears after several hours of mixing, then returning to the project with a fresh perspective.
Source:
SoundOnSound.com: 20 Tips on Mixing
PCMusicStuff.com: Music Mixing Tips
TheWhippinPost.co.uk: Mixing Music
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