Advanced Mixing Course Online
Accelerate Your Growth as a Music Maker From Anywhere in 20-Weeks
If you’re ready to take your music creation to the next level in a way that fits your busy life, you’re in the right place.
The Advanced Mixing Online Program from Dark Horse Institute is a 20-Week Certificate Program built on a real-world, hands-on, full-immersion approach to learning with a blend of convenient flexibility and personalized mentorship.
Modern Approach
Modern independent musicians and entrepreneurs, like yourself, are forging new ways to make and market their music. As an online student at DHI, you’ll learn the road-tested principles of the past plus innovative solutions to succeed in an evolving music business.
Personalized Mentorship
Classes are deliberately kept small to ensure you receive personalized attention and support throughout your program. You’ll pick up new skills quickly with so much direct support from industry experts passionate about helping motivated new professionals get ahead.
Learn from Working Industry Experts
You’ll learn directly from instructors who have decades of experience recording the “who’s who” of recording artists from all genres of music. They’ve worked on countless Gold, Platinum, and Grammy®-nominated albums and will be sharing their tips, tricks, and tools of the trade with you firsthand.
Real-World Projects
You don’t have to wait until after graduation to work on real projects. As a DHI audio engineering student, you’ll work on two real-world mixing projects during which you’ll build a professional portfolio and a public site to promote your work.
Accelerate Your Growth as a Music Maker From Anywhere in 20-Weeks
If you’re ready to take your music creation to the next level in a way that fits your busy life, you’re in the right place.
The Advanced Mixing Online Program from Dark Horse Institute is a 20-Week Certificate Program built on a real-world, hands-on, full-immersion approach to learning with a blend of convenient flexibility and personalized mentorship.
Modern Approach
Modern independent musicians and entrepreneurs, like yourself, are forging new ways to make and market their music. As an online student at DHI, you’ll learn the road-tested principles of the past plus innovative solutions to succeed in an evolving music business.
Personalized Mentorship
Classes are deliberately kept small to ensure you receive personalized attention and support throughout your program. You’ll pick up new skills quickly with so much direct support from industry experts passionate about helping motivated new professionals get ahead.
Learn from Working Industry Experts
You’ll learn directly from instructors who have decades of experience recording the “who’s who” of recording artists from all genres of music. They’ve worked on countless Gold, Platinum, and Grammy®-nominated albums and will be sharing their tips, tricks, and tools of the trade with you firsthand.
Real-World Projects
You don’t have to wait until after graduation to work on real projects. As a DHI audio engineering student, you’ll work on two real-world mixing projects during which you’ll build a professional portfolio and a public site to promote your work.
How It Works
This innovative advanced mixing program online, run out of the Dark Horse Institute located just outside Nashville, combines the best features of online learning, such as flexible schedules and on-demand content, with personalized face-to-face mentorship. As a student in this program, you’ll attend twice per week meetings over Zoom to learn directly from professional mixers and to workshop ongoing projects for helpful feedback.
Through the use of full-resolution audio streaming, screen sharing, and screen control features it is easy for the mix mentors and students to see, listen, and even interact with the mixing in real-time — a feature which is increasingly being used within the industry to collaborate on mixes from across the globe.
You’ll Learn
As a student in the advanced mixing program, you’ll get expert instruction and hands-on experience in a variety of interesting and important skills designed to enhance your abilities as a music maker. The following are some of the hundreds of insights and practical skills you’ll learn while studying Advanced Mixing Online at Dark Horse Institute.
The Perfect Mix
- Balance, Pan, Tone, Dynamics, Saturation, FX • Defining Critical Frequencies
- Building a 3D soundscape
- Using reference tracks to learn
- Monitoring Environment
Workflow & Repeatability
- Mix signal flow and Gain Staging process
- Building a repeatable workflow
- Prepping the session for mix
- Mix templates
- Analog Integration
- Shortcuts and Fast Workflows
Balance Week
- Mixing in mono
- One-to-one decision making
- Finding the relationships
- Tips for hearing balance
- Close/Distant placement
Tone Week
- Fundamental, Resonance, Character, Air
- Top to Bottom Placement
- Masking
- Harmonic Series and Resonance
Panorama Week
- Stereo Width and St. Placement
- Psychoacoustic Cues
- Wideners, smearing, and M/S
- Stereo Pan Law, importance of Mono compatibility
- Left/Right vs Inside/Outside
Dynamics Weeks
- Controlling Movement
- Transient vs. Sustain Control
- Macro vs. Micro dynamics
- When to compress vs. automate
- Listening for depth
- Clip gain vs. volume automation
- Building a song arc
- Automation tools, controllers, etc.
- Plugin automation
- Serial Vs Parallel Compression
Saturation Week
- What is Saturation/Distortion
- How does it affect the six mix tools?
- Retro vs. modern approach
- Utilizing analog gear and summing
Effects Week
- Ambience in nature (Literal Usage)
- Classic Reverb Sounds
- Non-literal effects usage
- Creating space and vibe with effects
Mid-Term Project
- Mix a complete song
- Mix prep
- Light Editing
- Mix Tweak Process
- Create Deliverables
Mixing Drums and Bass
- Gain staging
- Balancing close, middle, and far perspectives
- Kick/bass relationship
- Getting the low end dialed in
- Mixing low end for small speakers
Mixing Vocals
- Managing Macro dynamics
- Creative options for micro dynamics
- Compression techniques
- Creating depth with FX
- Creating space in the mix
Harmonic Mixing
- Stacking 3D placement
- Creating space and unmasking
- Prioritizing frequency assignment
Mixing Philosophies
- Top-Down Mixing
- “Brauerizing” Master Buss Routing
- “Hagenizing” Master Buss Routing
- Pros and cons of buss processing
- Pink Noise Balancing
- Speed Balancing
Unmasking
- Traditional Approaches
- Sidechains, Ducking compressors and multibands
- Soothe2 S.C. trick
Spatial Audio
- Surround sound overview
- Key mixing concepts
- Dolby Atmos Renderer
- Routing and workflow
- System setup and arrangement
- Binaural mixing
- Deliverables
- Mastering
Mixing for Picture
- Mixing dialogue
- Sound Design
- Loudness Standards for each format
Mastering
- Key concepts and workflows
- Using Mastering to expose needed mix tweaks
- Stem mastering concepts
- M/S Techniques
- Track sequencing
- Virtual Mastering Services
- Analyzers and meters
- Deliverables
- Encoding and Metadata
Final Project
- Mix a three song EP
- Prep mixes and editing
- Finding references
- Mix Tweak process
- Mastering
- Obtain Approval
- Create Deliverables
- Updated Portfolio and Web presence
As an Advanced Mixing Online student you’ll work throughout the course to create an album of radio-ready mixes, as well as a web-based portfolio to showcase their work and attract clients.
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the DHI advanced mixing online program are prepared to pursue a wide variety of interesting and rewarding positions in the entertainment industry, including:
- Live Music Engineer
- Recording Engineer
- TV/Video Scoring Engineer
- Game Audio Designer
- Live Stage/Theatre Sound
- Manufacturer’s Specialist/Audio Equipment Sales
- Radio Production
- Corporate Media Tech
And More
For more details on these careers,visit our Audio Engineering Careers page.
Learn From Leaders in the Industry
All DHI instructors are leading practitioners with years of experience in their field. Take a look at some of the incredible talent that guides this program and their incredible contributions to the industry.
Visit our team page to learn more.
Elliot Sabbagh
Ell is a DJ, producer, and engineer with a global reach. He’s toured with Afroman, ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, and many more. His production credits span ESPN, HBO, RCA, Sony, and Young Money. A Berklee alum, he’s passionate about mentoring new artists.
Rob Tate
Rob began his Nashville journey as FOH engineer for CCM supergroup Audio Adrenaline before co-founding a studio with Jay DeMarcus in the mid-'90s. He's worked with music legends and passionately helps artists navigate the evolving entertainment industry.
Dennis Ritchie
As a Grammy-nominated producer, Dennis blends studio design and mastering that have charting hits across multiple music genres. Some of his many credits include Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, and more, plus music for radio, TV, and film.
Sam Falle
Sam Falle is a producer and engineer with 20+ years of U.K. and U.S. studio experience. He’s worked with Ed Sheeran, The Struts, Clean Bandit, and Sony BMG. A former house engineer for Gilbert O’Sullivan, he now teaches at Dark Horse Institute while producing artists worldwide.
Requirements
Individuals interested in this advanced mixing course online will be required to have either graduated from the DHI Audio Engineering course, or to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the core concepts and competency within their DAW of choice. Students will be required to have their own functional studio environment to be able to work on the class projects and hear the lessons clearly, and a solid internet connection for live streaming
Is a Career in Audio Engineering Right for You? Find Out!
This fun, online quiz takes 3 minutes to complete and you’ll get a personalized report. Identify your strengths and social style plus the training and positions you’re best suited for.
See It For Yourself - Book a Virtual Tour
One of the best ways to see if the creative, collaborative and professional environment at Dark Horse Institute is right for you is to experience it firsthand. Virtual tours include an explanation of our audio program and curriculum, a video history of the school and more.
Is a Flexible Online Advanced Mixing Program Right for You? Find Out!
Fill out the form on this page and take the next step toward your rewarding future in the music and entertainment industry. You’ll get more information on all that DHI has to offer and a friendly and knowledgeable Admissions Adviser can help you to explore if online advanced mixing training is right for you.
To speak with an Admissions Adviser right away, give us a call at 1-615-791-7020
Nashville based Producer / Audio Mix Engineer who has had the opportunity to work on Grammy
Award winning album, “A Holly Dolly Christmas” with Dolly Parton. Kevin has also worked with
several independent artists in various genres throughout his career. Credits: Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton John, Dee Rock
Crystal Taliefero, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist that has been touring and recording with various
artists since the 1980’s, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Joe Cocker, Tina
Arena, Bob Seger, Brooks & Dunn, Richie Sambora, Elton John, Enrique Iglesias, Natalie Merchant,
Meat Loaf, Michael McDonald, Bruce Springsteen, The Northern Pikes, Julian Lennon, The Bee
Gees, Dolly Parton's "Two Doors Down", Steven Van Zandt, Mick Jones of Foreigner and Buddy Guy
among others.
Traveled
internationally to pitch music catalogs to post-production companies globally at trade shows.
Currently I’ve been working as a sound technician for the Harlem Globetrotters as well as being a
composer for Flavorlab and Invite Only Studios in New York.
“This was everything I wanted in a program; it was fast and to the point. I knew a little bit coming into
the program but this experience at Dark Horse really dove deep and I’m excited to take on the world
now!”
Griffin Albee is an audio engineer / musician based out of Nashville. Originally from Memphis, by way
of Colorado. He is open to any and all genres of music. Griffin has had the privilege of working with
Toby Keith, Jellyroll, Walk the Moon, and he is currently working as Front of House (FOH) with
Tenacious D and Pierce The Veil.
Emma is working full-time at Clair Global
(perhaps the largest live production company in the world)
as a rehearsal technician. This has given her the opportunity
to work with Greta Van Fleet, Blessing Offor, and Tucker
Whitmore to name a few.
“After taking Music Business, Audio Engineering and
Songwriting classes I now understand how the music industry
really works. My teachers were amazing.”
Massimo is a drummer, vocalist, audio engineer, and producer currently at The Franklin Theatre and The Ryman Auditorium as a live sound engineer. He has worked on several projects with Declan Weir Productions, Stonebrook Media, and with many independent artists on the road and in the studio. “It was a bit of a reality check to get a good grasp on the business side of things. It was so great getting to learn more about audio techniques. I knew a little coming in, but this really expanded on what I want to do and the course was great.”
Crystal has been working in the music industry for over 10+ years as an audio engineer, producer, marketing, and one on one coaching with artists. She has worked with artists such as Mick Mars (Motley Crue), MercyMe and many others. Currently she runs Edge 3 Marketing working with artists and clients. “DHI gave me the tools and knowledge I needed to be able to feel comfortable in any studio session. I was able to start working within two weeks!”
