Get Depth and Space in Minimalistic Music Productions
Ways to Achieve Improved Depth & Dimension in Minimal Mixes
This article is part of the initial four posts I’m bringing over from my website to my new writing home here on Substack. It’s an important part of a series that was meant as a general guide to the mixing stage of music production—for anyone. While I have plenty of ideas for ongoing content on this topic, future posts will cover a broader range of topics, because there’s just a lot to explore. So, for those of you who have already read this piece, stay tuned for more in-depth posts on all kinds of subjects surrounding music production.
Here is a big one! Creating depth and space when your arrangement only consists of a few well-chosen sounds can be a real challenge, especially when the goal is to keep the overall sound uncluttered. In this guide, I'll explore various ways of adding dimension to your minimal productions without compromising their simplicity. Let's get into some creative ways of helping you inject that sense of three-dimensional depth into your tracks.
Using Ambience Reverb and Rooms
-Strategically and Sparingly
One effective technique for creating depth especially in sparse mixes is the strategic use of short, almost inaudible ambience and other room reverb effects. This method can help you achieve a sense of space without overwhelming the sounds themselves. Remember, a little goes a long way with anything I talk about in this post.
Reverbs can be used to place individual elements in different, or common to one another spaces. By applying a small amount of reverb to a dry signal, you can push it into that place, making it feel as if it's being heard in an actual room or hallway. And oppositely, keeping another signal dry can bring it to the very, very forefront, creating spatial contrast between the two.
It should be said already now, that I personally don’t like to keep any sound at all completely dry. Even the totally dry sounds in tracks I work on, have at least some small amount of its signal sent to either of the ambience room FX I am working with for the song in question. The key is to use just enough of spatial effect to create a sense of a certain sound being placed into a space, without making it even that apparent.
This can be especially effective for instruments like drums and percussion, synths or keys, where a small room or ambience reverb can add a touch of realism, without overwhelming the minimalistic nature of the mix. If these types of sounds are left 100% dry (and there are no room mics), they will just sound plain weird, and that’s especially true when listening in headphones.
I regularly work with having about 4 or 5 short room reverb-types, plates, algorithmic reverbs, or convolution style reverbs on different FX buses, and then I send different sound sources in varying amounts to these, until it sounds good and realistic to my ears. Some sounds may get a mix of a couple of different reverbs at the same time, others maybe only one.
I really recommend re-using the same types of FX buses in different songs, because you will get better and better at judging which ones commonly “belong” better with certain sounds, and which ones do not work well with others. Some of the reverb FX buses I have longer pre-delay settings on, others none. Some of them I pan slightly to the left, and others to the right!
To use ambience reverb and rooms strategically, try these tips
Select appropriate reverb types. For sparse mixes, small room, ambience or plate reverbs often work best as they provide a spatial effect without adding too much decay. Make them real short.
Play with pre-delay. Adding a short pre-delay to your reverb can help create dimension without smearing the original signal, and the effect becomes more audible so you can use less of it.
Balance wet and dry signals. Maintain the balance between the wet (reverb) and dry (original) signals to keep the mix clear and defined. For subtle spatial effects, I would not send more then -15 dB of a signal to a reverb (most of the time).
Incorporating Field Recordings & Organic Sounds
Adding texture and interest!
Adding field recordings and organic sounds into minimalistic tracks can add a layer of depth and ear candy that is difficult to achieve with synthetic sounds alone. If you are recording real instruments using microphones, this tip is less useful, but for electronic music this can do so much for your overall sound. These sounds can range from subtle environmental noises to more pronounced elements like footsteps or nature sounds.
Field recordings can provide a rich, textural layer that enhances the sense of space in your mix.
For example, adding the sound of distant traffic, noise or wind can create an ambient backdrop that adds depth without drawing attention away from the main elements of the mix. These sounds can be used subtly, almost imperceptibly, to create a more immersive listening experience. They can follow the rhythm of the track by experimenting with gating effects.
Organic sounds like the rustling of leaves or the clinking of glass or metal, can add a tactile dimension to your mix. These sounds can be used to accentuate certain elements or to create a sense of movement and space. By layering these sounds with your main elements, you will absolutely create a more dynamic and engaging piece of music.
Here are some ideas for incorporating field recordings and organic sounds
Ambient backgrounds. Use subtle field recordings as background layers to add a sense of environment and depth, and you can use sidechain compression or gating to make the sounds move along with your main sounds or rhythm.
Percussive elements. Integrate organic sounds as percussive elements to add a natural feel and texture, or add them around your existing percussion.
Movement and space. Use panning and automation to create sort of movement and interest with your field recordings.
Enhance Depth of Field with Brightness and Darkness Using EQ
EQ is a powerful tool for creating depth, front to back, in any type of mix. By enhancing or reducing the brightness of different sounds, you can create separation of what is a leading sound, and what is a background sound, quite literally. This technique involves boosting or cutting certain frequencies to make elements appear closer or farther away in the mix. It sounds simple, and it is very simple! But so many people don’t think about this in the right way when they are producing music.
Bright, clear, crisp and full frequency sounds tend to come forward (closer to the listener) in the mix, and darker sounds, with both less midrange and less treble travel further back. By listening to your environment in everyday life, you will notice the same: Sounds that are further away from you, are diffused and dark - while sounds really nearby are sharp, and undiffused by reflections from the environment.
So by boosting the high frequencies of an element, or simply leaving them intact, you can make it feel more present and closer to the listener. And the opposite, cutting the high frequencies, can make an element feel more distant and create a sense of space between the listener and the sound. Using an envelope shaper to reduce the initial attack of a sound, pushes it further back still.
Using EQ to balance the brightness, and darkness, of different elements—along with reverb and panning can help create a more spacious and three-dimensional mix.
For example, you might boost the high frequencies of a lead vocal to bring it forward, while cutting the high frequencies of a backing vocal, or background synth pad, to push them back. Usually you can go more extreme with the high cutting than you may initially have thought! This creates a sense of contrast between those elements, and you are emulating what would go on in an actual real world space. All we have as producers are direct sound sources and recordings, so we need to take the time to mimic what happens in a true space, if we want things to sound interesting to the brain. Of course real reflections can be recorded with a room mic, but how often do we put those on a synth or a drum machine? Once me and another producer recorded a bass sequence from a synthesizer with a room mic pointed at a bass cab in the stone staircase of my studio. But, it's important to note the word “once” there!
Some EQ mixing techniques to enhance front-to-back depth in your mix
Frequency cuts. Cut mid and high frequencies on background elements to make them recede in the mix.
Frequency boosts. Boost (or leave) high frequencies on lead elements to bring them forward and enhance their presence.
Using Long Reverbs and Delays for Distant Sounds
Long reverbs and delays are tools for creating an ethereal sort of distance and making certain sounds more “epic”. Their effects can be used to push some elements back, and create separation between them and the sounds that are clear and upfront. Contrast is what makes mixes interesting, and just like we need contrast with wide and narrow sounds in the stereo-field, we need contrast with distant/wet sounds, and those that sound nearby, direct and impactful. A sound fully drenched in ethereal reverb and delay, will never have the same IMPACT as a dry and therefore in-your-face sound.
Long, modulated reverbs can be particularly effective for creating a feeling of vast space. By applying a long reverb to an element, you can make it feel like it is in a large, open space, creating a sense of distance. This can be especially useful for elements like pads or background vocals, where a long reverb can create a floaty, spacious sound without overwhelming the rest.
Delays can also be used to create a distant vibe. By applying a long delay to an element, you can make sure that sound has the effect of surrounding other key elements, or adding a sort of glue to your whole arrangement. You should always be decisive about which sounds, and not just add lots of long delays to all your main sounds in a song just because it sounds cool - That's a sure way to get things muddy and unintelligible. I believe that many people add delay to lots of sounds, without really knowing why. Maybe to make them sound less plain and boring? I say dare to make your main sounds direct and impactful, and save long delays for the sounds that are supportive and further back.
Here are some tips for using long reverbs and delays to create distance
Long modulated reverb tails. Use reverb with long decay times to create a vibe of vast epic space and distance, typically not on the main sounds in your arrangement.
Delay feedback. Increase the feedback on delays to create echoes that add glue and ethereal vibes to pads, background sounds or surrounding backing vocals.
Panning and automation. Use panning and volume automation on the FX buses to create movement and spatial shifts with your existing reverbs and delays, this makes sounds appear to be less static and move around more, which is always good.
To Conclude!
Creating depth and space in minimal tracks requires a careful balance of techniques and effects. By using very short ambience reverb and rooms strategically, adding field recordings and organic sounds, enhancing depth with EQ, and using varying length reverbs and delays, you can create a spacious and immersive mix that is still minimalist in style.
These methods allow you to add a sense of depth and space without cluttering the mix, resulting in a clear and defined sound that keeps the listener engaged. Experiment with all this, and enjoy the process of creating a dynamic soundscape, emulating how real sounds appear in the regular natural spaces we live in.
**Note on acoustic treatment and monitoring**
Proper acoustic treatment and an optimal monitoring setup are important for accurately evaluating reverb, EQ, and spatial adjustments. If your room or speakers are inadequate, it's much better to use high-quality reference headphones for making better mixing decisions and be sure that your mix translates well across all the various different listening environments.
Happy mixing. And don’t worry about making mistakes, just keep making music!
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."