# Mix Notes

> A note asks for vocal up 3 dB. The fader's scale is taped over, so you make the move by ear, then see how close you got. Balance ear training for mixing.

Page: https://mixchops.com/balance/notes

The exercise runs at [https://mixchops.com/balance/notes](https://mixchops.com/balance/notes) in any modern browser, with headphones or decent speakers.

## Know what a dB *sounds like.*

Once a mix is close, the job turns into notes: vocal up 3, guitar down 2. Here each note names a part and a move in dB, and the fader’s scale is taped over, so you make the move by ear. Check, and the tape comes off: you see the move you made against the one asked, and you can hear the note done exactly.

### How it works

1. Read the note, then flip between Before and Your Mix while you move the fader.
2. Stop when the change sounds the size the note asks for, and check.
3. The gold mark shows the move asked. As Asked plays it, so you can hear what you were aiming for.
4. After a miss, Help me hear it: Isolate plays only the change the note makes, or only what’s still out in yours; Exaggerate makes it bigger.

### Why the scale is covered

Each fader’s travel is different every challenge, so your hand can’t learn the distance. Only the sound tells you how far you’ve gone.

### How it’s scored

Each move scores from 100 for exactly the move asked to 0 for no better than leaving the fader alone, going the wrong way, or going twice as far. With several notes, the challenge scores their average. Soloing a part costs 4 points, once a part; muting is free. Pass with a 65 average over five challenges. Every version plays at the same loudness, so a part turned up never just sounds louder.

### Levels

Five levels: one note of 6 dB, one note of 3 dB, two notes of 3 to 6 dB, two notes of 1.5 to 2 dB, then a list of three notes from 1 to 4 dB. Levels 1 and 2 never ask for the bass down, which barely shows on laptop speakers. It’s part of [Mix Chops Pro](https://mixchops.com/pro), every level.

[Before this: Ride the Lead](https://mixchops.com/balance/ride) · [All balance exercises](https://mixchops.com/balance) · [Learn: How to build a static mix](https://mixchops.com/learn/build-a-static-mix)