EQ ear training. Noise to a finished mix.
Seven exercises, easiest first. Start by naming bands on pink noise. Finish by finding the one instrument that’s muddying a full mix and cutting it. Every exercise has levels that get harder as you go.
7 exercises39 levelsLevels 1 and 2 free
- HearStart here
Identify
Hear a boost or cut and name the band. From level 2, sometimes nothing changed.
- Find
Sweep
Something has been boosted. Sweep to find it, against the clock.
- Find
Hunt
Sweep a boost to find a ringing resonance, then cut it out.
- Fix
Restore
One EQ band changed the sound. Put it back with a single band of your own.
- Hear
Solo to Context
Fix an instrument while it plays alone, then bring in the mix and decide again.
- Fix
Cuts Only
It sounds dull, thin or buried and you want to boost. Fix it with cuts alone.
- Mix
Fix the Mix
One instrument is making the mix muddy, boxy or harsh. Name it, find it, cut it.
Hear the idea. Then train it.
Short explainers and practice guides with a demo you can play: flip each move off and on, then practise it in the exercise that goes with it.
- Trains: Identify
What is EQ?
What an equaliser does to a sound, on a full mix: a range of frequencies turned up or down.
Hear it - Trains: Identify, Sweep
What each frequency sounds like
Play each of the nine bands boosted or cut, on noise and a mix, and learn a name for every one.
Hear it - Trains: Sweep, Restore
Parametric EQ
Frequency, gain and Q, the three controls on every bell band. Hear what each one does.
Hear it - Trains: Cuts Only
High-pass and low-pass filters
Take out everything below or above a point. Where a high-pass goes on a vocal, and when it goes too far.
Hear it - Trains: Cuts Only
Shelving EQ
Lift or lower everything above or below a frequency, and how a shelf differs from a bell and a filter.
Hear it - Trains: Fix the Mix, Hunt
Mix problems you can hear
Muddy, boxy, honky, harsh, sibilant and dull: what each sounds like and where to look for it.
Hear it - Trains: Daily Session
Mixing on headphones
It works if you know what your headphones hide. Check the low end, then train on what you mix on.
Hear it
Hear a frequency. Then fix it.
EQ ear training is practice at hearing frequencies: naming the band that was boosted or cut, finding a ringing resonance by sweeping, and cutting the problem on the right instrument. The point is to do the same in your own mixes without guessing, and to reach for the EQ because you heard something, not because a preset said so.
Where should I start?
Identify, on pink noise. It teaches the nine bands everything else leans on. Then work down the path in order: it moves from naming a band, to sweeping for one, to fixing a single instrument and then a full mix.
What’s the difference between Sweep and Hunt?
In Sweep you find a boost and mark it, against the clock. In Hunt you find a narrow ringing resonance, then cut it out: the same move you make on a real mix.
What’s free?
The daily session, and levels 1 and 2 of every exercise, with no account and no card. The rest is part of Mix Chops Pro, and every level is open while Mix Chops is in early access.
What’s the daily session?
Twelve questions a day, from pink noise to a full mix, weighted toward the bands you miss. About five minutes, with a streak to keep.