Top 9 Music Production Tips for Remixing a Track

Remixing tracks can be a great way for you to put your spin on a song you already love. Doing a remix is a great way to promote your brand and join the narrative of the original song. Whether you are doing an official remix for a record label, entering a remix contest, or making a bootleg remix, here are some tips to keep in mind while remixing a track. However, these aren’t rules that need to be followed one hundred percent of the time, just general guidelines to help you in the process of creating your remix.

1) Get the highest quality raw files

If you are making a bootleg remix make sure to get the highest quality version of the track. Don’t rip it off SoundCloud, Youtube, or anywhere else. By buying the track you can support the artist and get the highest quality version available. You will thank yourself for it when you render out your final version!

2) Ask Around

If you find a song on SoundCloud you want to remix, Don’t hesitate to ask artist/producer directly for stems. Producers with 10k-50k followers may seem like they are very hard to contact, but the reality is most of these artist were starting off just like you in their early career. Reaching out to their email or firing a message over SoundCloud showcasing a track you are proud of and showing interest in remixing their tracks is a a great way to develop an industry network and get access to stems you love. However, make sure to be critical of the track you send out and know it is your best work.

3) Formulate a vision of where you want to take the song

Before going into a remix, try to think about where you want to take the song. Are you trying to give a chill track high energy flip? Or vice versa? It is important to think of where you want to the track to go. It is not a strict requirement to have a clear vision of where you want to go, but having a general outline of where you want to take the track before even starting is a great way to be more effective in producing a killer remix!

4) Keeping parts of the original is OK!

It is totally ok to use parts of the original track or stems in your remix. Seriously, its ok, no one will judge you. If you like all the drums used in the original record and you want to use it in your remix? Then do it!

5) Get other ears on the remix

Getting other people to listen to your remix when you are DONE with the best version you can put out, is the time you should be sharing your remix. Don’t share it for critic before it is ready, you will only get criticisms that you are already most likely aware of. Lastly, make sure to also take notes of the valid criticism from your peers and document it.

5) Give your ears a rest

Giving your ears a rest, like a real rest, if you are working on a remix. Wait 2-3 days and schedule your work around this period of time as work. When you give you ears a rest and come back to a project/remix you are able to pinpoint what is wrong with the track and how to improve much quicker than if you have been listening to the same loop over and over again for 5 hours.

7) Give yourself a deadline

With remix contest it’s easy to make the submission deadline your deadline, but that doesn’t have to be case. Making your deadline a week earlier before a remix contest closes is a great way to be one step ahead from your competition.

8) Put In The Effort

Make sure to put effort in your remixes before releasing them. This might sound super redundant to say, but if you are going to do a remix and you want it to “blow up” all over SoundCloud then make sure to put the time and effort into! Study other artist, study arrangements, study chord structure, study sound design, study everything you need to study to create the best remix possible!

9) Check out the latest remix contests and competitions of 2016

There are so many remix contests and competitions popping up this year, and we try to list them all here on remixcomps.io. So try a new genre, get creative, and practice, practice, practice!