The Magic Separation Trick All The Pros Use 

Here to say that the "Face Reveal" in the thumbnail wasn't just clickbait. It's real

I would, in a heartbeat, happily pay for an ear training course from you Dan. I think that many would, made aware and given access to it, profit enormously from such a thing as this.

Sitting here thinking "please say arrangement, please say arrangement"

Hi Dan, Nearly everyone here is saying they love you and your stuff. Seems like you really should make that course. For me, your doing it here on RU-vid would be great because the platform works well everywhere. Charge for it? Yes, of course you should - and it IS something I will happily pay for. Why? Because your ability to teach through the videos you make is astoundingly good. Nobody else comes close, or are as entertaining. “Mixing With Mike”, for example. Lovely guy, great sound engineer, deeply boring courses. I paid for his stuff for a while but gave up on it since I couldn’t hear what he was saying because the frequency of his voice was completely masked by my snoring. I used to be a very successful french horn player in London. I think I spent 55 years in “ear training” for that. It’s something that can always be improved just a bit more. Having been into home recording, mixing, mastering, producing, and all that, for only five years or so, I know I have a very long way to go, and as my reception of upper frequencies diminish over the years I know it is going to be an uphill path. I may have lost some high frequencies, but that shouldn’t prevent me from hearing compression ffs. Where I am now with that is that I can hear that compression makes things better (LA2A on my trumpet, for example) but there’s so much that I find inaudible. I really need some compression ear training. Thank you, Dan. I’m very grateful for everything I have learned from watching your videos and I definitely owe you. So, whatever you produce I’ll happily sign up for it, knowing that I’ll learn a lot. BTW, I bought an album of yours on Bandcamp. I love it. Congratulations!

Dude the 500hz cut at 8:40 is genius 😂

The only time I go on to YT and press play on a vid about 'THE MAGIC TRICK ALL THE PROS USE' is when its from Dan Worrall.

You could set up a patreon account which is pretty convenient from what i heard. but a Dan Worral OF sounds hilarious and would be my first and last account Id follow on the platform hahaha

One trick that helped me immensly over time with my EQs is as follows: every time before you want to make a move on an EQ predict what you are gonna do. for example you'll say you need to boost 3.5khz on the vocals for 3db. you then set this setting and then adjust the EQ till it sounds good. you'll see that you actually boosted 2khz for 4 db, so you have a clear difference between what you thought you needed to do and what you actually did. if you repeat this over time with every single EQ move your instincts on what needs boost/cuts on what frequency sky rockets i promise! (even better if you do everything without a RTA ;) )

Love all the "low effort" videos

YOU'VE TAUGHT ME EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT ANYTHING. THANK YOU DAN. I WISH YOU TAUGHT ME HOW TO FIX KEYBOARDS THOUGH IM HAVING A TOUGH TIME RIGHT NOW.

Dave Moulton’s “Golden Ears” is a classic in the genre, but I think you would offer a welcome and refreshing update to the format and personality of this essential educational foundation.

I can highly recommend going to see and hear an orchestra performance. I recently went to two free events at the Royal Festival Hall and was amazed when I walked in a realised there were no mics and no engineer. Just the musicians and their instruments and how I could hear each instrument clearly. Great experience.

I never pay for online courses as I never feel assured that what I get will be worth the price. But I’m certain I wouldn’t think twice about paying for this course from you. I’ve been doing live sound for about 5 years with no formal training and your videos have been a godsend.

I'd buy an OF from Dan no question asked!

Soundgym is a great tool for training you ears...But, i would be interested in a course done by you

You are really the best recording expert there is on RU-vid, no questions asked man. It's neither just your professional skills, the way you edit your videos or other aspects of your apparent personality. Your whole vibe is just incredible. You bring something relevant to any question we might ask ourselves or any problem we can encouter. A 1000 cheers for that.

You are one of the most respected in the business Dan and I cant wait til your vids come out- I would love to pay for an ear training course! What platform I guess whatever I could have access to would be great- thanks for all that you do your honesty and straight-forwardness has been a breath of fresh air to all in this business!

I would pay for a course, depends on the price of course.

Dan dropping low effort but high value wisdom. Love it.

Heey, i've following your channel for a while and it's nice to see when you appear on my feed. Your teachings are valuable for pros and newbies alike.

I had a full semester course like this in college for my audio engineering degree. The first half of the semester we trained on boosts/cuts of 12dB with a graphic EQ. The second half was 6dB boosts/cuts. Usually on music. We also assigned a lot of adjectives to these sounds. Now when I train newer engineers both live and in the studio, one of their main questions is “how do I know where that frequency is just by hearing it.” It’s from that training, the adjectives, and EQing thousands of times. So a course like you’re discussing is incredibly useful and helpful!

Ear training can indeed be very powerful. About a decade ago I did one that I believe was called "Perfect Pitch Ear Training Supercourse" (it was a series of mp3s and probably a couple of PDFs), and after a couple of months of daily training I was able to play groups of random 8 notes simultaneously and identify each by its "colour" - like people born with perfect pitch are able to do I reckon. I didn't stick to it afterwards but even today I can identify different notes sometimes, with some concentration. There was also a course for relative pitch.

I just graduated in Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College of Music. They teach us frequency ear training in the audio classes with boosting and cutting frequencies on white noise and having to figure out the frequency. It was laborious and I hated it while learning it but it truly opened up the EQ for me and all of a sudden I felt I could finally “use my ears” because I finally knew what to listen for

posting it on 0F would be hilarious honestly I wouldn't mind using youtube membership for it, definitely would grab it asap the only issue with youtube is that it'd be subscription based, and for basically an access to videos... it doesn't bring the best feeling It also heavily depends on how you'd want to build the course.... single time payment obviously makes much more sense if you're just gonna create the most comprehensive course from the start, with less emphasis on updates or new content, more emphasis on the first release. And subscription makes more sense for if you're gonna keep adding more and more things to it, more emphasis on updates/new content.

nah in my opinion RU-vid members would be the best but if you really don't want that, Patreon is also an option. it's a great idea for a video series and definitely something people need.

Hello Dan! Thank you for all the valuable tutorials you've been making. I don't have any platform suggestions but will be buying the course once it's available.

A must-have course once is there! Looking forward already.

Just chiming in to vote yea on an ear training course! I've found your free videos frequently more educational than a lot of folks' paid videos, so I'd support any venture from your channel into the paid arena pretty much instantly.

You should do this, Dan!!! I'm i my mid-50's and have been working as an audio engineer for the last 20-ish years. Prior to that I was a professional musician playing everything from small clubs to large festivals. I have managed to retain a useful range of hearing despite this 😄 I also started on violin at age six, and learned via the Suzuki method - so lots of ear training. It initially drove me nuts that my teacher would "waste" the first 5-10 minutes of my lessons teaching me to tune my instrument. Forcing me to listen until I understood when a string was the slightest bit flat or sharp. But the ear training paid off in the long run. Although I must say it does drive me farking nuts when I hear musicians playing out of tune instruments! Learning to translate my musician ears into engineer ears was both painful, but extremely rewarding. Learning how to use the tools to fix what I perceived to be issues. I use my ears in that way to earn my living. Some of my colleagues seem to me as if they must be deaf. Others astound me with the accuracy of their perception. I'm not bad, but, having been fortunate enough to be introduced to your videos by a fellow engineer, I would certainly be interested in, and know that I would benefit from an ear training course conducted by you. This is a brilliant idea 👍😎👍

4:44 A personal hurdle to overcome for me and undoubtedly others too is/was the fact that once you start cutting frequencies something can feel off or weird, you'll think to yourself "this doesn't sound right with this amount of cutting", in reality you only notice this because you'll be hearing the change, anyone else hearing it in a mix might not be able to tell

i would 100 percent pay for an ear training course by you, not only one that goes over training for listening to frequencies but like you said one that goes over learning recognizing intervals, cadences etc,

Hi Dan, thanks for all the videos. When I was in school for audio, we were trained on a program called "Golden Ears" that went over many of the techniques you discussed. For example, listening to pink noise and identifying where cuts or boosts were made in the EQ. It also had sections so you could learn what different attack and release times for compressors sounded like etc. I believe the course is still available online, but I would rather hear it from you!!

Thank you for sharing your skills with us and all the great videos 😎🤘 I`m glad about everything you have time for to release!

One knows when one is listening to a voice of experience and capability! I’d pay for such a course. Thanks, Dan

Yes! This is so important. We do it a lot in audio related educations here in Denmark, but not as much as we probably should. It'd be nice if maybe one of the videos from this course were to be made free so that we could see how in depth you go.

The best help/info/training on the internet is always free. You’re a prime example of that, my friend.

Dan, you are the only sound engineer I trust on RU-vid. I would buy an ear training course by you in a heartbeat. Thank you for all the invaluable information you gave us over the years!

I love every video from you, @danworral. Don’t need to be elaborated, just do it whatever is more convenient and easy for you. We know you have been thru hard times and you have already impressed us with fancy videos in the past. 😅. Get well!

Yes, please. definitely make this course

Yes please I would happily buy that course (especially if you include your knack for pointing out common pitfalls and faulty "conventional wisdom" type of stuff)

I repeatedly send friends trying to learn your videos and would not hesitate to buy this course from you

As an aspiring engineer hungry for real ways I can keep honing my craft, I'd 100% pay for something like that from the man himself. Ear training is always something I did when I was learning music & now that you've said it, it seems crazy not to have an equivalent for audio. Sign me up!

Yes please Dan - make the course. I’m in.

In my education here in Denmark, ear training was a big part of the education. The good old "Golden ears" training set was the material used. (Was studying Live Audio Engineering, 4 year education)

The PARTICULAR to one mix mixing advice you could give is worth 10x the free material you’re putting out online, I feel like!!

Had this course for my masters. Changed my life forever

this video series sounds amazing!

Whilst I haven't done any professional mixing courses, I _have_ played in a live band at church for many years (I don't now, but that's another story). This teaches you how to be adaptable because you're not always playing with the same musicians. And it also helps teach you how to stay out of the way of other musos. This has actually helped me enormously when creating music and I do get comments about how good my arrangements are. And doing it that way the track very nearly does mix itself.

Would love a series like that. And really funny to hear your voice almost crack after the OF comment. Good job holding your laugh 😂 Also wanted to say that whatever platform it is on, please try that the audio is not compressed as that is what we come to learn about and to hear transparently. Thanks for all the videos till date, chasing knowledge has become easier in this crowd of popularity contest. ✨

Your idea for the course sounds amazing and might be one of the first online courses i ever pay for if you do it! I also have come to realise the only way to get better at audio is doing lots of audio hahah but what you propose here sounds like a neat cheatsheet for frequency management

Brilliant advice. As always! 💖

I have been at this even longer than you! lol 1976. I love your videos, and I believe you are one of the few who are giving good info to the less experienced put there. Do your training course maybe for your website. Think I’ll go grab a t-shirt now.

I'm happy to report that I was educated as an audio engineer and that we did did both spectral/frequecy ear training and musical ear training. So while I wouldn't give money for such a course, other people who haven't had that, definitely should. Has helped me immensely.

awesome video Dan great idea for ear training videos 🙌

If I didn't have good ears that I've been training already but doing ok the job work, and also training in a musical context I would definitely consider buying a course from you that would help me train my ears. I don't know if i'd get it if it wasn't you making it, you are a superb educator especially on this platform.

Absolutely yes, I would most definitely pay for such a course.

You create a course I immediately buy it. period.

Yes im in for that course... Really nice idea!

At my school we did ear training. Had a whole semester on hearing and identifying boosts and cuts. But what helped the most was live sound training, both with feedback and with cutting mud and honkiness with vocals.

I would absolutely buy this, if its not super expensive. I went to school for electronic music, but there wasn't much of an opportunity to learn about mixing. Your videos were a big part of how I learned to start hearing in terms of frequencies. In particular I watched a LOT of your stuff while I was writing my senior project album. That record is by far the cleanest mix I've ever achieved, in spite of some pretty dense arrangements. Your straightforward and approachable explanations were a pretty big part of one of my favorite artistic achievements. So yeah you can take my money

I’m positive you would make hugely beneficial and top quality ear training course.

Yes yes and yes to the course. 🎉

Very good. I was classically trained and played the Trumpet from11 and played in the Kent Youth Orchestra at 14.

i still go with the ol' EQ boost or cut and then sweep around

Yes! There’s Locals where viewers have to pay a price of admission to view your content. Looking forward to it.

Been waiting for the OF, it's about time!

Ear training courses is a brilliant idea. When I learned one thing as being constantly important it is - surprise - taking care of that. I personally would appreciate additions like learning to realize when your brain gets tiered and starts to process information in a no longer desirable fashion, i.e. let's you start to ruin your mix. This as well as the aspect of focusing on perception in a room where you move while listening, and let your mix compete against external sound sources like traffic noise. And not least something about doing mixes on a level of arranging single instruments before you start working with them on a track or bus level using plugins. Samplitude and Sequoia had this ability from the start, where you can cut an instrument to pieces while the track is played and then let you add any plugin other sound shaping on that object level rather than track or bus level before the sound from the instrument hits those. For me this always had the same effect as telling someone to play their instrument differently on this or some other part, only that it is me applying this after the fact))). In other words there is so much that SHOULD be done regarding training for any engineer's listening experience, and I know of no one else than you who would let me rest assured I can learn something new and important from in this field. So just go ahead, I'd definitely pay for it even as a subscription - because it is just a field as huge as all things audio. AND you would give people the ability to help keeping the tradition of critical listening carried on instead of developing more and more retarded listening abilities.

and we're glad to meet you Mr. Dan !

I totally agree with you man. when I did the SAE back in '99 i asked where the frequency module was . . . ? I felt like a ghost. I did lose you when you mentioned 'SFW' 😅 Great idea btw, I keep training miself, but its never enough for the brain.

I could see you doing a course on mixing as a whole. Even though you put a lot on for free, having it sold together in a clean and concise package is worth the price of admission for me. For the frequency course i could see it pulling 150-200 for the course if not more. Ive used teachable in the past as an admin and it was REALLY great at providing a neat and concise lay out for the students. Very easy to navigate and search through should you ever want to go back and have the course as a reference.

Would definitely pay for a course as you describe. Put it on whatever platform doesn't take a huge cut from you - you deserve it all.

I'm relatively new to your channel, but I love your down to earth approach. And I love your musical examples. Im also classicaly trained Double Bass player! Which also means I played a lot of jazz etc...but really my heart and soul is in dub and electronic music (Of course I also play bass guitar...its the same as double bass). Love to do a tutorial with you. Ive been doing audio/music writing and production for 20 years, but no formal training, and I think maybe I need some?

I had technical ear training as part of my bachelors (Audio Design), but the course could have been more thorough, I'd say. Excited to see what you can come up with!

Mr Dan ! loving these "low effort -maximum yield" videos !!!

I would absolutely pay for ear training from you, you’ve been instrumental to my development as an audio engineer. Go for it, Dan!

ooh that does sound interesting, and it's cool to see the idea reinforced of what I've been figuring out on my own - to give "space" to important instruments' main freq range by cutting other instruments in the same range. It sounds weird solo'd, but when everything is playing you don't hear that "missing" cut on those tracks. Forget if it was this channel or another which suggested to not hyperfixate on how each track sounds solo'd, because after all the final mix isn't listening in solo... And if the cut sounds weird solo'd, you can just automate disabling it when the "main" instrument doesn't play and the "cut" instrument becomes more prominent. Another mixing "trick" I've seen, is equating different ranges in the freq spectrum to different vowel sounds... It's very clear when it's band boosted over pink noise, but it can be a lot harder to learn how to listen for that in real use cases/on actual instruments. Maybe that'd be worth touching on in the courses?

You are amazing Dan 😍

I agree that the Ear Training portion is critical and would love to take additional coursework from you on the matter!

I'd love an ear training course from you - please do it! In terms of platform, I don't see anything outside RU-vid that's easy to use for both sides - it needs to be easy for you as well as us

Absolutely into this!!

Thank you for the emphasis on deliberate musical ear training over time, instead of "secrets" and "tricks".

I’ve had a hobby home studio for 20 years. I’m no professional, but not a beginner either. If you created a straightforward, basic mixing course, I’d buy that in a heartbeat. You’ve shared a ton of knowledge on RU-vid, but having a full, no-nonsense course with your teaching skills would be invaluable. A lot of bits of info would fall into place, and it would add things that the super interesting deep dives into plugins and stuff can’t (and don’t try to). It would add an overall perspective and a more complete picture of mixing as a craft, in your view. It would be a gift to humanity. I’d definitely pay for an ear training course as well, though!

Hey Dan and fellows. At academy we had a lesson called Aural Perception, the tutor Benjamin classically trained, helped us learn through his examples of short phrases of composition, the parts sounded absolutely clean in the right place. I asked him about the mix of course. This video resonates with that lesson Aural Perception with Benjamin

I would absolutely buy your training.

Yes and yes, please! I'd be happy with either youtube channel membership paywalled or patreon with unlisted youtube videos as a delivery mechanism.

I've described music production to friends as "creating, writing, and performing a symphony all by yourself, just with sounds no one'e ever heard before" many times in the past. It feels good to have a thought about music making similar to Dan's 😅

Sounds amazing, and I would absolutely not be able to give it the time and attention it deserves :D I hope it gets off the ground and adds to better sound in the world and better finances for Dan :)

Thank you Sir Dan Worrall Attenborough, the audio wild life reporter for this amazing tutorial.

Dan, that course would be an instant buy for me... I don't know which platform would be better for this though.

I really hope you create that course!

I think I could definitely benefit from a guided ear training course in regards to audio engineering. I had ear training when I was young, but have struggled at times to translate that to my mixes. I'm open to whatever platform you want to make it on. Patreon probably would be a good option.

I would immediately buy your course! My reason would be to find out about your explanation/training method. As everything that we hear is directly translated into brainwaves (as opposed to for example something we eat or something we see) it is also a form of bio-feedback where we can learn of our own body functions (i , same as you, have crohns disease) and learn to "listen" to our own frequencies inside of ourselves (in a lack of words we can call this "self awareness meditation") and we can also correct ("equalize") our own brainwaves if we know how our healthy brainwaves should sound/feel like. The data for it is already there. And people like ken wilbour (the"integral") have mastered the art of shifting their own brainwaves conciously (measurable via electrodes). Though he seems to be a bad example as he has an autoimmune disease as well. In a way it seems that this microscopic self awareness creates autoimmune diseases. But if we can (semi-conciously) program our body to destroy itself i suppose we can (fully conciously) program itself to work in a healthy way. Oh my. Too much to be unpacked here.

I would definitely be interested in paying for that course. I got very valuable ear training / aural skills classes in college, but they were focused on stuff live musicians need, like identifying intervals, rhythms, chords, solfege, etc. It daunts me a bit that ear training for mixing is essentially like learning a crude approximation of perfect pitch, but it's clearly possible and I'd like to learn.

Great idea for a course and Patreon would probably be the best for me - not sure I could explain an OF account to my partner, lol! I'm classically-trained and although all that ear-training I did is helpful, audio engineering is slightly different in that you're dealing with concepts like "depth", "imaging", "separation", etc. which are a bit different to musical concepts like "pitches", "parts", etc. So I think a course would be really helpful. Cheers!

That would be amazing! yes please

You are the one dude I would pay for ear training ⭐️👍🏻

Your course would be the only one I would buy. 💪🏻

Definitely would be interested in an ear training course

Yes. Would love your personally curated ear training

This is like when I was reading Cedric Chin's change of mind on note taking, then experimenting with his "Case Library", then finally having the case library be a flagship product of his entire blog. He writes really high quality articles on acquiring skills ("tacit knowledge"), also bringing a bunch of research into more accessible forms of reading. I think his work on burnout, extracting knowledge from experts, and the "vocab point" (how experts end up coining their own terms) can be particularly interesting in this case.