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Mixing & Mixcraft

10 sessions · Tuesdays, Thursdays · 2hr each

Advanced mixing with a real engineer

You know your DAW. You understand signal flow and basic effects. Now learn how to actually mix — decisions about balance, space, dynamics, and movement that turn a tracked session into a finished record.

18 chapters of ground covered

Monitoring and listening — calibrating your room and ears before touching a fader
Mix philosophy — developing an approach to each song, not a fixed chain you paste on everything
Compression in depth — parallel, sidechain, multiband, deessing. Multiple weeks on dynamics because most mixing problems are really dynamics problems
EQ as sculpting — surgical vs. tonal, subtractive first, and when to reach for a shelf vs. a bell
Reverb, delay, and spatial effects — placing elements in a believable space, managing depth without washing things out
Mixing by instrument — drums, bass and low end, guitars and synths, vocals. Each has its own chapter because each has its own problems
Automation and movement — volume rides, filter sweeps, effect throws, and using automation to shape a mix over time rather than setting levels and walking away
Mastering and delivery — reference tracks, loudness targets, and preparing your mix for release

Prerequisites: DAW proficiency, basic understanding of effects and signal flow. If you took Core Skills and the Mix Primer, you're ready.

This class has a full set of companion notes you can browse for free in our guides section.

Building This Class

Mar 30, 2027 – Apr 29, 2027

Tuesdays, Thursdays, 4 PM Pacific | 7 PM Eastern | 12 AM UK

10 × 2hr classes

$620.00 includes 2 mo. residency

I'm a current resident $450.00

What's a residency?

Residency is your Beat Kitchen membership —$85/mo or $700/yr. It includes office hours, gyms, beat challenges, and a community of producers on Discord.

Non-residents can take any class — residency months are bundled into the price. If you're already a resident, check the box above and you'll see the lower class-only price.

Learn more about residency →

Other start dates and times (1 more)

More Dates

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Jan 2, 2028 – May 14, 2028 Sundays, 10 AM Pacific | 1 PM Eastern | 6 PM UK

Building This Class

Mixcraft

Time to MIX! Once you understand the tools, the rubber hits the road here

Sundays, 10 AM Pacific | 1 PM Eastern | 6 PM UK

Jan 2, 2028 - May 14, 2028

20 x 1hr Classes

Are you a current BKS resident?

No Yes

$960.00

* This price includes 6 months required BKS Residency

None of these times work?

Building This Class

Want this class at a different time? Seats aren't on sale yet — raise your hand and we'll build it around your availability.

The more times you select, the more likely we are to build a class that works for you.

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What students say

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Awesome interactive/ accessable class, Nathan really cares and has a great way of teaching.

—Em, Portland, OR

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Great class! Lots of comparisons and smilies that relate well to the concepts being explained. Getting to see the concepts in-action at the piano was fun!

—Rose, New York, NY

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Recently took a couple of classes - Effects, Synthesis and Mixing primer and the Beat Building Jam. Both classes were really good. Ended up learning a lot of basics of how sound design and shaping works in the first one and a bunch of

—Hardik, Seattle, WA

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I recently took a music theory workshop with Nathan. He is super knowledgeable and also a great teacher. Music theory is often confusing and intimidating for me but he used a lot of great analogies to make the concepts more digestible.

—Devynn, Seattle, WA

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Shared a lot of great information about the fundamentals of music. It was very helpful to understand the basics from different perspectives and how they can be applied.

—Matthew, Philadelphia, PA

Explore Classes

Office Hours Weekly. Ask questions, get help, and connect. Included with residency. Production Gym Weekly. Production breakdown of your favorite songs. Included with residency. Theory Gym Weekly. Morning music theory workout. Included with residency. Ear Training Weekly. Test your ears and discuss — music, mixing, and more. Included with residency. Instrument Gym Weekly. Practice and workout on instruments. Included with residency. Weekly Beat Review Weekly. Listen to Beat Challenge song ideas together. Included with residency.

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Beat Building Jam Workshop ideas into songs. Peer feedback. Instructor support. Prep for production Mix Incubator Your lab for carrying a track across the finish line — the forcing function that turns a produced or recorded song into … Production Incubator Your lab for turning a song into a finished production — the forcing function that leaves you with a track ready for the … Recording Incubator Your lab for capturing real performances of your song — the forcing function that leaves you with recordings ready for … Songwriting Incubator Your lab for getting a song started and out the door — the forcing function that leaves you with a draft ready for the …

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Beat Kitchen At-A-Glance

Beat Ktichen Calendar

See the full calendar
Recent Resident Gyms
- WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Reviewed two submitted works this morning: Paul's "Driftwood," an atmospheric guitar-based piece processed through layered filter effects, and Josephine's newly written vocal-piano song. Discussion centered on restraint in production — specifically, the risk of overproducing early-stage material before the songwriter has fully lived with it. Nathan performed a brief section of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" as a reference point for how orchestral arrangement can serve a simple song without obscuring it, and credited the orchestral arrangement to Van Dyke Parks. A technical thread with Jon on rhythmic displacement and MIDI tempo-slowing techniques rounded out the session, along with a brief discussion on vinyl mastering and audio-video sync.
- THEORY-GYM: We covered the Barry Harris bebop diminished scale approach as an alternative to modal thinking, specifically the technique of inserting a chromatic passing tone (a minor sixth, or A-flat in the key of C) into a major scale to create an eight-note scale. From that scale, we built tetrad-based triad pairs — stepping through C6, D diminished, and related chords by stacking every other note — and explored how that voice leading naturally implies functional harmony, including five chords and diminished substitutions. We also touched on the philosophical distinction between modal and functional harmonic thinking, using Barry Harris's critique of modes as a framing device.
- THEORY-GYM: We analyzed "Just the Two of Us" (Bill Withers / Grover Washington Jr.) as a vehicle for understanding tritone substitution, secondary dominants, the two-five-one motion as a pivot into the subdominant, and passing chords. The chord progression — identical between verse and chorus — was worked through in the key of C for clarity, with the key bass motion and chromatic inner voice movement identified. We closed by building a set of extended chord voicings (minor 9, minor 7, dominant 13) derived from the song's chromatic passing sequence, with the A minor → A♭ minor → G minor 7 → C pattern as a practical keyboard exercise.
- INSTRUMENT-GYM: Covered the Barry Harris sixth diminished (octatonic) scale — a standard C major scale with an added flat-six (A♭) — and worked through its modes, harmonic implications, and four-voice chord stacks built from it. Demonstrated how stacking thirds through the scale produces a cycle of chords (C6, D minor7♭5, A minor7, F diminished) that embed diminished motion and ii–V–I harmonic logic without explicit chord changes. Practiced the scale ascending from each degree and explored its relationship to dominant chords, diminished chords, and the circle of fourths.
- WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: We reviewed beats submitted by three students, working through syncopation and rhythmic contrast, harmonic clashes and chord voicing, and guitar tone and recording workflow. Each piece got individualized feedback, and we pulled out broader production principles around ostinato, juxtaposition of rhythmic elements, and the mechanics of committing to a sound while building.
- WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Reviewed two submitted pieces this morning — a cassette-recorded rap by Jon and an anxiety-themed instrumental by Alessandra. Feedback centered on rhythmic phrasing, rhyme placement, melodic theme development, the use of stereo space, and the creative and practical tradeoffs of committing to a lo-fi cassette recording workflow.
- THEORY-GYM: We worked through the harmonic structure of "Maneater" (Hall & Oates), tracing a chromatic descending bass line through the chorus and identifying the chords that wrap around it — including a first-inversion five chord, a flat-seven major chord, and a secondary dominant functioning as the five of two. The session also covered the Picardy third that appears at the end of the song's A-section, how diminished chords function as rootless dominant seventh chords, and what a line cliché looks like in practice. Ear-training work ran throughout: participants sang and voted on bass motion (up/down, half step/whole step/jump) before identifying chords.
- THEORY-GYM: Covered the harmonic series as the origin of the diatonic scale, then explored what happens when you construct a scale by descending through circle-of-fifths logic rather than ascending — arriving at the Phrygian mode as a "south-facing" mirror of the standard Ionian construction. Used that framework to reframe negative harmony: less as a direct chord-mirroring trick and more as a way to locate distant harmonic colors, particularly the leading-tone relationship in descending scalar motion. Also touched on the Dorian mode as a palindrome (W-H-W-W-W-H-W), tetrachord construction as a tool for building and comparing scales, and briefly demonstrated an online scale/chord reference tool. A chord matrix Josephine had built was reviewed and discussed.
- OFFICE HOURS: Covered mastering fundamentals in an office hours context, including peak limiting, LUFS targets, loudness matching across an album, and multiband compression for mid-side and frequency-specific control. Also worked through a specific guitar rhythm challenge — the train beat feel — with Alee, demonstrating how the upstroke placement on beats two and four creates the characteristic gallop pattern, and discussed drum recording pass-by-pass versus full-kit capture. Additional topics included ear health, hearing protection, tape saturation plugins, and professional portfolio practices for mix and mastering engineers.
- PRODUCTION-GYM: We discussed the 1991 hit, Loosing My Religion by REM. We talked bout arrangement choices driving production choices and vice versa. The song has an interesting structure, and is 4:53 long so- unconventional by pop standards, with a mandolin solo in the middle. Participants were challenged to discern the structure, arrangement, and mix choices, as well as discussions around what it would be like if this song were made today, and how might the production choices differer? What is stylistically appropriate for one genre could make or break a song and the development of those sensibilities.
Learn more about Residency
Upcoming Resident Events
- Ear Training: Jam
  Sep. 15,
- Office Hours: Cinnamon
  Sep. 15,
- Theory Gym: Jon Mattox
  Sep. 15,
- Production Gym: Scott Hampton
  Sep. 16,
- Weekly Beat Challenge: Nathan
  Sep. 16,
- Office Hours: Nathan
  Sep. 17,
Learn more about Residency
Upcoming Courses
- Apr 19, 2026 Theory: Musician Basics
- Apr 22, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools
- Apr 27, 2026 DAW Core Skills
- Apr 27, 2026 FL Studio
- May 23, 2026 Logic Pro 1-Day Intensive
- Jun 10, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
- Jul 8, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
- Jul 12, 2026 DAW Core Skills
See All Courses
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