Music Production - How Many Layers is Too Much?
When it comes to layering tracks and beats, sometimes it can be very hard to know when to stop. We can keep layering and dumping more onto the same tracks until we're satisfied, but does it sound okay to everybody? In this article we're basically going to discuss how to know when enough is enough.
First of all, the number of layers and instruments needed can be deduced down to this: if you have gotten your point across, it's probably a good time to stop. And this is wise talk. A famous mixing engineer once said: if you can't hear it, it shouldn't be in the mix. And I think we should really live by this saying. Another thing I regularly tell clients is this: if it adds nothing unique to the song, does it really need to be in there? The weakest component of a track is the track. That means that the last thing you add could bring the whole thing down unless it's absolutely magnificent sonically and emotionally.
Simple and plain music can be very attractive. It also forces you to make better music. It forces you to treat each track like it was the only track in the song. Hell, maybe it is! That should be your mindset.
At the end of the day, however big you want to make your track is up to you. You should always listen to your audience, though, so get feedback and look it over closely and without any anger if it's negative. Just take it in and consider the points made. If you get nothing but positive feedback, then you know you're going in the right direction.
Some instruments stack better than others, as well. Let's take the piano for example. You would in no case want to stack 2 pianos playing the same notes, and even playing different notes, it's going to be tough to stack these harmonically. If they sound the same, it will be extremely tough.
However, some artists have experimented with having two pianos playing simultaneously; they just make sure they have different character and so are distinguishable. If you're going to attempt this, apply some reverb to one piano to achieve the far-away and close-up effect. The listener will hear one off in the distance and another very close. To make it more realistic, apply about 5% of the same reverb on the close piano and choose a hall patch. To your audience it will sound like both pianos are in the same environment.
I hope you have thought a bit about stacking and layering your instruments. Remember that your decision is yours to make alone.
