5 things to look for when listening to your song after mastering

Picture this: After a lot of hard work, you finally get your song back in professionally edited sound. Now you have to listen to it and approve it or give constructive feedback to perfect the last details. In music production, mixing and mastering are increasingly done by one and the same person, and therefore all in one go. In this case, of course, you should also pay attention to mixing aspects.

The primary task in mastering is to make the material sound as good as possible for various listening situations and playback devices. For this purpose, the mixed song (usually in the form of a single stereo file) is finalized. Among other things, the general frequency distribution is finalized, noise and frequencies are removed, and the overall volume and dynamics of the song are controlled. However, to explain mastering itself in detail would go beyond the scope of the article.

Especially the first impression of your song is worth its weight in gold when listening to the master. So you shouldn't start playing the song loudly on your cell phone while you're on the road. Music doesn't sound the same everywhere, and you don't always perceive it in the same way. In the mobile example, you will hardly be able to enjoy the bass part of your song, let alone evaluate it. So to give your song the final polish it deserves in these last steps, you should get into the right setting for it. In the following, I'll explain how you should go about it:

1. The download

First, make sure that you play back your file in full quality. The file should not be sent via WhatsApp or other messengers, because they compress your files, and therefore reduce the quality. If you use a file sharing service such as Dropbox, download the master to listen to it. On such platforms and the corresponding apps, a data-reduced version is often also played in quick views. Also, when playing in programs like iTunes, make sure that the sound is not altered by volume normalizations or even equalizers.

2. The playback

Play your song primarily in a familiar setting. This means you shouldn't go to your twice-removed great uncle's 200,000€ hi-fi hobby room, nor should you do the first evaluation on your smartphone at the bus stop. The PA in the band room is also far from ideal. The devices you use on a daily basis as a music consumer are going to present the best scenario for evaluation of your post-mastering tracks. So listen to the master primarily on the speakers and headphones you listen to music on every day.

Also, don't just turn the volume all the way up for the master check. There will be plenty of opportunity for this once the project is complete. The background: For our own protection, our ear begins to influence the auditory impression with its internal "processing tools" at high volumes.

Further in the process you should of course also consult various other devices. The more variable they are in quality and sound, the better. For example, visit your aforementioned audiophile uncle and perform the famous car check on the way there. Pay attention to the wonky spots—are they just as bad in the car as on your favorite headphones? If the bass content of your song is too high in the car, but ideal—or even too low—on all other speakers, this is more likely to be a characteristic of your car speakers and will therefore also occur with your favorite songs.

3. The right focus when listening

The first time you listen to the mastered version of your song, you'll perceive it as fresh. After a while, you'll notice deeper details. You can take advantage of this by focusing on the corresponding features. So don't analyze your song immediately for small pops or clipping. This puts you on a technically analytical level that will be difficult to get out of.

When listening to the master for the first time, concentrate on the overall impression. Check if the master is artistically and emotionally appealing to you and meets your needs. You want your music to reach other people who have never heard your song before. So try to approach it with different ears and put yourself in the shoes of a foreign listener.

In further listening rounds, pay attention to the frequency distribution of the song. Whether you like the relationship between bass and treble, whether the midrange seems grumpy or boxy, or whether you are annoyed by piercing or even painful frequencies in the treble range. Above all, check against this with different speakers or headphones.

Pay attention to the dynamics of your song. But don't be fooled by the fact that louder usually sounds better in a direct comparison. Your song can go in a more dynamic direction, where it can sound more natural and real, but also quieter. Contrast this with a lower dynamic range due to more compression. Here your song can sound extremely loud and "over the top," but the listener is offered less variety. For example, after an extremely loud verse, there is no big jump to an even louder chorus.

Macrodynamics and microdynamics after mastering

For what are called "macrodynamics," pay attention to quieter parts in the song. Do they seem soft enough in context, or are they too loud and present? And how do you like the slowly rising energy or impact when it transitions back into a louder, punchier part? Also, what about the beginning and end of the song? For example, is the fadeout at the end the way you want it?

Conversely, for the "microdynamics" it is especially important to pay attention to transients. Check whether the drum strokes are to your liking or whether they lose their intended punch due to an excessive volume increase. An unintentional "pumping" can also occur here.

Afterwards, check for technical errors such as clipping, unwanted noise, distortion, small pops and the like (this works very well on headphones, by the way). With an EP or an album, you should also pay attention to the correct spacing between the songs when they are played chronologically, one after the other.

Techies and streaming platforms like to drive artists crazy with volume standards and LUFS guidelines, especially online. Trust the mastering engineer on this very complex topic, they'll know about it. For you, the sound should be the most important thing.

4. The right mindset

Often things start to bother us when we pay too much attention to them and overthink them. In general, the subjective, emotional listening impression is more important for the song than a short clipping due to an 800Hz overload in the bridge at minute 2:13.

After you've played your song more than twice in a row, however, a subjective impression is nearly impossible. So give your ears enough breaks, refresh them with your favorite songs or references. Maybe listen to something completely different in between, or sleep on it for a night before listening again. Don't rush. Also, get into different settings like the morning jog and listen to the master on the side without actively thinking about it.

A common problem among musicians is the fear of finishing and releasing projects. As a result, you run the risk of getting caught up in unimportant details in the final steps in order to stall for time. How your song is received by listeners is primarily related to the songwriting and your performance. Small nuances in the mastering process contribute only a negligible amount. When requesting changes, try to be aware of whether they would really improve the song significantly for a stranger. It's up to you to finish your song in time to avoid making it worse. Always remember, "Done is better than perfect!"

5. Feedback after mastering

In the best case your song is already where you want it to be. Nothing stands in the way of the release from the technical side. But maybe everything is completely different than expected and leaves you out in the cold after all of your hard work.

We all have our own tastes, as you well know. So the likelihood that the first mastered version of your song will be exactly what you want is relatively small. For this reason, around three rounds of revisions are perfectly normal. Inaccurate and especially unfriendly feedback increases the likelihood of running the whole project into the ground and getting caught in a loop of misunderstandings with the person responsible for the master. So proceed carefully and do not act out of frustration or disappointment.

If you are in a band, you should collect the feedback of each individual member, clarify contradictions, approve each other's points, and deliver the whole thing collected in a clear and friendly feedback.

Your final checklist

In any case, all this will save you a lot of back-and-forth, and unnecessary extra work. So before you send your feedback, make sure you have followed the necessary steps:

1. Make sure you have an original and uncompressed file.
2. Listen to the master on as many different speakers and situations as possible, but especially on your usual equipment.
3. Pay attention to the essentials of mastering, gradually working your way from the big picture to the small details.
4. Be careful not to overthink unnecessary details, take enough listening breaks, and have courage to finish your project.
5. Formulate friendly and understandable feedback.

If your song is not mastered yet or you are not satisfied with your master, check out our mukken portal. There you will surely find musicians who can help you with mastering at every level of profession and price range.

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