Training Lab: where learning to mix actually starts

Mixing well is two skills, not one

The first is hearing: telling that the vocal has 400 Hz too many, noticing the compressor is pumping. The second is deciding what to do about what you heard. Tutorials teach tools, which is a third and separate thing — which is how you can accumulate years of videos without resolving a simple mix.

This is the front door: 3 introductory scenarios that show how the format works — a mixing problem is posed, you choose what to do, and the explanation comes after — and then hand you the rest of the platform. It takes a couple of minutes and there's nothing to install.

The ear is the slow part and the one you can't skip; judgement is the other half, and it's trained by deciding. Exercises for both are spread across the platform, and each links to the guide explaining its reasoning — because practising without understanding what you're practising turns getting it right into luck.

How it works, step by step

1.You start with the briefing: a couple of lines explaining what the site is. There's nothing to sign up for or install, and audio only loads when it's needed.
2.You go through the 3 introductory scenarios. Each poses a real mixing problem and offers four possible interventions.
3.You pick one and the explanation arrives. It's the format the whole site repeats: decide first, understand after, never the other way round.
4.Finishing unlocks Mission Mode, the long path, and with it the rest of the minigames and tools.
5.From there every section links to the guide explaining its reasoning, so you can read before or after practising, depending on how you learn.

What to do after these scenarios

If you don't know your level, take the mix skills test: eight questions and it names the specific area you're weakest in, instead of a general feeling.
If hearing the problem is what's hard, the path is Frequency Drop then EQ Surgeon. That's perception, and it's trained separately from judgement.
If deciding what to touch is the problem, Mix Diagnosis and Mission Mode go straight at it.
Ten minutes a day beats two hours on Sunday. Auditory perception saturates quickly, and past that you're just guessing while tired.
Keep a mix of your own open as you go through the sections. What doesn't transfer to your own material is forgotten within a week.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account or a card to start?

Neither. The lab and much of the site work without signing up; an account only exists to carry your progress across devices.

Do I need a DAW or studio gear?

Not to start. Everything runs in the browser and decent headphones are enough. What does help is having a project of your own to apply things to.

Is this useful if I've produced for years?

If you diagnose well and what fails is ear precision, skip this and go to EQ Surgeon or into Mission Mode at whichever world fits. The lab is the door, not a requirement.

How long does it take?

A couple of minutes: it's 3 scenarios and they exist to teach the format, not to assess you. What comes after is what takes time.

Where to go next

If you don't know where to start, the mix skills test tells you your weakest area in eight questions. The ordered path for the ear is in the ear training guide. The first concept worth having straight before touching anything is the level you work at, and that's in the gain staging guide, and the full guide index is at Guides.