I hate to say it, but I got to agree with montunoman.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I posted about listening to demos before you post and trying to see if they’re in balance with the style..! It’s quite possibly the #1 mistake most people make. We try so hard to hear ourselves well, we end up making sure you can barely hear anything else at all!

It is honestly one of the most difficult things to do, to play WITHIN the mix, not completely on top of it. The rule of thumb is, if it’s a pretty busy style, if you can hear yourself really well, odds are you’re too loud..! If you can JUST hear yourself, it’s probably about right.

The trouble of course is, how do we play well without really hearing ourselves upfront, loud and proud? That mostly boils down to learning the song and solos etc. to the point where you don’t HAVE to be loud and proud just to avoid mistakes.

But there’s a trick you can try….

Record yourself to your arranger’s sequencer. Play it back. Then edit the recording by turning down your keyboard Parts until they sit within the mix so you can hear both them AND the backing in a nice balance. Now note how much you had to turn them down, go back to your registration, and turn down the keyboard Parts that same amount.

Now record again. Try not to play harder to compensate. Listen to the recording. You might have struggled to hear yourself while you played, but the recording should now be far more balanced.

Now you should have an ‘ear’ for how much you should struggle to hear yourself in general, but you will gradually get used to it, and both your recordings and your audience (if playing to other people) will notice a much fuller, balanced sound.

It takes a while, but the end result is worth it, not only in a better balanced sound, but you’ll probably find yourself playing more rhythmically and dynamically better, as you can cue off the style better and groove off the drums when they are as loud and proud as you!

As players, we all want to hear ourselves, but the minute you are playing in a band (which is what playing with an arranger is!) you have to remember that everyone is just as important as you… the drummer, the bassist, the guitarist, the horns etc.. Even though you’re not playing them, they ARE as important as you..!

Try the recording to the sequencer trick. It will help you enormously! 🎹😎