Turn the knob further
I have a couple of mentees to whom I frequently send the same note multiple times as we’re working through their mixes.
The snare, for example, might be boxy. So I will say: “The snare is boxy; try cutting around 400 Hz.”
And I will get the next mix, and the snare will still be boxy, albeit slightly less so. So I will say again: “The snare is boxy; try cutting around 400 Hz.”
My insight is that the issue is a lack of trust in oneself. An ingrained fear of what might happen if they turned that 400 Hz knob too far. Might the snare drum be irreparably ruined? Might they not be able to turn the knob in the other direction and salvage it?
Perhaps most saliently, most anxiety-inducingly: might they not recognize the difference?
We don’t grow much by being timid, by staying within the narrow confines of our comfort zones. We grow by experimenting boldly, outside of our comfort zones.
We don’t know what we don’t know. Turn the knob further. — jamie