After reading a section of “Art of Mixing” by David Gibson, I learned, apart from the fact that some mixing engineers work barefoot, the way to visualise a track by placing its elements in a soundbox. This space works that way: depth represents loudness (the further the element, the quieter it is), height represents frequency range (the higher the element, the higher the frequency), and width (left and right position in a stereo mix)
I decided to create a visual representation of “Wanna Quit All the Time” by Faye Webster.
The book said the sound never travels behind the listener’s ears but the effect was quite different for me, listening through headphones rather than speakers. However, identifying the position of the instruments wasn’t too difficult as some of them (e.g. electric piano and electric guitars) were panned distinctly to one side or another. This mix is quite “spare”, meaning it’s not too loaded with instruments and those elements which are present there are spread across the left and right in stereo.
Creating a soundbox is a useful technique which I may implement in my future productions. It helps to identify if the mix is balanced or not; full or spare; bright or boxy, etc. Visualising the mix makes it clearer which frequency areas are too busy and need panning or what the track lacks frequency-wise. It also makes it clear which elements are more important and prominent.
References:
Gibson, David. Art of Mixing: A Visual Guide to Recording, Engineering, and Production. New York, NY, Routledge, 1997, pp. 37–62.