Where do you look when you’re mixing a concert?
I learned this the hard way – by getting a stern correction from Steve Zegree during a concert – but maybe the only way to really learn it is by experiencing it both ways.
The impulse of a sound engineer is to look at the mixing console as he mixes. That is, after all, the tool he’s using.
But everything important is happening in front of you onstage. That’s where your eyes should be, at least 90% of the time.
When I keep my eyes on the stage while mixing a concert, I see a request for a monitor adjustment. I see when a microphone gets knocked over. I see when a song is about to start or end. I see when something is about to happen musically, like a backup singer stepping up to a mic.
This philosophy – ignore the tool to be able to see the action – is a lesson to carry in many situations. We too often get bogged down in worrying about the tool rather than what we’re using the tool to do.