How to annotate a mix

The hardest part of mixing isn't hearing the problem. It's remembering where the problem was by the time you reach for the mouse. You catch something odd in the second chorus, start scrubbing back to find it, and by the time you do you've lost the thread of what you were trying to fix.

Annotating as you listen solves that. You mark the exact timestamp in one keypress, then keep listening. When you come back to work through the list, every note points at a specific second of the track. No hunting, no guessing, no "I think it was around the bridge somewhere." This guide covers the full flow in Mix Notes, from opening a file to keeping your capture pass fast enough that it doesn't interrupt the listen.

Open a file

There are two ways to load a track. Drag the file from Finder or Explorer onto the Mix Notes window and drop it anywhere on the library. Or hit "Add Audio File" and pick from disk. Either way the file is read locally first and stored in your browser's IndexedDB, so it's available even if you close the tab and come back later.

Supported formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, AIFF, WMA, and ALAC. If your DAW bounced something in an unusual format, convert to WAV or MP3 first. Stems and full mixes both work - the tool doesn't care what's on the timeline, only that it's audio.

Files also sync to Supabase storage when you're signed in, so you can pick up the same session on another machine. Sign-in is currently required to use the app at all.

Drop your first note

Hit spacebar to play. Hit it again to pause. That's the transport.

While playback is running, the annotation buttons along the bottom of the player capture a note at the exact timestamp of the press. Mix Notes has six built-in buttons, and each one has a keyboard shortcut so you don't have to take your hand off the keys:

• Too Loud (Q) - opens an instrument picker (Vocals, Bass, Guitar / Keys, Drums) so the note knows what's too hot
• Tuning (W) - for pitch moments, usually on a lead vocal
• Glitch (E) - clicks, pops, edit seams, render artifacts
• Too Quiet (A) - same instrument picker as Too Loud
• Timing (S) - for a hit, phrase, or performance that's off the grid
• Custom (D) - free text or voice, see below

The timestamp is the load-bearing part. Notes land a fraction of a second before your actual keypress (Mix Notes adjusts back by ~200ms to account for reaction time), so they sit where you were hearing the issue, not where your finger finished moving.

Custom notes and voice notes

The Custom button opens a sheet with two input options at the same timestamp.

Type in the text box for a written note like "de-ess sibilance on 'sister'" or "automation ride needs to come down here." Hit Enter to save.

Or tap the red record button to capture a voice note at that timestamp. The browser asks for microphone permission the first time; grant it once and it's remembered. Recordings cap out at 60 seconds, which keeps voice notes as sticky notes rather than monologues. Stop the recording and the clip attaches to the timestamp.

See recording voice notes on a mix for when voice beats typing.

Jumping between notes

Every note appears in a scrollable list below the transport, sorted by timestamp. Click a note and the playhead jumps to roughly two seconds before the mark and starts playing, which gives you enough run-up to hear the problem in context.

Keyboard shortcuts cover playback: spacebar toggles play/pause, arrow keys skip (5 seconds forward, 3 seconds back, 15 seconds with Shift held), and Home jumps to the start. There's no dedicated next-note / previous-note shortcut - click through the list to step between marks.

Deleting notes

To delete on desktop, hover the row and hit the trash icon. On touch, swipe the row left - a short swipe reveals a delete button, a long swipe deletes immediately. There's no undo, so deleted notes are gone. If you're not sure whether to keep a note, leave it and scroll past during review. Noise is cheaper than regret here.

Mix Notes doesn't have an edit UI - you can't change the label, text, or timestamp of a note after creating it. If you caught something a beat late or mis-typed, delete and re-capture.

Keep your workflow fast

A capture pass should feel like listening with your fingers resting on Q, W, E, A, S, D. If you're tabbing between windows or reaching across the desk, you'll miss things.

A few habits that pay off:

• Learn the six keyboard shortcuts. The whole point is keypress-per-note. Reaching for the mouse is the slow path.
• Use Timing and Tuning generously on vocal takes, Too Loud / Too Quiet on balance issues, Custom for anything that needs a sentence.
• Capture broadly on the first pass. Mark anything that pulls your attention, even if you're not sure why. Refine in a second pass when you know what you're dealing with.
• Do a full listen start to finish before you touch a fader. The point of annotating is to hear the mix as a whole first, then fix from the map you made.

Most of the trade-off with typing-style note apps is that they force you out of the listening mindset. Keep the keypress-per-note count low and you stay in it.

What's next

The capture flow is the foundation. Two places to go from here: if you're comparing your mix to a reference track, read using AB mode for reference tracks next. If you want to send the annotated mix to a client or bandmate, see sharing mixes with clients.

Or just open the app and start marking up a track.