Open your recording project. You can use a program like Cubase, Logic, Audition, Audacity, GarageBand, Reason, MixCraft, ACID or Cakewalk. Your recordings (such as guitar, bass, vocals) should appear on separate "tracks," or layers, which appear with names like "Track 1" or "Audio 1" and look like horizontal strips spanning from the top of your project window to the bottom. If your vocals and music appear on one single track or recording, proceed to step 5.
Place your lead vocals in the center of the mix. Your background vocals and harmonies can pan to the left and right as needed, but your lead vocal must be represented equally in the left and right channels. On your vocal track, make sure that the "Pan" knob points to the center; it dictates the placement of each recording (whether left, right or center).
Pan your instruments to the left and right. Your kick drum and bass must remain in the center with the lead vocal, but you can pan other tracks to create a surround-sound effect and also provide clarity to your vocals. For example, if you have a guitar on track 2, you might turn the "Pan" knob 50 percent to the right, and if you have a keyboard on track 3, you might turn the "Pan" knob 50 percent to the left. This prevents your mix from becoming over-centralized, which can drown out your vocals.
Apply compression to your vocal track. It smooths out the volume peaks of individual tracks and helps to make recordings sound bolder without drowning out the mix. On the your track options or effects, locate "Compress" or "Multiband Compression" and apply a small amount. Set the "Ratio" at about (2:1) and raise it again slightly if your vocals still fade into the music. Raise the "Attack" and "Release" numbers slightly to bring additional clarity and remove breathing sounds.
Apply "EQ" from the track effects menu. Select it to adjust your audio frequencies and further brighten your vocals. Because different sounds correspond to different frequencies, you can brighten your vocals with EQ even if they appear on the same track as your music. On your EQ grid, locate the space between 2 and 4 kHz, and raise the level by 2 or 3 decibels. This will brighten your vocals without affecting the bass or treble frequencies in your instrumentation.