Let’s get started
There are several different approaches to mixing, but most people like to start with the rhythm section, building the song up from there, bass, guitar or keyboard, etc... But I have seen engineers, especially when working with vocal driven tracks starting with the lead vocal and bringing in the most important instrumental parts first and then the rhythm section, or drums then vocals.
On Beat driven tracks it makes sense to start with the drums and rhythmical elements first, then Bass and so on.
If you mix a track that you’ve never heard before I would advise first to go through the individual tracks quickly to hear what they do and do a monitor mix fairly quickly so you can listen to the whole song to get a feel with it, so you can start to have an idea of what it should sound like in your opinion, which elements should be more prominent, it will help you to start making musical choices as well as finding out if everything sounds ok before you start diving into Eq’ing-compressing-etc.
I personally would recommend to try to listen to the whole track as much as possible rather than soloing every individual tracks all the time, always trying to keep a feel of the track, when you overwork in solo mode you can start to loose the whole picture.
So as you listen and adjust a bit more your monitor mix, it is a good time to start listening to other records, to use as reference.
Referencing your mix
It is very easy to lose your way when starting out in mixing. Your attention is continually being drawn in different directions, concentrating on the different instruments and voices. This makes it very easy to become bogged down in the detail of the mix, rather than its overall balance. You also have to consider the general tonal balance of the mix and how it compares to commercial tracks of the same genre.
One way to create and maintain a reference on which to base your mixing decisions is to listen to examples of similar music released commercially. Playing suitable music CDs through the same monitors in the same listening environment will help establish the all-important sonic reference with which you can judge your own mix. Listen critically, and form opinions about both the spectral balance and the relative levels of different instruments. You may also be able to come up with some good ideas for reverb and effects settings, and maybe even a few production ideas!
Another trap to be wary of is that of ever-escalating listening levels. In general, the louder your monitoring level, the less accurate your perception of balance will be. This is because it is easier to hear detail in quiet elements of the mix when the whole thing is very loud. Turn the volume down to a more normal domestic listening level and the quiet bits will be completely lost! Far better to set a comfortable listening level with your reference music sources (which may be a little louder than a domestic level, but not too much), and then try to balance your mix at the same level. It is a little harder to do, but you will get better, more transportable results, with less ear fatigue and happier neighbours.