Quick Audacity question - Gain dB settings

[ComboNo1]

Quick question to knowledgeable sound experts out there:

In Audacity, I am working on some beat tracks and I have

music track = Gain: -5.0 dB (that's negative five)
beat track = Gain: +0.0 dB

I can hear the beats clearly over the music while I am editing. When it's time to mix these two tracks together to render a final track are these settings good? If I raise the music up to 0 and increase the beat track to +5 dB, I think it gives my beats a distorted sound.

Can anyone make a suggestion, or share what values they have used in their videos? I would like the music to be loud enough, but I also want the beats to be loud & clear enough too.

Thanks.

[Bandit224]

If you can hear the beats, then the settings are good. A user can always increase the sound on his computers if the overall sound comes in too quietly.

Anyways, the reason for my post was to explain the distortion. The reason for the distortion on +5 dB beat is due to the amplification increasing the volume of the sound beyond what the audio format can handle. If you want one sound to come through more clearly, it is better to decrease the volume of all other sounds than it is to increase the volume of that one sound.

[ComboNo1]

If you can hear the beats, then the settings are good. A user can always increase the sound on his computers if the overall sound comes in too quietly.

Anyways, the reason for my post was to explain the distortion. The reason for the distortion on +5 dB beat is due to the amplification increasing the volume of the sound beyond what the audio format can handle. If you want one sound to come through more clearly, it is better to decrease the volume of all other sounds than it is to increase the volume of that one sound.

Thank you for your answer, and for explaining the distortion. It makes sense to me now.