TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- DJ Booth
-- How long before you could beatmatch?
Pages (3): « 1 [2] 3 »

I've been dj'ing for over a year and I still fuck up...its just practice, i practice 4+ hours everyday, and you just keep getting better and better.

Just be committed...one day you'll be mixing, and it'll hit you...that you figured it out

And remember...have fun.

:P

quote:

Originally posted by Spirit5 Well I feel that equipment does make a difference. I mean if you have a crappy pair of belt drives or a really cheap direct drive table from say Numark or Gemini, i've heard many cases it's harder to beatmatch on those because the pitch drifts, it doesn't stay locked, and just the poor overall quality. If you have a crummy audio system, it's also harder to mix, because you might not hear somethings. This includes headphones, which seem to be vitally important. The ones I have are decent (Senheiser HD212) but I think with a pair that has clearer sound, and having a nice pair of monitors or PAs (esp monitors, smaller ones, because you will be able to hear some things that you wont on PAs, which should be placed further away), you will notice a difference, I know I will whenever I get a new pair of headphones and some monitors...

yeah youll notice a difference, but it doesnt mean you cant beatmatch. I had a pair of gemini xl-500s for about 3 years before i got my ttx1s and I could beatmatch fine on them. A freind of mine had belt drive soundlabs, but he could still mix fine.

I think people should try and get away from thinking that bad equipment prevents you from mixing, yeah sure it might not be as smooth as with a pair of techs, but you can still put together a decently mixed set.

quote:

Originally posted by placebo I've been dj'ing for over a year and I still fuck up

all djs fuck up sometimes, its only natural. I saw Anne Savage play this nye and i swear she had actually forgotten how to mix (but it was 4:30am on nyd so ill let her off)

quote:

Originally posted by djdk all djs fuck up sometimes, its only natural. I saw Anne Savage play this nye and i swear she had actually forgotten how to mix (but it was 4:30am on nyd so ill let her off)

hehe yeah, most of the time i get it, but sometimes you drop that record and its slightly warped, or your pitch is a bit off, etc

just gotta rewire your brain to hear that stuff, and you can fix the mistakes and it'll be smooth as butter ;D

i dont exactly remember how long it took me to get it, but probably a few months.

thats not the concern though cause you will by experience learn how to do it if you practice enough. and you will always get better at it and you will get more experience even if you know how to beatmatch.

back in the days it took me about a few minutes to beatmatch, nowadays i can do the same thing in a minute or less.

it also helps if you learn to pitch ride

quote:

Originally posted by placebo just gotta rewire your brain to hear that stuff, and you can fix the mistakes and it'll be smooth as butter ;D

I swear you get to a stage where your ears are so finely tuned you pick out mistakes before anyone else can hear them. Really useful for mixing but a reet pain in the backside when your just out having a good time lol!

quote:

Originally posted by djdk I swear you get to a stage where your ears are so finely tuned you pick out mistakes before anyone else can hear them. Really useful for mixing but a reet pain in the backside when your just out having a good time lol!

true. sometimes i wish i could revert to pre-dj'ing days and not notice when the dj makes even the most minor of mistakes.

as for beatmatching...took me about 3-6 months too i guess. but that was just to a level where i wasn't frustrated with myself...nowhere near where i think a good dj should be. it is quite interesting tho; i had to take a break from spinning regularly (as in on a day-to-day basis) for a year and a half due to not having my own decks, and it is something u need to keep at to stay good.

cliche, but true: practice makes perfect.

quote:

Originally posted by djdk I swear you get to a stage where your ears are so finely tuned you pick out mistakes before anyone else can hear them. Really useful for mixing but a reet pain in the backside when your just out having a good time lol!

haha yeah dude

and like when you listen to normal music

you even hear it, like in rock songs, they'll do some kind of weird off beat and you're like OMG BEAT SLIP then you realize you aren't mixing

=/

the worst thing is when you're in a car, and the car infront of you is indicating but the light isnt flashing in time with the music on the radio and you try and work out if its faster or slower

jon - you out about in london tonite dude? just about to leave with stu for the 414, pop down if youre in town!

quote:

Originally posted by djdk the worst thing is when you're in a car, and the car infront of you is indicating but the light isnt flashing in time with the music on the radio and you try and work out if its faster or slower jon - you out about in london tonite dude? just about to leave with stu for the 414, pop down if youre in town!

haha...yeah

...ive done that

:P

quote:

Originally posted by djdk friend of mine could beatmatch two records at a level thatwould have been good enough to play out after about 3 hours (i actually saw this, almost hit the bastard lol).

Lol, I could've been your friend I played with Traktor for about 2 years and I played for years in a band either singing or on drums. That way you get an ear for music and you develop your rhythmic skills.

When I eventually decided to buy cdj's I first wanted to experience how it would be. So I went over to a friend of mine who got cdj800's and for some reason I could more or less beatmatch instantly I was excited because it went so easy, so I bought my equipment a month later. I have to buy another cdj though, so right now I'm mixing between Traktor and a cdj. Goes really smooth still

So where some people need about a year to learn it, it is possible for people to learn it within a very short period of time

Yes, you can learn the basics in a short period of time. I play drums my self, even in a metal band !
And I never had a problem of beatmatching, but it is the little extra, that takes time. perfection... And I am far from it.

I stept in at a local disco to night, just finished, and lined to songs up for about a minute... And it sounded so god damn good. You know, those tunes that just...fit together... ( the last song the first dj played, and my first tune)

it took me about two weeks to learn to beatmatch, although i still could only make one of three transitions sound decent. about 6 months or so to get it right. i fucked around with traktor for about 6 months before i bought decks though.

nowadays i can beatmatch.. sufficiently on decks, but with cdj's it's nothing. the problem with beatmatching with vinyl for me is that i can beatmatch them well the first time i cue it up, but then when i drop it i use the pitch fader to correct the mix and i can never find the exact spot i started with.. you know what i mean? cdj's have the pitch bend so you never have to fuck with the fader after you match the tracks up initially..

A long time, actually I'm still learning, but for being a beginner with only two years experience I do a fairly good job. It took awhile though, and it is best if you just forget about the timeframe and don't rush yourself and don't sweat the small stuff. In a few years you'll look back and say hey I remember when I couldn't mix.

It took me 5 days to get the general idea. Now I can beatmatch decently IMO (to you more pro dj's you probably think its crap ) but I still can't get it completely bang on (having it perfect enough so you could have the transition for 3 mins long)

It took me about 3 months (+- 6hrs a day) to learn adjusting "fast enough" but it took a few months more to really "understand" what i was doing.. "you can rush your fingers, you can't rush your ears" =)

quote:

Originally posted by heinke "you can rush your fingers, you can't rush your ears" =)

nicely put

quote:

Originally posted by s3nate (having it perfect enough so you could have the transition for 3 mins long)

lol, that doesn't exist, my smallest pitchrange off my cdj isn't accurate enough to preform that, is there anyone who can beatmatch like that tho? that's why they invented the pitch bend/ jog weel to make small corrections tho?

anywayz, I learned to beatmatch in about 4 weeks, tho I always had to correct it a bit (but most ppl don't hear it anywayz)
I still have my first mix listening to it I realize I was a way better DJ back then then I am now. Only half the tracks were beatmatched
rest was pure inprovisation, with only couple of minor transitions . Nowadays the only thing I do is match the 4x4 beats

Took me 15-20 minutes to beatmatch.

yhea

You could beatmatch properly in 15 min...
I don't think we are talking about beatmatching 5-6 beats, but more like 100+

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_RoKo as for equipment, only a bad workman blames his tools. make do with what you got, its ures, you get used to it. its not like its totally different equipment each time u goto use it. -sonykc

The only thing crap equiptment was at fault for was slowing down the learning/progress part of it. I feel I would have cought on a lot faster and would have seen the progress faster. I will admit it helped with getting my ear to hear whats fast or slow but it was stressful just trying to get a solid mix recorded on them. By the time I got on techs, I had those geminis down about as good you can. It was fine for get togethers but recording wasnt worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by Illuminati yhea You could beatmatch properly in 15 min... I don't think we are talking about beatmatching 5-6 beats, but more like 100+

Yeah, that's what I mean, I didn't ask how long it took you to beatmatch, but how long before you could beatmatch properly.. By that I mean having it matched up for at least 2 minutes or so, without corrections..

But overall I think I can draw the conclusion that most of you could beatmatch ok after six months, and than still learned a lot over the years.. I opened this thread with the intention to see where I was at, although I've been doing it for like 6 months, I don't think it means I naturally suck at it, because it looks like you guys practised way more than I did.. So, my final conclusion: practise more (how predictable!)..
Thnx guys for the feedback!

within a week i could get the speeds right on my soundlab beltdrive dlp1's... then it took about two months to learn the 4:4 structure and when to cue the track in for it to work well as a mix..

Beatmatching is like sex. The first time is awesome but u kinda "suck". It takes time to get good at it, plus everytime you do it, u learn something new.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.