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-- can't sync tracks /beat

can't sync tracks /beat

Hello, i am new on trance addict.
I started dj ing with traktor so there was an auto sync option.
now i have an opportunity to work in a club and i just can't match the beat of two trakcs just can't. i tried to listen to the bpm but i can't count it in my head. i tried a lot of times and it just doen't match can u please haelp meeeee?/???

Based on my experience, if you're trying to count the beats, you're probably trying too hard. As Nou said, practice. Practice until your limbs begin falling off your body -- even after months of use I just couldn't get used to beat matching in Traktor. I didn't use the autosync because it was a piece of crap, but I still couldn't get used to doing it manually. There's only so much you can do with the mouse at one time...and only so much you can do on a computer. Thankfully I've had real equipment for almost a year now, and once I got it it was a hell of a lot easier learning how to beat match.

You just have to train your ears -- it won't matter whether or not your phrases are aligned (ONLY WHILE MATCHING--IT MATTERS WHILE MIXING!), so dont get too hung up about phrase matching when you're still trying to learn how to beat match.

Practice practice practice practice practice ... It takes time, so be prepared to put a lot of time into it.

Good luck mate

like my TA home-boyz have just said, its all about practice. just practice. practice alone, practice in your room, practice until you go insane, wait a day, and then practice some more. personally i like to have my phrases matching while i set up a mix just so that i can make sure that they are totally on, like every 32beats you get alittle landmark and if they both hit at the same time they are all set, for the most part

I practice all the time.

there must be a technique or something to hold on...
can u please help me?

ur asking for a skill which takes time to develop?

u have an opp to dj at a club, where ur only bringin in exp from tracktor? um, if thats the case, maybe u shud bring in ur laptop n capitalize on that auto-sync function.

if ur serious bout it. use VTT if u only have ur comp to work with. that helped me train my ears. but u need to get down n dirty with decks, in terms of manipulating the medium ur workin with.

www.recess.co.uk

that was useful when i started.

I learnt how to beatmatch using VTT, but i found changes in the pitch were hell dodgy. The cued record would start to lag (after about 15-20s?), then I'd up the pitch by 0.01 and the cued record would be going to fast. At first I thought it was my ears that were fucked, but after using traktor I realised the version of VTT, or something to do with my computer (eg. soundcard) was wrong.

You said you were using traktor before. Bring it out again, and this is what I suggest you do:

1. Get some blu-tack, and cover up the BPM counters.
2. You know the little vertical meter that shows whether the beats are aligned or not, and how far they are ahead and behind? (We'll call it the beat alignment meter). Cover this up with a strip of paper, perhaps using the blue tack to make it stick, and perhaps turn it into a little flap type thing that you can lift up/pull down easily.
3. Cue your track to the first beat, and save it as Cue1.
4. Start the cued track, and lift up the paper covering the beat alignment meter until the beats are matched perfect.
5. Re-cover up the meter.
6. Listen, and once the beats start to drift, try to figure out whether the track you have cued in your headphones is behind, or ahead.
7. Lift up your piece of paper covering the beat alignment meter, and see if your guess was right or not.
8. change the pitch accordingly (ie. if it was behind, increase the pitch, and vice versa)
9. Start the record at the cue point, re-align the beats, and do it again. And again, and Again, etc etc.

Eventually you should start getting pretty accurate at being able to tell whether or not the cued track is going too fast, or too slow.

Once you get good at this you should also use paper/blu-tack to cover up the waveform parts as well (so you can't cheat with phrase matching or cutting in basses) but since your not learning to phrase-match/know your records yet, you might as well leave it how it is.

One more thing, if your having a bad day. Stop, go do something else and come back later, or perhaps even try the next day. Everyone has shit days, and getting frustrated over it probably doesn't help.

WARNING: Traktor doesn't always pick up the BPM of a track perfect. It sometimes shows different BPM's throughout the song, especially if there are only vocals playing. Same goes for the Beat Alignment Meter, which can go hay-wire depending on the part of the song.

and if i will buy a real gear
two cd players with pitch control and a mixer. it will be easier to learn????

Re: can't sync tracks /beat

quote:

Originally posted by Arkman Hello, i am new on trance addict. I started dj ing with traktor so there was an auto sync option. now i have an opportunity to work in a club and i just can't match the beat of two trakcs just can't. i tried to listen to the bpm but i can't count it in my head. i tried a lot of times and it just doen't match can u please haelp meeeee?/???

omg... how could u mix with sync beat? its like cheating in video games....if u already know how to beatmatch than u can use it if u need some breaks in ur gig or just to relax but this in the most important thing..practice practice practice like the other tas said

quote:

Originally posted by Arkman and if i will buy a real gear two cd players with pitch control and a mixer. it will be easier to learn????

In terms of starting/cueing the record, probably. I can't say since i've never used either CD decks or turntables. In terms of slowing the record down etc, turntables MIGHT be easier .. but im not sure best if someone else who has had actual experience clarifies that.

quote:

Originally posted by bent In terms of slowing the record down etc, turntables MIGHT be easier .. but im not sure best if someone else who has had actual experience clarifies that.

It depends largely on the specific cd player. Either way, its still not as direct as nudging a vinyl.

hmm shouldn't he get used to only using the pitch? it's better using the pitch on traktor than slowing down the record or pushing it forward. So IMO if you get TT or CD decks ain't important, as long as it has the pitch slider anything will do! good luck mate!

thank you guys for your help. i am practicing and it really helps.
but i just can't understand something: i can't sync the trakcs excatly i mean one is 138.3 and other is 138.8. it sounds the same but after some kicks it begins to go off sync. so how can i tell which one went forward or backward?????

quote:

Originally posted by Arkman thank you guys for your help. i am practicing and it really helps. but i just can't understand something: i can't sync the trakcs excatly i mean one is 138.3 and other is 138.8. it sounds the same but after some kicks it begins to go off sync. so how can i tell which one went forward or backward?????

forget about the numbers.. your ears will develop with practice and you'll know by instinct which one is going faster or slower. Your really must only focus on the sound and not the numbers...

Always know about the track you are going to mix in, whether it is too fast or too slow. You don't want to adjust the playing track (should go without saying) Often I would start the track I'm bringing in at what I think is a little faster than it needs to be. Then I would know it was too fast and would tweek the speed down until it matched. If you know your tracks you can be pretty accurate with this. Another thing is to listen for uniqueness in the beats, for instance the track you bring in may have a cymbal every beat that the playing one does not therefore you can hear whether that cymbal is ahead of the kick or before it.

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