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-- I played my first gig tonight

I played my first gig tonight

I used a Denon cd-mixer and overall it wasn't so bad. This was my FIRST time every touching any mixing equipment and my friend told me that I was pretty good for a noobie. It was fun...until the people requested rap.

But I need your help. I was wondering if you guys have certain techniques to beatmatch better because it usually takes me a long time to beat match due to me getting mixed up which kick is from which song. I tried listening to each channel seperately and listening to their kicks but once I listened to both channels again, it was still kind of hard. I guess I am not sure whether to lower or raise the bpm when mixing.

Please don't flame too hard on me. Much appreciated.

I only got my decks a few days ago... I can beatmatch pretty well, but sometimes its very hit or miss. The hardest part is getting the tempos fairly close in the first place, while still allowing time for fine tuning. Once you've got em close its much easier to separate the tracks. Of course I've been mixing mp3's for many years so I might just already have that skill wired into my head.

If it's really throwing you off still, just wait till they get close then gallop their way into a few quick beats of being matched, then as they begin to drift just pick a direction to move it (either faster or slower - not the pitch, the actual tune... since its a CD deck use the pitch bend). If it gets worse, you moved it the wrong way, so adjust the pitch accordingly. If it gets better, well you guessed right, adjust the pitch accordingly. Repeat until things are nice and matched.

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer I only got my decks a few days ago... I can beatmatch pretty well, but sometimes its very hit or miss. The hardest part is getting the tempos fairly close in the first place, while still allowing time for fine tuning. Once you've got em close its much easier to separate the tracks. Of course I've been mixing mp3's for many years so I might just already have that skill wired into my head. If it's really throwing you off still, just wait till they get close then gallop their way into a few quick beats of being matched, then as they begin to drift just pick a direction to move it (either faster or slower - not the pitch, the actual tune... since its a CD deck use the pitch bend). If it gets worse, you moved it the wrong way, so adjust the pitch accordingly. If it gets better, well you guessed right, adjust the pitch accordingly. Repeat until things are nice and matched.

I will try that out next time and hopefully it will work out. Well, at least my track selection is good.

learning to separate the 2 songs in your head while ur tryin to mix is a skill u pick up gradually. just keep at it and u'll get it eventually!

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer If it's really throwing you off still, just wait till they get close then gallop their way into a few quick beats of being matched, then as they begin to drift just pick a direction to move it (either faster or slower - not the pitch, the actual tune... since its a CD deck use the pitch bend). If it gets worse, you moved it the wrong way, so adjust the pitch accordingly. If it gets better, well you guessed right, adjust the pitch accordingly. Repeat until things are nice and matched.

good advice.

quote:

Originally posted by RIP_Technics learning to separate the 2 songs in your head while ur tryin to mix is a skill u pick up gradually. just keep at it and u'll get it eventually!

this is usually determined by how many times you have heard the song your mixing

quote:

Originally posted by dallas this is usually determined by how many times you have heard the song your mixing

I disagree. I can mix most new tracks that I rarely/never heard before with no problem, I think once the brain gets used to separating 2 tracks, you tend to understand which belongs to which etc and which is one is faster or slower. the way you mix is important as well of course, if you use split cue, one ear in one ear out, both tracks on the headphones or just 1 on PFL etc... keep practising, as usual!

just practice a lot. I thought after a few months of mixing I was good at beat matching. Then after another 6 months I realised I was so much better, now 9 months after that I realise I am so much better.

yet now I realise I still need improvement. So I guess the key is practice practice practice.

quote:

Originally posted by benoitfan I think once the brain gets used to separating 2 tracks, you tend to understand which belongs to which etc and which is one is faster or slower.

I agree completely. I've noticed that eventually you just sense if the cued song needs to be nudged up a little or slow down a little. I definitly remeber when it used to be confusing and frusterating for me when I couldn't distinguish between either. It still happens sometimes but I've noticed that i've gotten alot better at it.

Boomer187 said it well too. The longer you are spinning for you will definitly notice plateaus and improvements along the way

If you have the skill down, knowing a track has nothing to do with beatmatching. Knowing a track is good for making a transistion since you will know the buildups and breaks in a song, but even then after a while you can get through that too by physically seeing it on the vinyl. As everyone has said, just practice a lot and seperating the beats in your head is automatic, as well as knowing immediately whether to slow down or speed up the track.

I also agree that knowing whether to slow down or speed up is just something you get after awhile and it can not really be explained ... you "just know". The other thing i think that is helpful is to first just drop the needle on the record and get them close, then cue up the track and once you get good at cueing up then you will have them beatmatched right off the bat and can listen for them to drift out and make a pitch adjustment. This may seem obvious to some people, but when i fist started mixing i would just drop the needle and start trying to get the beats lined up, which is much more difficult in my opinion.

A question about "sensing" which track is going faster or slower...

I can do this ok - been DJing for about 1.5yrs now - but if I put the headphone to my ear and listen to one track only, I can't, for the LIFE OF ME, figure out which one is off.

Through the monitors works for me instead of through one headphone, but I want to get away from that since I'm learning with a third deck right now and it is much more difficult to guage the off beats through the monitors alone.

Helppppp....

i just mixed for my first time the other day,

it was the most fulfilling thing i have ever done.

i even managed to beatmatch a few records 2 bad my biys headphones came straight from hell

quote:

Originally posted by Skipper A question about "sensing" which track is going faster or slower... I can do this ok - been DJing for about 1.5yrs now - but if I put the headphone to my ear and listen to one track only, I can't, for the LIFE OF ME, figure out which one is off.

Try practicing with out headphones. just keep both tracks at full and the xfader in the middle and make sure they are eq'ed. rock the cued record over the beat in time with the live one and let em go....its just a different way of hearing it..

hey mate what i would say is practice, practice and more practice.
hearing both tunes at once (one in each ear) is a skill that takes time to master. Just keep trying it should come naturally after a while. Your ears just need the training.

Cheers=)

Beatchmatching and transitions

Ok as most people have explained beatmatching is a matter of finding the right pitch for a track so both have the same rhythmatic beat. Now lets take this a step further into Djing.

One easy way to work on beat matching is first Listen to the music. Lets say you are playing a Trance tune you should notice that it changes every 32 bars.


Let me use a song for an example of what I mean by change. Dj Tiesto - Flight 643 right at 28 seconds into the track it changes then at 42 seconds it changes again. These are what i call 32 count changes in songs. You can hear A major change at 1:51 in the track. I am using winamp to get the time for them, you can also use a regular cd player.

Now after listening to music for a while you can just hear these changes. Now let DJ Tiesto - Flight 643 start playing then you will have another track you want to mix in. Find the first beat on the vinyl the VERY first beat and just release the track and find the pitch so beat matching is spot on. Then go back to that first beat or any 32 count transition and hold it there and be ready to drop it in right when you hear the 32 count of the next song happen. Match those up and listen to the transition at the same time.

Practice this while beatmatching you will be killing two birds with one stone

wow you guys, thank you so much for all this advice. I will be sure to put it to good use.

Re: Beatchmatching and transitions

quote:

Originally posted by we_R_DNA One easy way to work on beat matching is first Listen to the music. Lets say you are playing a Trance tune you should notice that it changes every 32 bars.

What DNA is talking about is bar matching. He says the music is changing every 32 bars, I am sure he meant beats. Most trance and electronic music (if not all i have ever heard) is in 4/4 time. That's 4 beats in a measure, 4 measures in a bar. In theory, every 4 bars a big change is supposed to happen. Most changes happen every 2 bars to avoid a repetitive feel. Like DNA pointed out, bar matching is JUST AS IMPORTANT as beat matching. I have heard some people that get a great pitch lock, but then they don't match up bars. They try and throw a song in on an even numbered bar (2 or 4). This causes changes every bar in a transistion and is very noticeable. It can completely wreck a good mix even though they might be perfectly matched on beats.

Tracklist for your first set?>

quote:

Originally posted by Algenis Tracklist for your first set?>

1) Andain - Ave Maria
2) Timo Maas - Shifter
3) Forgot
---Store manager had to make announcement--
Started over with a bunch of random tracks that felt right at the time.

1) Andy Hunter - Go (Antillas Remix)
2) Agnelli & Nelson - Holding Onto Nothing
3) H Foundation - Tonight (K Britt Remix)
4) BT - Mercury and Solace
5) Sarah Mclachlan - Fallen (Gabriel and Dresden Anti-Gravity remix)
6) Motorcycle - As the Rush comes (Sorry I had to )
7) Depeche Mode - Free Love (Deep Dish Remix)
8) Sasha - Wavy Gravy (The transistion wasn't as bad as I thought)

that's it.

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