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beatmatching hi-hats question
Do you regularly beatmatch using hi-hats/hi-frequency sounds? I used to always use the bass/drum kicks to beatmatch but ever since ive had good headphones ive started doing it during breakdowns as well. Was just curious if this is a common thing?
i normally try to use whatever guides the rhythm best to my ears. this however, is not always possible, as sometimes thing completely confuse me, ie:
Chicks on Speed - We Don't Play Guitars (Captain Comatose Remix)
Lady B - Cruisin' Around Motor City (Original)
the intros on those fuckin throw me off!
I use the hi hats quite frequently.
i use the hi hats quiet a bit. sometimes they feel more accurate depending on venue/stereo/headphones. plus makes beatmatching during breakdowns a breeze
razzi.
i normally use the kick, then "match" or horrbly trainreck by listning to the hats...
with the hats its easy for me to tell its off, even if its of just a little...
I beat match with whatever stands out the most. During breakdowns etc...obviously hi hats. When the beef of the song is running, I tend to hear the actual kick better. One thing I cannot stand are songs that start with really faint hi hat patterns...like how the hell are you supposed to beat match and mix with songs like that if you're playing out? idk, one of my pet peeves. I hate not being able to play records I want because the hi hat patterns in the intro are so weak.
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| Originally posted by zizack I beat match with whatever stands out the most. During breakdowns etc...obviously hi hats. When the beef of the song is running, I tend to hear the actual kick better. One thing I cannot stand are songs that start with really faint hi hat patterns...like how the hell are you supposed to beat match and mix with songs like that if you're playing out? idk, one of my pet peeves. I hate not being able to play records I want because the hi hat patterns in the intro are so weak. |
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| Originally posted by zizack I beat match with whatever stands out the most. During breakdowns etc...obviously hi hats. When the beef of the song is running, I tend to hear the actual kick better. One thing I cannot stand are songs that start with really faint hi hat patterns...like how the hell are you supposed to beat match and mix with songs like that if you're playing out? idk, one of my pet peeves. I hate not being able to play records I want because the hi hat patterns in the intro are so weak. |
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| Originally posted by sandstorm03 yea dj remy's stuff pisses me off, cant stand mixing it, lotta "beat-less" intros |
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| Originally posted by Zild I had the same problem with some of my tracks but I just started beatmatching in the middle of the track. Then I'll cue it on the first beat and see if when the main precussion comes in its still beatmatched then I'll make slight corrections. |
my cure for songs that I really really that have weak ass intros is to just rip them onto my computer and add in beats with acid. Works like a charm.
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| Originally posted by sandstorm03 i try to do that but if you even are off a little it sounds horrible when the kick comes in |
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| Originally posted by Zild Thats why you don't open the channel until you make the corrections when the kick comes in, unless you're a complete badass and you can just do that. (I mix breaks and underground hip-hop so i can usually get away with making corrections with the fader open) |
I rely on the hi hats right before I bring up the fader for the second record. I find it more accurate than using the lows.
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| Originally posted by OurManFlint I rely on the hi hats right before I bring up the fader for the second record. I find it more accurate than using the lows. |
i use anything i can get a rythnm to. From hi hats to kick drums to even melodys with no instrements MAN ITS AWESOME WHEN AFTER ALL THE PRACTICE YOU ARE ENABLED WITH A GOOD EAR!!
Early in my DJing career, I could really only mix with the kick. In time, I felt more and more confident in finding the beat using other elements of a song. Now, I basically mix with whatever sound keeps the time for me the best (sometimes it's even the mids). For instance, the outgoing track may have a solid kick, but the incoming track has one that is soft. It may have a consistent hi-hat though, and I listen to how the hi-hats of the incoming track mix with the kick of the outgoing and it works pretty well.
It's all training your ear. You just "feel" the beat, and there's really no other way to describe it.
once you feel the beat to an extent you beatmatch just about anyting.
After having DJayed for a long time I find myself having developed a really weird skill.
I generally match with what works.
The crazy thing is that I can even match if I switch one of the decks off and just work with the incoming track. I can remember the speed of the other track and still get a good match in most cases... perhaps I need to get out more often he he 
Bottom line is that you don't really specifically need to think I'm matching beats or hi-hats... just match the god damned tunes by whatever method works. Sometimes hi hats can throw you off anyways as they are slightly out of synch to make a track sound funkier.
Use what works, there are no rules for this stuff. You should learn to develop a head count anyways and once you get into that you can match melodies with other melodies too.
Cheers
Nem
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| Originally posted by Nemesis44 After having DJayed for a long time I find myself having developed a really weird skill. I generally match with what works. The crazy thing is that I can even match if I switch one of the decks off and just work with the incoming track. I can remember the speed of the other track and still get a good match in most cases... perhaps I need to get out more often he he Bottom line is that you don't really specifically need to think I'm matching beats or hi-hats... just match the god damned tunes by whatever method works. Sometimes hi hats can throw you off anyways as they are slightly out of synch to make a track sound funkier. Use what works, there are no rules for this stuff. You should learn to develop a head count anyways and once you get into that you can match melodies with other melodies too. Cheers Nem |
i learned how to mix with breaks,
as such i learned how to mix using snares as the focus, and the other (usually 16th note) highhats to perfect the match,
i find that the faster and more often your target sound plays, the more spot on your mix is,
it's the short and fast elements like the 16th note highhats which go out of sync first and most noticably, also most unoffensivley - a dancefloor will keep going through some slighlty mismatched highhat's, but noticable kick wrecks stop everyone in their tracks,
if i mix to the kick only my mix sounds horrible, i think it's because kick drums have long durations, a slightly off time kick drum is hard to detect, only noticable by the kick sound lasting longer and longer, or shorter and shorter, by the time you notice the kick is off, the highhats are usually ****ed and the mix is toast,
it's all about rhythm though,
i can usually beatmatch a quantized melody line right through a breakdown with no percussion and have the track kick in perfectly on beat, it's all about learning where in the sequence of 1-2-3-4 each element fits and how that pattern fits into the other track, once you know where each sound should be in terms of the beats, it's a piece of cake,
practice makes better,
and in the world of dj'ing it seems that there's no right or wrong way to to things,
latley i'm doubting if theres even a better or worse way to do things,
to each his own,
if it works for you and sounds good great,
if not, try something else
i don't generally stick to picking out 1 or 2 elements, its hard to explain. i guess i try and use the track as a whole, or generally whichever bit sticks out best to beatmatch with.
just cue to a point where the beatmatching becomes easier to handle 
for me personally, I prefer the kicks and bass too it's the most easy way to match, but with hi-hats and high frequence it's deffo not impossible, ... sometimes I just cue to a point where the kick comes in and then match it, spin it back to beginning again
practise, ... is always the keyword
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