TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- DJ Booth
-- How to mix in tracks with an "irregular beat"?
Pages (2): [1] 2 »
How to mix in tracks with an "irregular beat"?
I'm a newbie, so don't be too harsh.
How would mix in something like BT - Somnambulist (Burufunk mix) with a track that has a "normal" beat, such as PVD - For an Angel? It seems to me that the only way to do this would be to do a quick cut. That raises another question - how do I mix in the cued track?
Thanks in advance - feel free to correct my terminology.
If they're running at the right tempo it will sound OK.
Listen to The Politics Of Dancing, the mix that runs into Mirco De Govia - Epic Monolith, it's a breakbeat. Yet it still works.
Jarv
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Jarvmeister If they're running at the right tempo it will sound OK. Listen to The Politics Of Dancing, the mix that runs into Mirco De Govia - Epic Monolith, it's a breakbeat. Yet it still works. Jarv |
I guess I should avoid mixing such tracks until my beat-matching is perfected. Looks like this would be to hard at this point
Don't feel bad. I've been mixing for just over a year, and if you handed me a crate full of breaks and said, "Here, tear it up, you skinny white punk," I'd be as lost as a ball in high weeds.
I've heard some nice trancey breaks that would be great to put in a set, but I honestly have no clue about the mechanics of beat matching breaks. I'm sure it's similar to anything else. Any links/pointers? 
Breakbeats, for me, were a HUGE hurdle in my first year or so of mixing, but now I can't get enough of them (hell, my first production is a breaks tune!).
My advice is just to find the four count in the breakbeat - It's there, it just may be harder to pull out initially. Once you've got that, and are able to beatmatch the two, then it's simply a matter of switching the kick - I usually cut the kick to the outgoing tune 4 or 8 beats before the end of a phrase, and then slam the incoming kick in on the start of the next phrase.
Hope that sort of helps.
Don't listen to the beat, listen to the clap/snare and other percs and it's just like mixing any other kind of music.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by RJT lol - the implication being that the majority of time you can't mix a break beat with a 4/4? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Jarvmeister No - the implication that you can. It's in plain english. I didn't say it was out of the ordinary - I used it as an example. The implication of which you speak is in the thread starters post! Jarv |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Jarvmeister it's a breakbeat. Yet it still works. |
here's what I want to ultimately achieve. I know it's all one song, but listen to the part that starts at about 2:30 (that's cut out of KT's mix). [[ LINK REMOVED ]]
BTW, I would appreciate it if someone can ID this track - I'd love to use it in a mix.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Mr.Mystery Don't listen to the beat, listen to the clap/snare and other percs and it's just like mixing any other kind of music. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Clovis How about listen to the track on a whole and go from there... |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Mr.Mystery Yes, but if even 2 different kicks confuse you how do you expect to make that work? |
I think once you've developed a good skill for beatmatching you can match just about anything, it just sort of gets imbedded in your brain so breakbeat or any weird track doesn't confuse you.
Just find the groove of the breakbeat track; listen to different tracks until you can easily find the straight 4/4 beat (or whatever time signature the particular track is in) and beatmatch with that. You may even subconsciously do that already- see if your foot taps or you nod or whatever in time with the track.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Mr.Mystery Don't listen to the beat, listen to the clap/snare and other percs and it's just like mixing any other kind of music. |
From Memory Alucard remix of U2 - With or Without You was a fucked up breakbeat that I found ver difficult to mix.
Also, I think once you really know what a solid beatmatch sounds like, a lot of this just falls into place. 
It's really easy. Count to yourself 1,2,3,4 while adjusting the pitch fader to keep the music in line (there is almost always a snare/clap on the 2 and 4 and you can hear them coming a mile away). Personally I started out as a underground hip-hop and breaks DJ so I guess it is hard for me to see what the fuss is all about.
i'd recommend you sit at home and do nothing but try to mix breaks for a little while. it will get rid of that pesky '1 2 3 4' habit you get at the beginning of spinning.
look at it this way, 'k' means kick, 'S' means snare. (you do know what a snare sounds like, right? )
normal 4x4:
k---k---k---k---
basic breakbeat:
k---S---k-k-S---
these are two different structures for 4/4 music. but if they're at the same tempo, it will be no problem. lining up the kicks can be a bit of a bitch at first, so listen for the snares. i actually learned to mix break with the Burufunk Mix of Somnambulist as well
at the intro, where it goes BOOM, PACK... that PACK sound, is the snare. if i remember correctly, it is on the 2nd beat. so, grab your vinyl (or cue up your CD) on that sound, as if it were a kick. when you want to let go, let it go on 2, instead of 1. use these sounds to determine whether you're going too fast or too slow, correct accordingly.
if it becomes a huge mess, don't worry. correcting will be a bit of a problem at first with breaks, just cue up again, release on 2, re-pitch, 'till you got it.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Inertia i'd recommend you sit at home and do nothing but try to mix breaks for a little while. it will get rid of that pesky '1 2 3 4' habit you get at the beginning of spinning. look at it this way, 'k' means kick, 'S' means snare. (you do know what a snare sounds like, right? )normal 4x4: k---k---k---k--- basic breakbeat: k---S---k-k-S--- these are two different structures for 4/4 music. but if they're at the same tempo, it will be no problem. lining up the kicks can be a bit of a bitch at first, so listen for the snares. i actually learned to mix break with the Burufunk Mix of Somnambulist as well at the intro, where it goes BOOM, PACK... that PACK sound, is the snare. if i remember correctly, it is on the 2nd beat. so, grab your vinyl (or cue up your CD) on that sound, as if it were a kick. when you want to let go, let it go on 2, instead of 1. use these sounds to determine whether you're going too fast or too slow, correct accordingly. if it becomes a huge mess, don't worry. correcting will be a bit of a problem at first with breaks, just cue up again, release on 2, re-pitch, 'till you got it. |
when mixing breaks, or any genre for that matter, listen to the high end like the hi hats and snares which will almost always be on a proper 4/4 count
and when i say any genre for that matter, don't listen to the bass and kicks when beatmatching house and trance, listen to the high end as it's more precise and it cuts through the noise better
bass and kicks tend to be a little sloppy and don't lend themsleves well to tight mixing
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Tony Morello when mixing ... any genre for that matter, listen to the high end like the hi hats and snares which will almost always be on a proper 4/4 count |
hey dont forget to look for convenient spots in the track for the transition - 'knowing' your tracks. spots where the phrasing is easier to hear. after u mix them enough you'll know how to manipulate them best.
now, a convenient breakdown in the middle of the track is probably too early to fade to the next song so dont go overboard with this.
lastly, you might be able to use technology to your advantage:
if that 'sweet spot' in the track doesnt last long enough 4 u to transition to the next song, you can try setting a loop there and you'll have all the time in the world to fade out. BUT as simple as it may sound, there are pitfalls to this technique :
--- when you set a loop on the outgoing song, the tempo is going to change on you because it's not a perfect loop...so now you have to synch up the next track again (probably +- 0.2 to 0.5% change) and depending on your skill level this is going to take time...and depending on the quality of the loop, people will start scratching their heads
dont use technology as a crutch. but you do need to learn it's limits & what you can and cant do with it...
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Zild This is great advice. If you beatmatch using the high end you will find your mixes will be much tighter than if you're intentionally listening for the bass drum. |
), so if you were to try and match this based on the clap, the beats would be off-sync and it would sound a little weird...I noticed this as i heard UWM's November mix and i thought to myself "isn't Phuture Bound ahead here?" but then realized that the clap just sounded like it was. But as a general rule, i guess you could say the highs are more precise.
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.