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Tips on beatmatching for a newby?

So I am learning how to beatmatch and I am having a difficult time getting a hold of it. What rate of bpm's should I be working with to begin with? What are some easy tracks to work with? Anything helps.

Re: Tips on beatmatching for a newby?

quote:

Originally posted by 360madness So I am learning how to beatmatch and I am having a difficult time getting a hold of it. What rate of bpm's should I be working with to begin with? What are some easy tracks to work with? Anything helps.

Check the sticky's in this forum. Since this is a trance music forum, the typical BPM's that you're going to be working with range from 130-150. The type of tracks I'd recommend for practicing beatmatching have long intros and outros that are beats only (Percussion...you know...just a kick and snare basically). Trying to cue up a track that doesn't begin with beats is going to be much harder to beatmatch, since any clashes in rhythm will be less noticeable.

Hope this helps!!!

Play the same track on two players.

Try get them beat matched without looking specifically at the pitch slider or the bpm numbers on either deck (if they're on show)

Once you feel comfortable getting the same tracks to run at the same speed try throw a different track in there and repeat the process.

Don't worry too much about bpms at the beginning. Just try and use your ears to get the tracks running at the same speed. Move the pitch fader a little, then listen. Move a little more then listen a little more.

As mentioned there are some great videos in the sticky beginner thread at the top of the dj booth forum which should give you hours of material to help you on your way.

If you have any specific questions though, feel free to ask us all in here

That makes a lot of sense. I have been trying to mix a lot of songs that do not start out with base snare. Thanks guys!

quote:

Originally posted by 360madness That makes a lot of sense. I have been trying to mix a lot of songs that do not start out with base snare. Thanks guys!

What equipment are you using?

Well i bought a used numark fusion 222 cd package. Its not nice but it has all the basics and it puts out decent sound

Do it til your sick of it and then do it some more.

Then it just clicks.

quote:

Originally posted by 360madness That makes a lot of sense. I have been trying to mix a lot of songs that do not start out with base snare. Thanks guys!

When you mix two trance songs, you need to beat match successfully and find points in two songs that sound well together. Once you master the beat matching...

Musical layers usually are added and removed in 32 beat chunks called 'phrases.' Usually you will want to start the incoming song (volume off) at the beginning of a phrase as a new phrase begins in the outgoing song. Beat match the two songs in the headphones, then raise the volume of the incoming song.

I have been starting the song with the volume up and moving the crossfader. You're saying i should start with the crossfader in the center then raise the volume?

Honestly i've found that mixing trance is very very boring, the most difficult part is mixing in key and with phrases, but i'd suggest you that once you learnt how to beatmatch learn to mix on 3 decks tech house or a style that has always a common structure , it's funnier and i'm sure that will make you a better dj.

quote:

Originally posted by 360madness I have been starting the song with the volume up and moving the crossfader. You're saying i should start with the crossfader in the center then raise the volume?

It is a personal preference. Neither method is better.

For trance, usually you want your transitions to be very gradual and I feel that using the two volume sliders give me more control.

For hiphop and top40, where the transitions usually are quick, I like using a crossfader which is easier than rapidly moving one volume slider up and one volume slider down simultaneously.

quote:

Originally posted by Rodri Santos Honestly i've found that mixing trance is very very boring, the most difficult part is mixing in key and with phrases, but i'd suggest you that once you learnt how to beatmatch learn to mix on 3 decks tech house or a style that has always a common structure , it's funnier and i'm sure that will make you a better dj.

It's all about personal music taste, right? If he likes trance, he will be much more motivated to get better at mixing.

I think trance is perfect for a beginner. The formula for a successful trance transition isn't difficult (line up phases, beatmatch, switch volumes and eqs slowly, get next song ready) and it allows him to develop skills he can take to other genres.

Most of your mixes should be slow and drawn out using your faders. There are exceptions to the rule, however.

In some cases it's OKAY to suddenly kill the volume (from full volume to no volume) of track 1 when mixing into track 2.

When the intro of track 2 is just about over, wait for the last beat before the breakdown and slam track 1's fader all the way down, so that track 1 will drop out of the mix completely. If done right, this can sound smooth. It's going to make it sound like both tracks are breaking down at the same time.

Try it, tell me what you think.

not sure how djing works now but when I started, I learned to beatmatch by only using the pitch shift controls. I think the practice both improved my hearing and also made me more able to notice when things where going out of phase. It also looked cool. I remember all the other local djs looking on in jealousy. This was in 2001 tho so I don't even know if beat-matching is still done today since everything is digital.

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Originally posted by Mad for Brad not sure how djing works now but when I started, I learned to beatmatch by only using the pitch shift controls. I think the practice both improved my hearing and also made me more able to notice when things where going out of phase. It also looked cool. I remember all the other local djs looking on in jealousy. This was in 2001 tho so I don't even know if beat-matching is still done today since everything is digital.

Although I only started mixing a year ago, it seems that beat matching is muchhhh easier today than it was in the vinyl days.

Using Traktor on my relatively simple Numark Omni Control mixer I can beat match by (1) hitting a 'sync' button to match the tempo and (2) pitch bend to line up the phase. You need to make sure that Traktor correctly identifies the tempo of the two songs, but the software usually gets it right.

There is an Ellaskins video on YouTube that shows how to beat match by moving the pitch slider. Too lazy to find it.

traktor is inaccurate, i use it as an interface because gives some crucial information for me but bpm wise:

-His bpm counters are awful, i see 256 bpm tracks, 68 bpm tracks, 134'78 bpm tracks (135 for sure but it's all you need to confuse people and get trainwrecks)

And if you use the autosync function the kicks aren't layered properly, you need to bend a bit to place them flawlessly.

Also you've a bar that shows if the tracks are beatmatched, i find this handy, i mean, i trust my ear but having a visual confirmation that you beatmatched it properly gives you some extra comfort, however some tracks have a weird basslines, sometimes with extra kicks inside the 4/4 measure and this make this tool go crazy, so if you trust it you'll surely fail.

The pitch bend trick is in order to beatmatch tracks with different bpms, you move the pitch of the two tracks to what you estimate is the best bpm to beatmatch the tracks (i.e 128 and 130 best bpm is 129) then you move the platter until the tracks are beatmatched , then see if the tracsk keep matched or start trainwrecking. If they trainwreck move the platter:

-Clockwise
-Anticlockwise

To beatmatch them again, if you move the platter clockwise move your pitch down (+) a tiny bit. Anticlockwise up (-). And that's it you got your track beatmatched.

If you are lazy as me you know the exact % of pitch you've to apply to keep'em matched :P with some practice you learn it.

To be completely honest, I do not want to use any automatic sync techniques. Not that i feel its cheating but I want to learn how to beat match and from what it seems like i guess i just have to grow the ear for beat counting and matching. No other way around it

Good, you'll thank yourself in the long run.

quote:

Originally posted by Apeattack Although I only started mixing a year ago, it seems that beat matching is muchhhh easier today than it was in the vinyl days.

a monkey can beat match. What always annoyed we were djs that had the beats matched but had no sense of musical timing and the phrases would be all off sync. So annoying when you are trying to time your backflip to the new track drop.

quote:

Originally posted by 360madness To be completely honest, I do not want to use any automatic sync techniques. Not that i feel its cheating but I want to learn how to beat match and from what it seems like i guess i just have to grow the ear for beat counting and matching. No other way around it

Meh. Some people consider using the sync button cheating. For me, it is just another tool to make the DJ's life easier. Why spend valuable seconds playing with the pitch slider when you could simply hit a button to match the bpm perfectly (you may have to adjust the phase, but you can do that easily by using the platters or pitch bend buttons.)? Use those saved seconds to make sure your eq'ing is good.

There are many things that can go wrong during a transition. Why not eliminate one of those things (getting the two songs in the same bpm) by using sync.

If you plan to use vinyl then you will have to learn how to beatmatch manually. However, if you are using digital music don't shun certain tools because they are seen as not authentic or whatever.

Traktor doesn't always get the bpm correct when you first load the track, but it is easy to fix and save the correct bpm information.

quote:

Originally posted by Mad for Brad a monkey can beat match. What always annoyed we were djs that had the beats matched but had no sense of musical timing and the phrases would be all off sync. So annoying when you are trying to time your backflip to the new track drop.

Making songs flow together is what DJing EDM is all about.

quote:

Originally posted by Apeattack Meh. Some people consider using the sync button cheating. For me, it is just another tool to make the DJ's life easier.

I think of it like math...sure the calculator makes life easier but you still need to be able to do the work on paper if necessary.

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Originally posted by brucelee6783 I think of it like math...sure the calculator makes life easier but you still need to be able to do the work on paper if necessary.

When is the last time you multiplied six large numbers together by hand? If you are like most people, probably a lonnngggg time ago. The proliferation of hand-held and computer calculators make pen and paper obsolete. People become so reliant on calculators that they may actually forget how to do simple math. I bet it would take most people a long time to remember how to divide 1.564 by 6.88, if they remember at all. But whether they remember or not is irrelevant as long as they understand the general concept of division and why they want to use it for a particular task.

Similarly with beatmatching, as long as you understand the concept of beatmatching why would you ever want to go through all the small steps yourself instead of hitting a button? This is the beauty of technology. It takes away the tedious, easily automated jobs from our daily lives (like beatmatching) and gives us free time to pursue other tasks (like spending more time on eq'ing during a transition).

In the bigger picture, computer programs and hardware are making the DJ's job easier and I can easily imagine in the near future a live DJ will not be necessary. Someone will invent a computer algorithm that will beatmatch perfectly and make transitions on the fly that sound far superior to anything a person could do. Put in your favorite songs and the computer will make an awesome mix in milliseconds. It is only a matter of time... the live DJ's days are numbered.

In the immediate future, the general trend in DJ hardware and software is to have 'sync' buttons making manual beatmatching irrelevant. The only exceptions I can think of are if you want to mix with vinyl or to look cooler, but besides that there isn't a "good" reason to manually beatmatch anymore (in my opinion).

quote:

Originally posted by Apeattack When is the last time you multiplied six large numbers together by hand? If you are like most people, probably a lonnngggg time ago. The proliferation of hand-held and computer calculators make pen and paper obsolete. People become so reliant on calculators that they may actually forget how to do simple math. I bet it would take most people a long time to remember how to divide 1.564 by 6.88, if they remember at all. But whether they remember or not is irrelevant as long as they understand the general concept of division and why they want to use it for a particular task. Similarly with beatmatching, as long as you understand the concept of beatmatching why would you ever want to go through all the small steps yourself instead of hitting a button? This is the beauty of technology. It takes away the tedious, easily automated jobs from our daily lives (like beatmatching) and gives us free time to pursue other tasks (like spending more time on eq'ing during a transition). In the bigger picture, computer programs and hardware are making the DJ's job easier and I can easily imagine in the near future a live DJ will not be necessary. Someone will invent a computer algorithm that will beatmatch perfectly and make transitions on the fly that sound far superior to anything a person could do. Put in your favorite songs and the computer will make an awesome mix in milliseconds. It is only a matter of time... the live DJ's days are numbered. In the immediate future, the general trend in DJ hardware and software is to have 'sync' buttons making manual beatmatching irrelevant. The only exceptions I can think of are if you want to mix with vinyl or to look cooler, but besides that there isn't a "good" reason to manually beatmatch anymore (in my opinion).

And while we're at it, why not just remove steering wheels from Formula 1 cars, and install an "auto steering" functionality to the cars. That way we can let the driver focus on his braking and acceleration. Damn, that sure sounds like fun.

Manual beatmatching is an integral part of the entire DJ performance. It makes DJ'ing more "fun" in my opinion.

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Originally posted by brucelee6783 And while we're at it, why not just remove steering wheels from Formula 1 cars, and install an "auto steering" functionality to the cars. That way we can let the driver focus on his braking and acceleration. Damn, that sure sounds like fun. Manual beatmatching is an integral part of the entire DJ performance. It makes DJ'ing more "fun" in my opinion.

"Fun" is an fine reason to manually beatmatch. If you enjoy going through all the steps of beatmatching and you think it adds a theatrical element to your performance, that's great. I don't think anyone is 'wrong' for manually beatmatching. Just keep in mind that most people at a club care about (1) the club atmosphere, (2) song selection, and (3) how a DJ interacts with the crowd. Most people have no idea what the DJ is doing with the equipment and don't want to know. They would have no idea if you hit a sync button or spent the time to manually beatmatch.

The current technology allows DJs to skip much of the beatmatching steps. Like I said in an earlier post, I use the sync button to match the tempo and then use pitch bend or the jog wheel to match the phase. I spend a lot of prep time making sure that the beatgrids are correct in Traktor so the songs will sync easily.

I predict that DJs who start learning how to DJ now (like me) will be less likely to want to manually beatmatch. I see beatmatching as a relict of the vinyl days when DJs had no choice. These same DJs are in the habit of going through all the steps of beatmatching because they like the way it feels and are used to it, but it isn't necessary now. I do not see manual beatmatching as an integral part of being a DJ and I imagine more and more DJs will have the same opinion as time goes by.

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