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advanced mixing
mixing trance music is boring to me. Ive gotten to the point now where I can plop down record #1, beatmatch #2 to #1 in about 10 secs (sometimes 
), then walk away for about 5 minutes and come back and mix in #2. Im exaggerating, but you get the idea.
I dont have an effects option on my mixer so my question is, what do you do MUSICALLY to spice up a trance song??? Is anyone brave enough out there to scratch to it? For tek house music, i like to do cuts,scratch etc.
Im djing at this party this weekend and its gotten to the point where i hate ppl staring at me work with trance and theyre waiting for me to do something cool like scratching.
I need tips and pointers besides jumping up and down and waving my records in the air to get the crowd pumped. 
Thanks.
I'm not so sure about scratching with Trance. But you could try layering. That's pretty cool.
For example in a build up e.g. DJ Snowman - and then they start to dance (Jam X & De Leon remix I think)
After the first 32 beats of the build up add in an extra big bass for the remaining 32 beats of the build up. That makes the build up alot bigger, more oompf! You could nick the bass beats from a track like Rank 1 - Awakening (Cosmic Gate Remix) the first 32 beats is just strong bass beats. Also a good time to use the looping on your CDJ unit if you have one. As you could loop the bass of cosmic gate into an 8 beat loop. Giving you that added bass when and where you need it for another track.
Another example of layering is in the second build up of a track layer over the top the first build up of another track. Then instead of going back into the first track (after the build up) actually go straight into the second track. That is a really nice way to mix and get some energy going. The best example of this I have heard is on Mark Dynami'x - Club Nation CD. He gets the Bells from the Shiva's club mix of Dreams and uses that build up over the second build up of T.W.M. by Tin Tin out (Jam X mix).
Cheers, Josh
Joshy, what's up boy.
Busy child, do you have any techno. I sometimes mix a bit of techno trebel and midrange over the top. Sounds pretty cool in some cercumstances.
get a third table
mix techno into your trance..to get rid of break downs..have fun
I finally got on the bloody board, yay!
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Joshva I finally got on the bloody board, yay! |
yea... so now what you do is actually mix...
bring in parts of the second track and layer them in, then drop them out how you see fit only to wind up bringing then back in later...
mix the whole song, not just the intro and outros 
Re: advanced mixing
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Busy Child I need tips and pointers besides jumping up and down and waving my records in the air to get the crowd pumped. |
i guess you should try and read the crowd, track selection, etc
i donno what else to say 
This is where you have to take mixing to the next level. You're probably thinking, I've learned how to beatmatch/phrasematch etc as well as I possibly can. There is nothing more to do and I've gotta move on to something else that is challenging for me as a DJ. Well, chances are, you've not even mastered trance. Your mixing skills are only limited by your imagination. If you are bored as a dj, then it is your job to find something to do during those "boring" periods. Try getting an effects processor like a khaos pad or something similar. Get a third deck, or learn how to tease tracks. Teasing is basically playing the awesome beats etc of the upcoming/cue track during the live track. Not only does this keep you busy, but it is in effect making your own track too! If you don't have the money/don't want to get an effects processor, then try using the eq channels more. Kill the bass right before a buildup and then kick it back in just as the main beats come back and you can rock the floor!
As I said, try something more than beatmatching, because unitl I see a cd album from you/make it big, there is always something more that you can do!
Yeh that bass trick with the eq is great. Another way is when the final drum roll on the build up is happening but just before that first beat hits. Increase the bass as the drum roll builds up. Sounds awesome. Remember though don't increase it too much you don't want to blow your system (Look at the LEDs on the mixer to make sure it is not too much)
What's ur deal man?
migitymike
Wats UP? ur like all negative and shit all the time all around the boards...
And for god sakes change that signature of ur's.. its really lame!!
LOL looks like a *NEWBIE* made that shit!!!
u could always get acapella from old songs and mix in w/ ur trance dubs or instrumentals........these keeps u busy.....off course u gotta have alot of acapella trks for u can stay busy......
what is the deal with eq? how do you guys use it? i just got my tables and right now all ive been doing is beatmatching.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Gourhellyea what is the deal with eq? how do you guys use it? i just got my tables and right now all ive been doing is beatmatching. |
Re: What's ur deal man?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by bassaholix migitymike Wats UP? ur like all negative and shit all the time all around the boards... And for god sakes change that signature of ur's.. its really lame!! LOL looks like a *NEWBIE* made that shit!!! |
Scratching in trance...
I have heard one person scratch with trance... Thee-o out here in LA, I've got a nifty recording of him scratchin atop of Agnelli/Nelson _ Hudson Street... when done right, its absolutely amazing...
When I first heard him, I dropped my beer, and the crowd - the crowd went nuts!
or you can always do what oakey and bt do... just dance baby dance
1. get some tech, crank the trebles
2. go down to your local record/junk store, and find some old records with interesting accapellas or children's stories on them- thats right, kids stories, they usually have interesting phrases you can sample "we're gonna have a party" etc. you can stratch, loop, or whatever you do, and it will look like you are doing something...
3. screw around with your turntable, start/stop button, pitch slider etc. make the crowd get annoyed, or stop their conversations because they realise someone is doing something weird
4. try some body tricks, handstands, mixing with your feet/jolly rodger, etc.
5. do what Oakey does and put your whole body into turning one tiny knob like it is really hard, squinting, etc.
hooroo
oakey dancing
I've never seen oakey dance, or at least the video I saw he was not into it at all, he would beat match then walk away n go talk to some guy. The only song he got excited for was Planet Perfecto- Bullet in the gun (figures). I think djs like Judge Jules and Dj Jean do some neat things as far as mixing it up n doing something different from defualt. A scratch here n there goes a long way. Volume change, pan, brake. It may not sound good in ur basement but at a party when everyone is into the music it seems to go well.
Believe it or not, actual pauses in your sets work really well...Ive seen van Dyk do this many times, usually using the volume knobs to quickly and momentarily turning off the track completely only to bring it back it to the original volume. Of course, you have the know the track really well to do this, otherwise, it sounds really awkward.
If you find yourself getting bored while spinning (esp. in front of a crowd) the best thing for me to do is to add some risk into my sets..pauses are one, and so is using techno beats to fill in sometime annoying buildups of trance tunes...
PS> I hate when dj's act like they're producing a track LIVE even though all their doing is simply touching knobs....I guess they need to "perform" in some way..
do what I usualy do:
expand your mixing capabilities to more than trance..... and start doing REALLY crazy combinations......... for example:
once in the middle of a set I started getting bored with trance, so I started mixing into pitched up disco house and french house
(I managed to mix "Kylie Minogue - can't get you out of my head" into "Agneli & Nelson - Everyday [alex gold mix]" and "Safri Duo - crazy benny" into "Des Mitchell - the world is yours" and all sorts of really crazy shit!)
mix stuff like kylie minogue, modjo, phats and small, and then mix into chease trance, and then back to real trance! 
when I did something like that once, the crowd was amazed and started going crazy!!!
oh! and here's another tip: mix shorter tracks....... and mix faster..... don't always let a track play till the outro and then mix...... mix in the middle of the track......
speaking of mixing crazy stuff...
Thee-o used to close every set with a different classic rock song..
nothing makes em jump more than a perfect mix into the doors - break on thru (not a remix, the original version) DJ Beej used to spin Prince - Purple Rain (I think its that one.. the "lets go crazy... lets go wild... song). I've seen crowds erupt with that
The other thing that I saw that made em laugh...
some dj round here started mixing in Better Off alone... right as he crossfaded over to the track, he hit the needle across the record, screamed "FUUUUCK THAAAAT!" into the mic, and smashed alice dj over his head screaming... then started into some of the hardest songs around...
It was fairly interesting
actually, i really like the idea of mixing oldies into a set. I walked around downtown one day and went into this record shop seeing if I could be lucky enough to find some rare trance records but there wasnt any. Instead, I found a whole shit load of old U2, Led Zepplin, Grateful Dead and other cool stuff that was being sold for $2! At the time, i just flipped through these but now, im going to go back out tomorrow and look through them again and think about mixing them with some house or even some trance records.
That was a great idea.
Re: oakey dancing
| quote: |
| Originally posted by djmorph I've never seen oakey dance, or at least the video I saw he was not into it at all, he would beat match then walk away n go talk to some guy. |
The secret of EQ explained from observation
Here's some info on eq that is simple, but powerful once you understand it. I share it because if you really understand eq, it opens up the possibilities in sound for you greatly.
First, what happens when you increase the eq? Simply, you are increasing the volume around a specific frequency of sound.
So that leads to the question of what frequencies make up my sound. Think of a simple trance bass note, specifically the A tone. It is made of a fundamental frequency of 55Hz and a series of harmonic sounds octaves higher. The cool thing about octaves is there is a simple mathmatical relationship. Harmonics which are an octave higher are double the Frequency. So the A bass note probably is made up of a frequency at 55Hz, 110Hz, 220Hz, 440Hz, with the higher frequencies being softer than the fundamental.
So how does this apply to using EQ with your mixer. Well, first you need to understand the capabilities of your mixer. Become a tech-nerd and pull out the spec sheet of your mixer. I bet you never looked at that. You need to see which Frequency ranges the high, mid and low knobs emphasize.
For example, I have a DJM600, and the low emphasizes 70Hz, the mid at 1kHz and the high at 13kHz. Since bass is around 60Hz, if I turn up the 70Hz knob, all the sound around that range gets a little louder.
Now here is a key thing to rembmer. Remember how I said there is an octave relationship for different harmonics. Most trance melodies are only about 3 or 4 octaves above the bass line. So for example, the fundamental for the slide guitar in ATB's 9p.m. is 3 octaves above the bass, or around (55, 110, 220)... 440 Hz. So with my DJM600 mixer, even if I wanted to turn up the slide guitar much, I couldn't since my mids are located at 1000Hz. I might be able to get the harmonics 2 octaves above this sound, but not effect the main sound itself.
So as a simple example of how to apply this, suppose I had some song with high beep sounds with many harmonics around 1000Hz. I could turn my mids down so you could here the noise at 1000Hz of the song coming in (Usually some of the higher frequencies of the high hat sounds). A general rule in mixing is to not have too many sounds in 1 frequency range clashing.
Once you start thinking about this, it just opens up possibilities of exploring sound. So now its time to get creative!
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