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| quote: | Originally posted by tequilatwin2
The only thing about having people show you the ropes when it comes to music is that sometimes people try to tell you whats good and whats not. |
Yeah that is definitely what I would not do. Most of music is subjective and it should be..as I believe its a personal reflection of a person's style, taste, expression..etc. On the other hand there is a technical side to the art regarding getting something to sound good: levels, controlling a good balance of frequencies with eq, use of effects, that sort of thing. While there isnt a single right way to do it, there are certain guidelines toward achieving a good sound.
Again, much of that I learned on my own from watching others mix and listening to live sets. I listened not only to what appealed to me, but also to what did not appeal to me and determine why it didnt work so well to avoid making the same mistake. I have also been studying audio engineering since early 2002 which has helped me develop a decent ear for mixing as alot of the rules apply.
I would say before worrying about anything else, primarily focus on beatmatching and being able to transition one track to the next without the tracks sounding off-beat. Needless to say, even if you have your EQs matched up, tracks phrased..your listeners will always notice a trainwreck (defined as when two tracks fall out of phase over the main system)
As far as phrasing goes...everyone is different but I tend to cue tracks up on intervals of 64 beats (sometimes 128). Some phrase after 16 or 32..which may be only necessary for some techno genres, but I feel that isnt enough to get a flawless transition. Again...its all subjective, but I found it works the best for me no matter which two songs I mix together (that are compatible...more on that later).
Generally the first and last 2 minutes of a track are the most ideal for transitions as they contain the least melody and vocals if any. Since you are mixing trance...here are a few suggestions. It's not a good idea to mix two tracks that contain vocals or melodies unless they are in absolutely the same key and/ or their harmonics work well together...this is a rare case in my opinion, but others may disagree. I would avoid mixing all anthem sets, between anthems mix in tracks where the main focus is on the bassline.
A brief note on EQs, during transitions try to pull back on the lows and highs to avoid your bass being too boomy and your treble from becomeing too shrill. Always keep an eye on the meters every few seconds and avoid playing in the reds wherever you can..as distortion is NOT a good thing. Not for the speakers anyway.. lol.
Anyways, just a few suggestions and my personal 0.02. The main thing is just practice and self-discovery on what works. If you ever have any questions, feel free to hit me or any DJ on here up on aim or email.
best wishes,
Matthias
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