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A break is not he same as a breakdown.
Here is an extract of a guide that I wrote for some kiddies I was teaching to DJ. Hope it might make things a little clearer. Althought it's only my opinion I find this to be true.
BREAKS, BREAKDOWNS AND ENERGY CONTROL
This seems to be quite a common question on the forum. Especially with regards to energy control. This section will talk more in regards to the placement of the mix and not key, although later we will discuss that too as it is relevant.
Let’s define a Break and a Breakdown a talk about the do’s and don’ts.
BREAKDOWN – This is the big hands in the air section that is so common in trance music. This is a specific piece of music designed to create emotion etc. and is not suitable for mixing into or out of. (There will always be exceptions but as a general rule).
BREAK – This is a segment of music where the song calms down in order to gather new energy by literally almost starting again. This usually comes after the Beefy beat section of the main melody just before a song is getting ready for it’s second breakdown. The break is a point where a song can loose energy and for those DJs who want to keep that energy pumping this is important.
If we are going to think of it in terms of the whole picture we may want to look at the typical structure of a trance track.
Intro / Build up / Breakdown 1 / Main Melody / Break / Breakdown 2 / Main Melody / Outro
You can actually read this from the record too. Although it is worth mentioning that there are quite a few different variations of this as not all songs have two breakdowns and in those cases probably wont have a break at all. Then there are other variations too but this is pretty bog standard.
It’s worth noting that some records keep high energy levels during the break too and you don’t need to mess with it. Others may not have a break or a suitable one for mixing out of.
The other thing to keep in your head is to not feel you have to do the mix if you are not ready for it, as there are other ways you can regain the energy at later stages.
What types of basic mixes do we have?
First there is the ‘long player’, the guy who plays the whole song through and just mixes intro with outro. Very common in DJs who have just started. There is nothing wrong with this mix, it will work fine in most scenarios but you are leaving yourself at the mercy of the music a little as it’s making the decisions with regards to energy.
Second you have the more ‘constant’ energy level guy. This guy will mix so that the build of the incoming track starts just as the 2nd main melody finishes. There is nothing wrong with doing this way. If you combine this with harmonic mixing you can still get some very powerful energy effects.
Third and finally, you have the guy that gives that ‘rising’ energy feel. There is always something new on the go. This is the guy that mixes out of the break so that the crowd never gets the chance to settle into any one song. (This mix isn’t really that useful for the more proggy music as it has to play to develop). If you use cuts and harmonics with this you can send the place going nuts.
It’s good to remember that there is a time and place for all of these mixes. If the club has just opened, there is really no point in tearing the dancefloor up with high energy as there is hardly anyone on it etc.
When mixing always think does this sound like the producer might have done this? Try and use the music to your advantage and don’t fight it. If you are in the main bit of a trance track, let it finish. Chances are that it would sound terrible if you interfered with it. Part of DJing is also about recognizing when you should mix, not just how well you beat match.
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Raavens statment is however so true "i like thinkin outside the box. doing things differently makes life and dj'ing iteresting". If none of us did this then it would be pretty boring.
I hope that makes sense
cheers
Nem
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https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/
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Mixing during breaks?
