yeah when i first started, all of my dj friends were like , dude you need to get a BPM unit it will help you match, cause beatmatching is sooo hard.

well i bought one, and it didnt help, i wish i would have saved my 100 bux, cause once you get that one right beatmatch you never forget how. like i can match soo good now, while they are all still sounding like crap with their dumb BPM units.

they are way to technical too, like when i just forgot about matching beats exactly, and I started to worry more about what sounds natural my mixing improved ten fold. I definately would like to stress that on all the newbies, dont worry so much if yours beats are a hair off, just settle down and feel the music, and make the transition flow.

thats my 2 cents

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Love that phrase, lmao

"every transition was a train wreck" brilliant.

I've definitely improved, I'm embarassed by my mixing even a year ago, though I'm getting to the point where I can just mix records together regardless of having played them before or not.
Plus I'm getting to the limit with the duration of my mixes, with progressive trance you can mix for longer, but the more uplifting 4-4 you have to be careful about clashing synths. 2-3mins is about the maximum you can get away with.

Only thing I'm not too good at is matching levels on tracks, tend to just use the gain knob, and not bother with any of the eq channels (and I've even got 4), bad I know.

That said I still don't rate myself at all as a DJ, but then I rate very few of the top-flight DJ's. There's always room for improvement imho.
Also think that a lot of people younger than me are probably better.

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Everything that's written on this page is right.

I'm improving but I still got a loooooong way to go until I start matching the effects and other stuff. 4 now the most difficult thing for me is the beatmatching....

But I have learned a very important thing while djing...It's not the beats that matter but the melodies....so if you can match them....you are the perfect DJ....casue this electronic music suff is all about feeling (mostly introduced by the beats)

So I agree with the guys who say beatmatching is just the start...

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quote:

Originally posted by Dj Zinni yeah when i first started, all of my dj friends were like , dude you need to get a BPM unit it will help you match, cause beatmatching is sooo hard. well i bought one, and it didnt help, i wish i would have saved my 100 bux, cause once you get that one right beatmatch you never forget how. like i can match soo good now, while they are all still sounding like crap with their dumb BPM units. they are way to technical too, like when i just forgot about matching beats exactly, and I started to worry more about what sounds natural my mixing improved ten fold. I definately would like to stress that on all the newbies, dont worry so much if yours beats are a hair off, just settle down and feel the music, and make the transition flow.

One if my good friends was like that but I told him it was cheating and theeasy way out and now I can rub it into him not that I do but I can beatmatch now after 3 weeks everytime and even with new records I havent heard. I do reckon that BPM counters are an absolute waste of money. I think those people are too worried about getting the mixing perfect straight away rather than playing good music and having a good time.
I think the main this is that you enjoy your self when you are on the decks. I have a ball and I hope it stays that way. If ever it gets to the stage where I don't enjoy it anymore then I'll sell my decks and look for somethign else to play.
Keep at it!

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I think I'm improving dramatically aswell

I don't think I am as good as all the 'big-guys', but I sure have improved a lot since the day I started...

My mixing is much better, and so is my track-selection.

quote:

Originally posted by Spin Doctor At DJ’ing, I haven’t yet and never will stop learning. Every time I spin a tune be it at home or out in a club I learn something. And this is true for everyone, even if your name is Paul Okenfold, Ferry Corsten, Paul Van Dyk or whomever you care to mention. I’ve said this before in the forum, DJ’ing is an art, not a science. Which is why we all continue to learn new things. The day that I feel I’ve stopped learning things is the day that I’ll pack it in and hang up my headphones. If ever I get like that I’ll know that I haven’t got the right attitude to continue spinning the tunes I love in a decent manner. I totally agree with you there. Beatmatching is the easy part. What I don’t agree with is that the hardest part is the effects etc. In my view the real skill the DJ has to master is the really difficult thing of interacting with the crowd and developing that innate sense of knowing exactly what tune to play next without spending three quarters of the last tune trying to decide. It may seem simple, but developing that all important link between the crowd and yourself and your tune selection is more important than nearly anything else a DJ could do. Well that’s my opinion anyway. Feel free to disagree. Personally I’d rather go and see a DJ who’s face up, spends a lot of time interacting with the crowd, really looking like their having a good time than a poe-faced, miserable, heads down DJ, despite their high technical ability.

I like your comment, but I am gonna agree more with Paul Van Dyk who said you have to play for the crowd 50% of the time, and 50% of the time for yourself, to really enjoy and have a good set. Or something along those lines!

Oh and on the topic of improvement. I've had my decks for 2 weeks now and I am noticing that I am getting better. I used to worry about beat matching at first too, but that I was just like fuck it. And now I've improved so much, I guess the secret I discovered was that the records don't even have to be at the same BPM to be mixed. I've got a long way to go, and lot's of improvements to make.

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Last edited by trancearmada on Jul-05-2002 at 02:20

Yeah, I have the same felling, I have like 3 months sppining now, and I Have improved, I could imagine when i would have like 1 or couple of years, will be great.

btw.. DJ LIQUID: havent you recived a Private Message from me?, I sent you a PM, but i havent recived a reply??

Thanks, Later

quote:

Originally posted by CarlosM Yeah, I have the same felling, I have like 3 months sppining now, and I Have improved, I could imagine when i would have like 1 or couple of years, will be great. btw.. DJ LIQUID: havent you recived a Private Message from me?, I sent you a PM, but i havent recived a reply?? Thanks, Later

nope, i just checked my PM box...and there isnt any message from u

quote:

Originally posted by Spin Doctor At DJ’ing, I haven’t yet and never will stop learning. Every time I spin a tune be it at home or out in a club I learn something. And this is true for everyone, even if your name is Paul Okenfold, Ferry Corsten, Paul Van Dyk or whomever you care to mention. I’ve said this before in the forum, DJ’ing is an art, not a science. Which is why we all continue to learn new things. The day that I feel I’ve stopped learning things is the day that I’ll pack it in and hang up my headphones. If ever I get like that I’ll know that I haven’t got the right attitude to continue spinning the tunes I love in a decent manner. I totally agree with you there. Beatmatching is the easy part. What I don’t agree with is that the hardest part is the effects etc. In my view the real skill the DJ has to master is the really difficult thing of interacting with the crowd and developing that innate sense of knowing exactly what tune to play next without spending three quarters of the last tune trying to decide. It may seem simple, but developing that all important link between the crowd and yourself and your tune selection is more important than nearly anything else a DJ could do. Well that’s my opinion anyway. Feel free to disagree. Personally I’d rather go and see a DJ who’s face up, spends a lot of time interacting with the crowd, really looking like their having a good time than a poe-faced, miserable, heads down DJ, despite their high technical ability.

Amen brother.

Every time I mix I feel like I have learnt something. The learning curve may not be as rapid as it once was but I am still learning a heck of a lot.

You can practise your beatmatching until your ears are bleeding but the only way you can develop crowd reading skills is to get out there and spin to a live audience. I have always compared mixing like learning to drive. I picked it up fairly quickly but still had to concentrate for a while. Once I passed my test I improved so much more than when I was learning, and now I don't even think about what I am doing. Mixing is become as natural as breathing to me now, just as driving has become.

And don't let the big name DJ's scare anyone. I have not heard a really great set where I thought I couldn't do better. I fully believe I could mix it with the big boys, some of them are just a name with little skill. Call me big-headed if you want, but you need to have self-confidence to continually improve!

I just gotta say that i wish my track selection was better when i first started.So much wasted money.

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