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Originally posted by gbm Well, I've sort of begun mixing music on the PC (and also looking at beginner mixers and such in general). I think I understand the concept of beat matching and phrase matching, but then I have questions on mixing two tracks (such as the ones mentioned above)where an apparent beat does not exist either at the beginning or at the end, AND there just doesn't seem to be a good spot to start somewhere in the middle...I wanted to see what a real DJ would do or what his/her technique would be...and what the outcome sound would be...

in alot of trance and progressive, you cue in where the actual beat begins, whether its a few seconds into a tracks or sometimes a minute. Some tracks have long intros but I usually try to avoid mixing in using those unless the intro was a full phrase (my subjective term for 64 beats, 8 counts of 8, etc)

The points on a currently playing song where I usually try to bring in the next track happen for me at every 64 beats, or 32 depending on the track. Im not sure if I am making much since here...but my best advice would definitely be to practice and see what works best for you. There is definitely not a single method for DJing (beyond the formulated crap in the mainstream clubs, radio stations and that isnt mixing)

As for me, I tend to avoid mixing two tracks together where the melodies would overlap, even if the two tracks happen to be in perfect sync and phrased...there is no gauruntee that they will sound good unless the tracks are in the same key which harmonics that compliment each other....concepts like that get more into music theory which I only know the very basics of, but mixing melodies that aren't at least in the same key tends to sound like crap (imo) The first and last 1-2 minutes of a track tend to have the least melody and just the bassline, which Ive found can be easily mixed without conflicting harmonics if you can get em matched up and phrased, and drop the beat in on time.

As far as those tracks...not really my style. I might look into if I have the time. Hope I said something that helped. I've only been at this for 3 years..but I feel ive come quite a ways during that time so if you have any more questions I can try to help. Hopefully I can say the same for any other musician on here.