While I'm attempting to DJ, I've noticed a few things about bars/phasing that I was hoping to get some advice on.

Usually during the 2nd chorus of a trance song, they'll be 128 beats of the chorus, followed by a 32 beat transition period, and then the rest of the song (I haven't really counted how many there are). Furthermore, it seems that many trance songs follow this "formula," but I haven't figured out exactly when to introduce the new song (by that, I mean just start the song). After the chorus? Between the chorus? etc.

I know that sounds kind of vague-- but I'd appreciate the help. Usually, I like to keep the bass on the new song at 9 and then drive it 12 quickly while simultaneously dropping the bass of the old song to 9.

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:: deep house addict
Dusky - Love Taking Over

I thought you were talking about bars as in drinking establishments. Ummm honestly just go with what sounds best, there isn't a really set format (at least none that I follow, but I'm no expert). I think eq'ing is really where good transitions come into play for trance, so don't be afraid to mess with the high's and mid's too. As far as when, just go with what keeps the flow going wether that is the chorus or transition


(sorry for an even vaguer answer)

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It's kind of like bang the drum slowly, except the drum is a chick

for trance, just play your cued song after the last breakdown (when the chorus starts) or after the last chorus (the start of the outro)

depends on how long your track is.

Go with what feels good and what the crowd wants

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I will never be forgotten. I will only fade as time goes on from your conscious thoughts

There is no hard and fast rule. It all depends on the situation.

There are a couple of different schools of thought on this but in my opinion it all comes down to the energy that you wish to convey with your music and also what the clubbers (if playing out) are able to handle.
Creativity also comes into it, as you may find that you have a very non-standard mix that just sounds awesome and there is no reason why you shouldn't do this just because it doesn't conform.

When you start mixing is actually often less important than how you actually bring the new track in. What TranceOwnsLol actually said isn't bad advice, but this will differ greatly on the components of each track i.e. how quickly the incomming track gets going from the intro, how busy the outgoing track sounds when it's playing out. Sometimes gentle mixes by using e.q. to blend all the components work, other times it's a more abrupt bass swap or simply killing the outgoing channel and slamming in the bass on the incoming.

That said you can't limit your self to dropping a track one way or the other, as much of it comes down to how well you KNOW your tunes. Sure there is a standard formula within trance but this doesn't mean that everyone sticks to it.
A lot of trance tracks will drop the drums alltogether after the second chorus for a couple of bars and if you have started fading in the other track, it can actually sound quite crap.

Getting back to what I was saying about different schools of thought... There are people out there who will mix after the first chorus, which is necessary sometimes, and then there are those who say that 'if you are not prepared to play the whole track, why play it in the first place?'
You can sometimes find that if people know and love a track it would be unwise to mess with it. Ultimately it will matter less with more obscure tracks or the ones that don't seem to do anything to excite the dancefloor.

Are you harmonic mixing? Are you performing a modulation mix? or just going by ear? These will also have an effect on what you are actually able to get away with and still have it sound good.

Cheers
Nem

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https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

Thanks for the advice. I've just been playing it by ear-- and haven't necessarily gotten into harmonic or modulation mixing. I'm just attempting to find an underlying pattern since I usually like to throw in a new song or two even though I've never actually listened to the entire thing (which seems to be a mistake). But, taking from the advice, it seems that I should rely on what "feels" right (which is quite scary since I could easily fuck up everything if it clashes).

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:: deep house addict
Dusky - Love Taking Over

Yeah, in most Trance tracks, there's usually a section around 2 mins left or so where there's a small break. A good place start up your next track is on the first beat after that last break. Go for a smooth transition and ride out the outgoing track as long as you can.

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Click the link below to stream all of my mixes past and present. New mixes go up about once a month. Enjoy!

www.mixcloud.com/jluger

For a lot of EDM, they have audio cues that come in around the 8 bar or 16 bar mark. I used these cues when i started spinning edm, but in the house tracks i spin now there arent as many cues in my tracks. You can practice with songs with these cues and get used to where 8 bars usually end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_kGcD6eEoU
Notice how at ~ the 15 second mark the song cuts out the kick. Once the next kick drops, its the beginning of the next 8 bars. So you can use these cues to do whatever you want.

32 bars is usually what EDM DJs use, but mix in the next song when it feels right. A book cant tell you how to do it, but your ears can.

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facebook.com/dj4ttf

i never count bars or beats. i prefer to feel the music for what it is. quite frankly i'm usually doing so much that doing something mundane as counting would be impossible.

just pretend to be black and go with the flow, u will feel when to drop the next track, fuck counting man thats geeky!

Lol be black. Yeah it just comes naturally if you can hear the transitions between 8 bars. I think most people dont notice it at first but when they start DJing more and more they get the feel of when to go in and out.

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facebook.com/dj4ttf

If it turns into a shit transition just jesus pose. It fixes everything.