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beatmatching.. it finally clicked
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| technosoul |
So i've been playing around on decks, train wrecking my house & techno records for the last ~3 months.
Over the past weekend, i thought i would try to implement something i have heard along the line, in regards to "mixing on the highs or the kick drums".
Sure enough as i queue up the vinyl, i scratch the clap after making a couple estimated pitch adjustments(the live track also had a very loud/distinct clap). waited for the perfect bar to drop it in. Bang..
Its in sync with a few more modifications to the pitch , its there.
I put on a few more records, listening for the claps/hihats or kicks, instead of the bass drum.. All matched VERY EASILY..
Does anyone here beatmatch always on the kicks/highs? It seems when these are matched, the bass its easier to bring the bass hits into sync after a few quick modifications on the pitch slider..
Questions:
1) is it wrong to soley mix on highhats/kicks
2) what advanages is their to mixing on the bass hit over the highs/kicks
When i would attempt to mix with the bass hits, sometimes it would sound like the bass hits are dead on. But if the highs and kicks we _not_ in line, it would almost have a sped up sound to the mix. Now that the highs are in line, everything sounds at the correct speed.
thanks for reading! |
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| Freak |
Thats good in theory- but you are f*cked if you get a track with a kick only intro, or a rhythmic synth sound or bass line intro....see my point?
I have natural rhythm (been a musician since an early age) so i personally can pitch with any part of the track be it intro, drums, bass line, hats, vocals or whatever- i dont find it difficult
Due to the nature of the music, %99 of the parts making up a trance or house track will have a loop or some timing based groove you can use to pitch.... but the most common part is the kick drum- it will be present in the majority of the track and it sets the timing and beat for the rest of the parts of the track..
If im in the studio i might offset the hats or claps slightly from the kick and the main timing to add a groove to it - you could then pitch to the clap but the rest would be slightly out which wouldnt sound too hot probably
The kick and the bass are the foundations of the track and set the timing for the rest- thats the main reason |
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| Boomer187 |
Its awesome you found something to help you out in matching. Keep using it, you will notice as time drags on that you will be able to use other things to match the beat.
II bought a record when I first started and could never mix it, it didn't have a regular bass beat but you can kinda tell from teh highs what speed it is at....I have only recently pulled it back out and found that it is much easier to mix....a year and a half later.
So I say, there is no wrong or right, as long as it is matched up when you mix it in. you'll be so used to it later on that you will be able to match beat like Freak can. |
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| Freak |
| practice practice practice :) |
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| MERiDiAN5i2 |
| as you get better at beatmatching, you'll start to be able to beatmatch just about anything.. even beats into a melody or vice versa. |
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| technosoul |
| quote: | Originally posted by Freak
Thats good in theory- but you are f*cked if you get a track with a kick only intro, or a rhythmic synth sound or bass line intro....see my point?
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Hehe true enough :) Though, i find the kick is easier for me to mix on aswell...
How is it done via a synth sound or strings. Do you skip ahead in the queued track, to a spot where there is a steady beat, get the pitched locked. Then reverse back to the start of the track. Let it play with the opening synth, or strings intro. How do you time it with the live record ! I guess more practise , and more practise!!
| quote: |
I have natural rhythm (been a musician since an early age) so i personally can pitch with any part of the track be it intro, drums, bass line, hats, vocals or whatever- i dont find it difficult
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that is partly my _main_ problem , i have no musical background, other than listening to other performers. As well i dont have the full understanding of how a track is composed, and pieced together
| quote: |
Due to the nature of the music, %99 of the parts making up a trance or house track will have a loop or some timing based groove you can use to pitch.... but the most common part is the kick drum- it will be present in the majority of the track and it sets the timing and beat for the rest of the parts of the track..
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I wish someone would have mentioned to mix on the kick 3 months ago!! So much easier..
Thanks for your reply! |
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| technosoul |
| quote: | Originally posted by MERiDiAN5i2
as you get better at beatmatching, you'll start to be able to beatmatch just about anything.. even beats into a melody or vice versa. |
That is what i'm hoping to work towards. Though still not much of a clue how you know when to release the queued record, so it will be bang on with the live beat when the melody stops, and the beat starts again |
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| EPoC |
if you can 'switch' your brain on and off of beatmatching between bass and/or highs or rhythm you're all set. .. the major advantage of practicing mixing to everything EXCEPT bass is that if you ever play a big ass party with big ass speakers, you'll be happy :) the bass usually reflects off the back of the auditorium/centre, off the ceiling, the floor, the back, all over the damn place, plus the platform you're standing on is vibrating, it's damn near impossible to mix to the bass, but if you can mix to either, you'll do just fine :)
-=:EPoC:=- |
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| dknylady |
yeah beatmatching with kicks and high hats is pretty common...
i've never done it that way though, maybe that's why it was very hard for me when i was learning. but i'm glad i beatmatch using the bassline, and i kind of have to, because i have a number of tracks that do not have kicks or high hats. just a bassline.
i use the kicks and high hats to tell me if the song is correctly lined up when i intro my next track with the bass down.
i'll give an example of this dj. not gonna say who it is. anyway he is a great dj and beatmatches w/ kicks and high hats. i gave him some Brain to mix with (if anybody knows brain..hard acid trace, tends not to have any kicks or high hats , and has a deep bassline) and he stood there and had to keep putting the needle back over and over. it took him soooo long to beatmatch them, because he never had any need to beatmatch with the bass.
so it's up to you, what genre do you spin and what you think you will be using. |
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| razzi |
great points dknylady (btw i love brain, i am a fan of most forms of hard trance)
anyway, i recommend listening to LOTS of music.. except dont just have it banging away in the background... REALLY listen to it. observe the way the songs build up, and tap your feet (and/or count the sets of beats) count/tap your feet continually, even if the beat drops and there is a vocal/synth section with no hi hats, basslines or kicks.
i think that this would really help getting the feel of songs, and over time, let you have a better understanding of trance music and mixing in general
also, in the words of freak, "practice practice practice :)" |
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| progressivepey |
| quote: | Originally posted by Boomer187
II bought a record when I first started and could never mix it, it didn't have a regular bass beat but you can kinda tell from teh highs what speed it is at....I have only recently pulled it back out and found that it is much easier to mix....a year and a half later.
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this has happened to me so many times it's not even funny. first time i put a record on i may be able to mix it really well, it might sound alright, or i might throw it back because i either can't match the beats or it just doesn't sound right. but sure enough, when i pull that same record out a few weeks later everything comes together. maybe it's the fact that your brain has time to process it subconsciously when you leave it alone for some time or the fact that the song you were mixing into/out of just didn't go well with the record. either way, it's always important to pick up your old vinyl and incorporate them into your new mixes; it's a great way to improve your mixing skills.
pEy |
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| Floorfiller |
| i always have a problem mixing break beat tunes in...anyone have any advice on how to fit those in every once in a while... |
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