[n00bie alert] Beat matching training w/ midi controller
QUICK BACKGROUND (Skip if necessary to question below)
Software: Traktor Pro
Midi controller: VCI-100
Background: Got into DJ-ing the 'backdoor' way via MIDI controller and VDJ. A year later, I found out that I couldn't handle pair of CDJ's at a mate's pub.
Thus I enrolled in a crash course at a local DJ school. My 3 months course is about to end in two weeks and I'm still horrible at beat matching.
Due to financial constraints, I cannot afford a CDJ+Mixer kit and thus I'll have to contend with TP and VCI-100 for practice.
The VCI-100 does not have a full pitch fader when compared to, say, a CDJ400. Thus, it is very difficult to make minute changes to the pitch, which noobs like me would require.
My technique involves making minute changes to the pitch faders, speeding/slowing the tune through jog wheels and repeating the process until I the tracks are beatmatched. This process may take up the entire duration of the song. I still suck. :(
QUESTION
I have tried to remedy the pitch fader situation by modifying the following in the PREFERENCES settings:
Transport > Tempo > Set tempo range to - 16%
What this does is limit the entire pitch fader range to (+/-) 2.4%. Since I'm mostly practising with songs with a maximum difference of 2BPM, the 2.4% fits well.
With such pitch fader settings, a 128BPM song would go up to a maximum of 131.05BPM and a minimum of 124.95BPM. A typical 130BPM song would go up to a maximum 133BPM or a minimum 127BPM.
For practice, I'd typically do a 16loop on the intros of both songs and beatmatch from there. For added realism, I use a small business card to cover the portion of the screen that displays the BPM.
Training has still yet to yield strong results. This is as hard as learning how to ollie on a skateboard or performing cunninglin... oh... nevermind...
Does this sound like a decent training regiment for n00bs?
Thank you in advance.