So you messed up in the middle of your set!!!

[stbanas925]

i'd say this is a pretty good explanation of things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq-QyIoPc2o

use this and keep counting. practice makes perfect (in reality no ones perfect though )

[astromech]

Spin back is your friend

Also, don't plan out the entire set. It makes you inflexible. What if someone has a genuinely good request that you have? If you're using Traktor, prepare a playlist with loads of tracks you think would work, and then just comment in if a track goes with another as a reminder. That way you build a few micro-sets consisting of 2-4 tracks that fit together.

[Jack Rabid]

No matter what practice is the best bet, but as has been said, after the second breakdown or pretty much anywhere after that are ideal places to mix in a song. I personally think mixing intro into outro like that gets boring, but especially when you're first learning it's good to do as that's like every dj's go-to formula if there isn't something more innovative and fun they want to do.

That's not intended as an insult btw, the excitement of doing that same transition will wear off after awhile, and that's when you're gonna start learning your own little tricks.

Edit: Also, yeah, beat counting is important, but again, you'll be counting music on accident if you practice long enough. Most of the time you can just kind of feel whether or not a drop or buildup is coming

[sarasin]

No, it's 4 beats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-on-the-floor_(dance)
...hence '4 to the floor'

Correct!

I am thinking Quarter Beats (kicks). So a bar musically is 16 Quarter Beats.

I always get the term wrong.....

So if i was to count the kicks, 16 would give you a bar.

[Rukks]

dude the most important thing about mixing is feeling the music, I don't think "ok so that was the break down now i'll wait 16 bars and drop my next track." you just feel it the only tool I rely on is the waveform up top so I know how far of the track i've got left.

Lol, yeah if you have a waveform its pretty hard to miss phrases...So by feel it he means you can look at a multicolor waveform and see when it changes colors.

Some people still have to count beats/bars phrases because they dont use computers but in this case he is so just go with the color change.

Otherwise you can't go that wrong if you drop a tune on the 1 and use effects to get out instead of trying to hit the drop.

[Groats]

Yeah I haven't quite grasped how to freestyle mix yet : (

you will, trust me, with a bit of practice. I have every set planned out in a fixed playlist with a bunch of extra songs at the end, yet I have never managed to stay on schedule for more than the first few tracks. not once. so what I recommend is to create a playlist with a nice intro and then throw about three times as many tracks into it than needed for your set. then wing it. as long as the playlist has a clear theme, you should be fine. if a transition doesn't work out, don't be afraid to just x-fade it and try again with the next one. happens to everyone from time to time. people will forgive you if they like the tracks you play.


if you're really unsure, then sort the playlist in ascending order of punchy-ness, power, whatever it's called, so that you can cruise easier if you're not sure what exact song to play. need more punch? move down a few tracks and check them out through the headphone cue. need to give people a bar break? move up a few tracks and see what you find. in the heat of the moment it happens that you know exactly what track should be next but you can't remember the name or what the artist was called. now good luck finding it in a playlist with 2k tracks in alphabetical order...

good luck

[Nephew]

what's weak here is to blame here saying "weak".

So lost me on this one

[Nephew]

Yeah I haven't quite grasped how to freestyle mix yet : (

Holy shit, this isn't brain surgery FFS! Just sit down, cue up a track and start playing and mixing tracks one after another.

Done.

How hard was that? If you don't even have the confidence to do that at home, what makes you think you are ready to play out?

[lethal_pizzle]

Correct!

I am thinking Quarter Beats (kicks). So a bar musically is 16 Quarter Beats.

I always get the term wrong.....

So if i was to count the kicks, 16 would give you a bar.

No, 4 would be to a bar!

[WDPK837]

Most dance music is in 4/4 time. This time signature implies that a quarter note (usually where the kicks are) gets 1 beat, and there are 4 beats in a measure. A measure is the same thing as a bar. 4 beats in a bar.