Tips on making a mix a journey. - Page 2
Page 2 of 7 FirstFirst 123456 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 68
  1. #11
    Tech Mentor ConnectControl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Edmonton, Canada
    Posts
    153

    Default

    ^ hate to be that guy arguing on the internet but depending on certain genres, key & bpm absolutely matter. Not everything has to come from years of experience like vinyl old-timers act like. Having the bpm and key displayed is arguably pretty handy when you've got a digital collection of genres with bpms that range from 75-200, and you want to be able to sort out and record diverse mixes regularly and on the fly. You can also immediately sort out your new music this way.

    That said, the most important part is still that you're enjoying what you're doing as he said. Regardless of how methodical your approach...
    reppin those deep underground European vibes out in the northern midwest

    Techno, Deep House, Electronica, Ambient.

    https://soundcloud.com/slightlydarkerblack

  2. #12
    Tech Guru
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    leicester. uk.
    Posts
    789

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ConnectControl View Post
    ^ hate to be that guy arguing on the internet but depending on certain genres, key & bpm absolutely matter. Not everything has to come from years of experience like vinyl old-timers act like. Having the bpm and key displayed is arguably pretty handy when you've got a digital collection of genres with bpms that range from 75-200, and you want to be able to sort out and record diverse mixes regularly and on the fly. You can also immediately sort out your new music this way.

    That said, the most important part is still that you're enjoying what you're doing as he said. Regardless of how methodical your approach...
    It's fine having different opinions, just giving my point of view, But

    A) Im not that old, I'm 26
    B) I play various genres, from disco, house to techno
    C) I can play diverse mixes without knowing BPM/Key

    I just think people spend way too much time worrying about factors that at the end of the day if you knew your tracks, wouldn't matter.
    Technics 1210 MK2 x 2 / A&H Xone:22 / Shure M35S / Urbanears Zinken / Mukatsuku Record Weights x 2 / Vinyl
    iMac / Ableton Live 8 / Reason / Akai EIE Pro / Adam A5x / Boss BX 800 / Soundcraft EPM6 / MFB 522 / Korg Monotribe / Maschine Mikro MK1 / NI Kontrol X1 MK1 / Akai APC 20 / Novation Remote 25sl Compact

  3. #13
    Tech Guru ImNotDedYet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    1,646

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ConnectControl View Post
    ^ hate to be that guy arguing on the internet but depending on certain genres, key & bpm absolutely matter. Not everything has to come from years of experience like vinyl old-timers act like. Having the bpm and key displayed is arguably pretty handy when you've got a digital collection of genres with bpms that range from 75-200, and you want to be able to sort out and record diverse mixes regularly and on the fly. You can also immediately sort out your new music this way.

    That said, the most important part is still that you're enjoying what you're doing as he said. Regardless of how methodical your approach...
    If you know your tracks well, this will happen naturally without the aid of having key/bpm info displayed to you. And...I'm guilty of this as well, perhaps the worst offender out there, but I find the more I work on songs in mixes (no, not years of experience) I know what songs it goes with, I know the song and wouldn't necessarily need to have that information displayed to me.

    As for the OP, there are a number of ways one could take the listener on a journey. Do you want the journey to be energy-based or mood based? The way I typically do it is starting slow or easy, and having several climaxes of whatever journey I'm trying to take them on with the primary climax coming in the middle or near the end, prior to a 2 song cool down. You can slowly ratchet up the energy level or the moodiness (say, start with a major key, slowly migrating to minor if you want to do more of an emotional journey, or vice versa if you want it happy) of the music then take it down, then back up, etc - play with the listener's emotions. If you're doing this for online settings/podcasts, make sure you grab the listeners attention by the third song. If you're too slow to get to your buildup/climax, you'll lose the listener.

    And when you're not taking the listener on a journey, just grab a bunch of songs you love and play them. You'll get a feel for new song combos as you do this.
    2 x Technics 1210 MKII, Pioneer-DJM 900 Nexus, Traktor Scratch Pro, NI F1,
    Ableton Live 9.6 Suite, Ableton Push, Studio One 3, Moog Sub37, Roland Alpha Juno 2, Korg MS-20 Mini, Yamaha TG-77, TR-8, Rhodes MKI Stage, Wurlitzer 200a, couple pedals, couple amps, lots of software and a freakin iPad

  4. #14
    Moderator keithace's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    5,239

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by amadeus View Post
    I think the best advice is to just know your music, learn it inside out and you'll find picking the right tracks a lot easier.

    Try not to over think it, it will only kill the flow.

    I think people over think it too much these days, I play vinyl, I know my records, I don't know the bpm, the key and I don't worry about not kowning that info. I just know my tracks and play them.

    Your decisions on what to pick next will come from your understanding of the music, the knowledge of the tracks you own, knowing the bpm, or key is not a major factor.

    Just have a mix, and most importantly enjoy it.
    Agreed...

    Quote Originally Posted by ConnectControl View Post
    ^ hate to be that guy arguing on the internet but depending on certain genres, key & bpm absolutely matter. Not everything has to come from years of experience like vinyl old-timers act like. Having the bpm and key displayed is arguably pretty handy when you've got a digital collection of genres with bpms that range from 75-200, and you want to be able to sort out and record diverse mixes regularly and on the fly. You can also immediately sort out your new music this way.

    That said, the most important part is still that you're enjoying what you're doing as he said. Regardless of how methodical your approach...
    disagree man...they do not "absolutely matter"

    I am one of the old timers that you speak of. Beat matching taught you how to listen to your music. If you had any musical ear you could tell immediately when keys clash. You didn't know it was keys clashing but you knew something didn't sound right. Pushing sync (I use it...alot) inhibits the need for new DJs to know their music.

    If the OP is having problems with his "flow" he probably shouldn't be sorting through thousands of tracks ranging from 75-200 bpm...
    Weapons, not food, not homes, not shoes
    Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal

  5. #15
    Tech Mentor
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    In the freezing rain in Glasgow.
    Posts
    338

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by keithace View Post
    Agreed...
    I am one of the old timers that you speak of. Beat matching taught you how to listen to your music. If you had any musical ear you could tell immediately when keys clash. You didn't know it was keys clashing but you knew something didn't sound right. Pushing sync (I use it...alot) inhibits the need for new DJs to know their music.
    Absolutely bang on. I've always maintained that one of the important things about learning to beat match is not necessarily learning how to get two kick drums to play at the same time, but that it forces you to understand how important it is to know how music is constructed and how it goes together. And I'm speaking as an old timer who uses sync far too often as well.

    I think one of the reasons I have trouble answering the Ops question is that it's kind of the essence of DJing - How do you choose what you play. How do you distil what might be decades of listening, tricks, technical ability and - most importantly in my opinion - instinct into a few bullet points?

    Lol, sorry Sogyal. I know you probably didn't expect a bunch of philosophical critiques of the 'art' as answers. So, the only advice I can give at this point is:

    Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off....

  6. #16
    Tech Wizard
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Thanks guys, these are all really good points and tips. I hear those words a lot though, "Know your music," but I'm not sure if I understand what people mean by it... I mean, I think I know what it means to me, but I'm curious to hear it from someone else.

  7. #17
    Tech Guru 3heads's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Leipzig, Germany
    Posts
    1,378

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ConnectControl View Post
    If you have "open key" on in the analyze options tab of the settings, your tracks will all have an assigned musical key or "energy level." The higher the number, the higher energy the track, and thus the better for peaking or climaxes. 12m/12d are generally but not always good peaking keys. Conversely, 1d/1m would logically make good intro tracks, but just bear in mind this is merely a starting point for exploration and you should never let keys totally dictate what you mix together or where you start your mix if it still sounds good otherwise. Anyway, you can learn more about harmonic mixing at your own will if you don't know already but that's one big thing I find helps.
    Haha, what? The key has nothing to do with the "energy level" of the track, it's just that - the key.
    13,3" MacBookPro (Mid 2012) # 2x Technics 1210 # NI Audio 8 DJ # Ecler Nuo 2.0 # NI Traktor Kontrol X1 # Sennheiser HD-25
    http://soundcloud.com/vincent-lebaron/

  8. #18
    Moderator keithace's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    5,239

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sogyal View Post
    Thanks guys, these are all really good points and tips. I hear those words a lot though, "Know your music," but I'm not sure if I understand what people mean by it... I mean, I think I know what it means to me, but I'm curious to hear it from someone else.
    know where the breaks are....know where the bass comes in...know where the vocals come in...know where the bass goes out...know when the vocals stop...

    you should know that when you drop a track into another one...you know exactly where they are going to break...either seperately or together...and adjust your mix accordingly...you can create your own breaks with EQ ing filters....but you should already know that...
    Weapons, not food, not homes, not shoes
    Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal

  9. #19
    Tech Guru JasonBay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    The Brew Ha!
    Posts
    1,556

    Default

    To create a journey is to have a wide and diverse range of music, knowing how to create a mood, and being able to change from one mood to the next. You should be able to look beyond a tracks "genre" and and look into the mood/atmosphere it creates and be able to use that to build a seamless journey start to finish. You should be able to take unknown tracks and fit them in seamlessly because of the mood they are giving at that given moment in the journey. DJ's who understand this concept don't rely on "chart toppers" to make their set as the whole should be greater that the sums of its parts.

  10. #20
    Tech Wizard
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Right, yes, that's what I figured.

Page 2 of 7 FirstFirst 123456 ... LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •