How to mix/transition rock songs?

[JesC]

Mixing rock can be hard, but its not impossible. Its good to run the tracks thru ableton, but the warp feature might timestrech the song a little too much and you might get alot of digital distortion. I usally drop a maker where I mix out of the song. One thing that you have to get used to is if you beatmatch the songs your gonna ride the pitch fader up/down

[darrel855]

Mixing rock can be hard, but its not impossible. Its good to run the tracks thru ableton, but the warp feature might timestrech the song a little too much and you might get alot of digital distortion. I usally drop a maker where I mix out of the song. One thing that you have to get used to is if you beatmatch the songs your gonna ride the pitch fader up/down

I would sort of do this if I really wanted to mix something "rock" actually what I would do and have done is warp a few bars where I planned on looping and or mixing out on . Now whan I did it it was on Led Zepplins "Moby Dick" but newer rock music should be a bit easier as a whole lot of it is pretty much locked to the grid .

[JesC]

...I would do and have done is warp a few bars where I planned on looping and or mixing out on...

Now thats a really good idea

[other1]

i do the occasional rock night at a town a few miles from where i live, and imo doin rock is about setting the mood, so depending on the track that ur gonna drop into and the 1 ur about to drop out of it can be done in many ways, but for straight mixin i try to use 4bar loop mostly and even 2 bar loops, get part or all of the hook in the loop and tease it in or treat it like any electronic music if the loop is even enuff, like the first riff of rolling stones - satisfaction is perfect to loop a 4 bar at, cuz its quite even, most big acdc songs r quite easy to get into a mix if u find the place to loop it, so it kinda comes down to finding the tracks that can be looped

[Monika.mhz]

I mix quite a bit of rock, or rock inspired music. Transitioning from a cure track to a siouxsie track can be pretty frustrating! It's musical structure is slightly different than what many folks are used to with EDM.

I'm going to assume that you can beatmatch, ride the pitch or warp your own tracks. If not, you need to go back to school with robert miles - children and work on that before you venture into the varied time of the human drummer!

Anywho, A typical mix for me starts with setting a few cue points. Many rock tracks start off with a basic groove (or I can find one in the song) and I set that as my initial cue. This is what I use to bring in the high hat and snare from the second song into the first. This will give the listener a feeling of continuation from the first song to the second. (Oh hey I heard that same sound during the last song!) I set a cue to an initial riff, one to the lead melody, the chorus, and the first verse. Assuming the first song ends suddenly, and I'm playing a basic drum kick/snare from the second song behind it, I'll often use an effect to let the listener know energy is building up around the sudden end of the last song (a flange/filter/overdrive/ring modulator or something) and at the same time i end the effect I will hit the cue point for the 1st verse. This gives the listener the sensation of perfect "phrasing" and a 'club mix' sensation of the rock song, and keeps the energy moving up.

I have 100s of different styles of mix I use for the rock and rock styled songs I play depending on the situation I end up in. Really you're only limited by your creativity, and in fact toying with rock can be WAY more fun than an EDM track to mix, because of the challenge, excitement, and creativity it draws out of not only the performer but the audience!

I say just experiment with things, and remember, you're the DJ. You're not wrong. unless.

"I started the song at the wrong time, in the wrong key, with the wrong mix, running at the twice the SPEEED."

WRONG.

[JesC]

...

"I started the song at the wrong time, in the wrong key, with the wrong mix, running at the twice the SPEEED."

WRONG.

wow! that was just wrong..

[Parcel]

This gives the listener the sensation of perfect "phrasing" and a 'club mix' sensation of the rock song, and keeps the energy moving up.

I like this idea very much. Staying true to the phrasing that makes rock music so awesome in the first place sounds and feels like a more natural solution compared to just dropping a quick loop and treating it like electronic... which I'm sure has it's venue at times too.

[darrel855]

wow! that was just wrong..

LOL I thought it was pretty much right on .

[Monika.mhz]

Of course we also can't forget the value of using silence (actually you're using the resonance of the last note of the song in the room) to create the tension for moving to the next song. (I've discussed this before on this forum) This is especially useful when there is literally no way you can mix, the style of music is too different, you've got a major energy change, or you're going from EDM to rock.

[basspenetrator]

Of course we also can't forget the value of using silence (actually you're using the resonance of the last note of the song in the room) to create the tension for moving to the next song. (I've discussed this before on this forum) This is especially useful when there is literally no way you can mix, the style of music is too different, you've got a major energy change, or you're going from EDM to rock.

can you give me a link or a keyword to search for that, please?

and thanks alien2k for the link.. guess i have to watch alle of the dj set on dancetrippin now