Is that cheating?

[mostapha]

I'm not sure I've heard a transition good enough that I knew I wanted to copy it…well, okay…I can think of exactly one example. And I stole it unabashedly…those tracks just went well together. Though I don't remember if actually doing the transition sounded at all the same.

I "steal" individual tracks all the time, though. I don't see how it's any different from hearing a track anywhere else and deciding you want to have it available.

[keithace]

I "steal" individual tracks all the time, though. I don't see how it's any different from hearing a track anywhere else and deciding you want to have it available.

i don't think anyone said anything bad about listening to other DJs and pulling tracks from their sets...if they did then i missed it...

isn't it a cool thing when a heavy hitter plays a track that has been in your box for a few?

this whole no tracklistings secrecy is just total crap...PhotoJojo and i share tracks on an almost daily basis...he likes some...some he doesn't...same with him to me...but it helps me find other producers and labels...

(not directed at you mostapha)

[mostapha]

i don't think anyone said anything bad about listening to other DJs and pulling tracks from their sets...if they did then i missed it...

isn't it a cool thing when a heavy hitter plays a track that has been in your box for a few?

this whole no tracklistings secrecy is just total crap...PhotoJojo and i share tracks on an almost daily basis...he likes some...some he doesn't...same with him to me...but it helps me find other producers and labels...

(not directed at you mostapha)

No problem, man.

No one said it was cheating. I was just kinda suggesting that he might have better luck looking at it like that and commenting because I have nothing else to do at work today.

And, yeah…back when I was spinning Trance, I had a prerelease copy of a track a friend made that got played on ASOT at some point. I'd been playing a version of it that I did a really half-assed mastering job on for like a year at that point. One of my friends freaked out when he heard Armin drop it (and mispronounce the producer's name).

I share tracks with people all the time too, it's a good way to find things. Beatport alone releases way too much music for any normal person to go through in a day…you have to have some way of sorting through it. If it takes other DJs, other people, twitter, Facebook apps, spotify, or whatever…fine. I can't listen to a thousand new tracks every day, and I don't think anyone else can either.

[Jack Rabid]

As many of said the technique is principle, not the transition. Granted some songs go well enough together that it creates an entirely new song that you might like, but incorporating that exact mix into your mixes is sketchy, the technique behind the mix is ultimately more important.

Plus focusing on the technique and not the songs will probably make it less likely that you'll be accused of trainspotting, which is, in principle, the DJing equivalent of copyright infringement (without the legal issues of course)

[ksandvik]

Sure. Even if I think a sign of a good DJ is to mix any track with any other track and it sounds good.

[keithace]

Sure. Even if I think a sign of a good DJ is to mix any track with any other track and it sounds good.

one more time please...i didn't understand that...

[mostapha]

Sure. Even if I think a sign of a good DJ is to mix any track with any other track and it sounds good.

I think that's one of the marks of a really bad DJ.

Some songs just aren't meant to go together, no matter what. Accepting that there are limitations on what you're doing creatively is the first step to getting good.

[Steve_London]

It feels a little like two people sat at a table filling out lottery tickets and one person copying the other's numbers - there are just so many other possible winning combinations out there.

Never thought of it like that. Well put.

[No Left Turn]

This is an excellent technique that I used to learn how to DJ way back when. I would listen to mixtapes, go out and buy the same records I heard (if I didn't already have them), and then try to replicate the mixes from my favorite DJ's. I learned how they mixed two particular records together and once I had a good grasp on their methodology, I applied that to the songs that I wanted to play. I honestly don't recall if I've ever replicated any of those exact mixes in a live set. Maybe I have? I certainly wouldn't call it cheating as long as you don't base your whole set off of other people's work.

[Arbite]

It's something I did when I first started, and still do to a smaller extent today. I think when you first start DJing it helps you learn how to put songs together. Most DJ's simply stop doing it gradually as they develop their own mixing style and preffered genre of play.

Even if you hear another DJ do a mashup/mix of two songs, it's impossible to replicate exactly, and the small things that different DJ's do makes it unique. I remember first hearing Ean's mashup of Aerodynamic and Kid Rad's Over Again and tried doing that. I made a mistake that wasn't in his version, but sounded pretty good, and went from there.

It's not about the songs that are taken, but rather how they are put together, and if you try to do it exactly without adding your own spice into the mix, then its just plain boring anyway.