I need a guiding hand.

[Bipedal]

I got myself a mixtrack and traktor, and I've been dicking around for the better part of a few months, trying to get a feel for how to put stuff together, but I feel like it just isn't happening for me.

The only time I do alright is when it's some of the easier stuff to mix, meaning the electro that I've got.

I can't really seem to find any guides or tutorials catered to such a beginner level.

I think the hardest thing for me right now is knowing which tracks to try and mix together. My shining achievement so far is finding out that the Afrojack remix of Who's That Chick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jc4VNlBT1o) and one more time seem to mesh perfectly.

I'd really really appreciate if there was someone who could take ten minutes to to pick out maybe 10 songs, and mix them very simply for me.

My thinking is that if I have some concrete examples I can get a better feel for it.

[killerfanatics]

Start out by finding out the keys to your collection (Mixed in key software, etc.). Should make picking songs a bit easier. As for mixes, You can find a lot of youtube. Check out ellaskins on youtube for tutorials as well. They may not be using the same gear and software as you, but it's the same concept in the end.

[suit]

To get a few tips it's a good idea to listen to mixes from the artists that you like and pick apart how they mixed things together. If you have some with track lists is better cos you can buy them and try and emulate those mixes to gain a better handle on technique. You will find though that most of the best mixes are really the simplest.

[DJ SB]

I'm teaching my buddy a little about DJing and he has the same issue. He just brings in any track he wants whenever he feels like it and it rarely sounds good. Phrase mixing and mixing in keys that don't clash are what I would say your "next steps" are. Google away. If you pay attention to those and do basic phrase EQing your mixes will sound good.

If you're still looking for examples, here is a mix I did that is mostly basic song to song mixing and has the track list in the thread so you can identify transitions: http://www.djtechtools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40823

The newer mix on my soundcloud has more sampling and other shit.

[keithace]

stay away from mixing in key...i've been playing for 20 years and it's still the last thing on my mind...

buy more tracks of the same style you like...and practice transitions making note of how long intros and outros are (phrasing)...keep it simple...

(if you torrent music you might be overloaded...and that REALLY makes it hard to choose tracks)

[zestoi]

stay away from mixing in key...i've been playing for 20 years and it's still the last thing on my mind...

fair point... i bought beatunes the other month to use to help tidy up my itunes collection and also do key detection. all i've used it for is to help tidy up my itunes names/tags so far (which it seems very useful for btw)

not that having the key information isn't a good thing - but learning to use your ears first as to what sounds good together is a better starting point.

i'm sure it took me a long time before i actually mixed two pieces of vinyl together that actually sounded any good (never mind also being synched lol)

[DJ SB]

I personally don't pay attention to key when I mix either. I just make sure the songs I'm mixing don't clash. Clashing keys is one thing that can make a mix sound bad.

[dominant]

stay away from mixing in key...i've been playing for 20 years and it's still the last thing on my mind...

I wouldn't say stay away from it, more like don't let it be a rule.

Also +1 for ellaskins, his videos are all very detailed and helpful.

[Sherlock Ohms]

Sounds like a case of 'learn your tunes'

Once you've listened to them time and again, you pick up on what will sound good mixed together ...

[MaxOne]

Also give it a few more years before you're really hard on yourself.

It takes years to get good at djing IMO, also playing out and feeling crowd energy etc.

Its early days just keep plugging away.

+1 to leaving MIK alone too.

+1 to copying mixes you like for practise