Phrase matching in techno

[Killing time]

my style of mixing is pretty much like this. as you see he´s very busy playing a lot of tracks. is he still counting phrases in this short amount of time? how is this possible?

he's on his phrases correctly, and doing it very well.

[Schalenberg]

i havent counted a beat in...well... ever.

Whoa whoa whoa. You can count now? Mods please close this thread. Kwal can finally count. Let's pack it in, guys.

[Kwal]

Whoa whoa whoa. You can count now? Mods please close this thread. Kwal can finally count. Let's pack it in, guys.

thx bud i study hard

[ImNoDJ]

okay. any tips on how to make phrase matching easy? for me it is a bit confusing and time consuming to count the phrases of both tracks...and when im playing 3 decks i think its not possible.

You should be aiming to be able to phrase match two decks without counting, before you work up to three decks.

[keithace]

okay. any tips on how to make phrase matching easy? for me it is a bit confusing and time consuming to count the phrases of both tracks...and when im playing 3 decks i think its not possible.

who told you three decks was going to be easy?

[L8Night]

if you're busy counting trying to match the phrase then you're not really taking the time to listen and get the true feel etc ...unless youre new at Djing

[LoopCat]

he's on his phrases correctly, and doing it very well.

X2

[Jester]

if you can count to 4, do that 4x

[Lanz the joiner]

okay. any tips on how to make phrase matching easy? for me it is a bit confusing and time consuming to count the phrases of both tracks...and when im playing 3 decks i think its not possible.

Many of the tracks in that Jonas Kopp set have bizarre confusing riffs - for example, playing the synth melody in 3/4 over a 4/4 beat structure - this creates a strange out-of-phase rhythmic feel. That isn't to say that these tracks don't follow a 4/4 structure overall, but it is harder to count along - that's kind of the point: it's part of the spacey atmosphere. Not sure why everyone is so unwilling to acknowledge this.

Some examples:
Mike Storm - Radiation Beams
Jeroen Search - Ad Infinitum
Mike Storm - Planet Silbi
Jonas Kopp - Seven
Antonio De Angelis - Divergent (Mike Storm Remix)

...If you count along in fours, you will notice that the riff doesn't always start on the "one", in fact it constantly changes.

If you stick to more obviously 4/4 riff oriented songs, you'll find it easier to match phrases; it requires less concentration. Here are some examples from the mix you linked:
Function - F4
Jeroen Search - Fragments
Jeroen Search - Lost contact

...Counting along in fours, it makes perfect sense; you will notice the riff and "phrase" always starting on the "one".

[Patch]

PRO TIP: (Actually, it's an amateur trick) Instead of counting bars/beats, listen out for the change that happens at the end of a phrase (another amateur trick - listen out for a crash cymbal!). And, instead of dropping track 2 on the "one", drop it on the 2, or the 3 (beat 2 or 3 on track 2, on top of beat 2 or 3 on track 1). BOOM! You mix is in perfect phase everytime. You can confirm that your mix is in phase by listening out for the changes in BOTH tracks that should happen at exactly the same time (track one will probably be another crash cybal, nd track 2 will mpst likely be the introduction of a bass or a melody part).

All this until you learn to phrase match without counting in your head (it will come! Bu there's no shortcut to this - your brain wil just adjust to it over time) and then you can drop track 2 on the one as much as you like.