I need someone to describe step by step on how they go about making a mix of lets say 10 songs.
Do you record EVERYTHING, then go back and actually edit it in Ableton or FL studio?
Do you mess around and literally remember what you did and try to do it perfectly, record that part and save it? Then edit?
Do you mess around and try to make the mix nonstop after you have a general idea of what you want?
I just don’t understand how you do a mix live, perfectly. Do you already know what you are doing? And how exactly did you prepare? Did you macro Que points? Or do you just go with the flow?
Or maybe you prerecord a simple transition from song to song, a general mix, and then just kinda scratch and add effects over it?
Chose the tunes you wanna play, 60 or 80 mins worth.
BPM em if you havent already.
Beatblend music according to BPM. Record.
Listen… If you dont like results, repeat, and do mix over again.
A perfect mix tape doesnt “just happen” it takes a lot of practice, trial & error.
Have a good session, #blessup
P.S. Don’t be over-critical with yourself. Example, in my experience, some “mistakes” will be caught by a another DJ (trained-ear), but “John Public” will never know or will never catch the “mistake.” They’ll be too busy listening to the “music.”
For me, it’s all about the transitions. If a transition between 2 songs and using certain techniques sounds great, I stop what I’m doing (AFTER the transition!) and make sure I write it down.
Soon, you’ll have a long list of great transitions. Bang a few of 'em into a mix, and you’ve got yourself a nice little set to pass out.
I second this
Also, when you record a mix, don’t listen to it immediately - give it a day or two then listen to it with “fresh ears” and decide if you need to record again. As Tony said, we DJ’s tend to focus too much on our mistakes (which are inevitable on a live mix)
I just hit record in Traktor and mixlr and practice. I’ll usually focus on one technique. For example, the last mix I made I was working on doing transitions over silences (one song quiets down, bring in maybe a chorus or something from 2nd song).
Wow lots of really taking it over the top.. What about just wingin it and counting on your skill and knowledge to assume it’ll sound good. Very seldomly do I take notes only when two tracks fit so perfectly they deserve a mash up it bootleg
I record my own radio show and podcast every other week. I have to upload my radio show on Monday nights, so I literally record them Monday night. I just record a set in Traktor. No redo, no editing, nothing, just an honest recorded set that wasn’t planned out. After I record my set I bring it into Ableton to just drop the show IDs, “your in the mix with Lance Blaise”, etc…
I just think this is the most honest and true way to give my fans and potential fans a real mix from me, and something they would potentially hear me drop if I were playing live infront of them.
So there you have it, take away what you want from my 2 cents…
yeah dude. i record everything right in traktor. no editing. i feel like if you do a whole lot of post mix editing (other than, say, cutting a 3 or 4 hour mix into manageable 1 hour sections), its not really a “live” mix. If you mess up during your mix, great, learn from it! Have fun.
What about mixing in Traktor? I just recorded a an hour and half set of no sound lol. Heard I need to mix internally. Any other settings I need to make sure are set?
Was actually just recording a mix and just decided it wasn’t my day. Stupid mistakes, like hitting cue in browse mode instead of load. Another one was playing almost an entire tune with ice verb on because I was paying more attention to the cue tune and cue point dropping.
Thank you guys for all of the advice. I am working a mix of 5 songs, should be around 20 minutes. I’ll link it when I am done! Hopefully I will finish it this week!
The more you practice, the more you won’t NEED to pre-plan a set. Some DJ’s (including myself, if I have a big gig where I really want to be really complex with my mix) plan out all the transitions, preset cue points and everything. It works wonders, but I would never do it for every performance. It’s definitely a good bet if you want to really impress people by doing some crazy stuff (like live mashups for example, which is one of my favorite things to do).
But for the most part, I just choose a tracklist of about 150 tracks or so (for an hour long set, let’s say) and just pick songs as I go along. I’ve been doing it long enough that I can freestyle, and it definitely saves a lot of time rather than planning out a set.
But, as many have said above me, PRACTICE is the best option. Record EVERYTIME you mix, and listen to it over, find what doesn’t sound good, and learn from it. That’s how I learned, and just about everyone else that really wants to get better.
