So i’ve been djing for about 3-4 months now on the traktor kontrol s2. I know the basics when using a controller, wavelengths and a BPM counter. I’ve been researching a lot as well and have learned that beatmatching by ear is skill all djs should have. Now i’m confused on how to go about by doing this, how would i find out a track BPM by ear and how can i apply it to another song. Sorry if i’m a little vague any tricks tips or any sort of help would be greatly appreciated as i want to become a better DJ and beatmatching by ear seems to be a very valued trait.
Start counting the beats, however many there are in 60 seconds = the BPM of the track.
Play track A, count the beats, count the bars, drop track B on the “1” beat.
I have always used the BPM numbers in Traktor to help me beatmatch - if they’re there, ya might as well use 'em. For most EDM, there is a change in the track every 32 beats. I like to drop on the 1 after the 32 (or a set of 32), if that makes any sense. If you know your tracks, this becomes a lot simpler and your tracks will blend a lot better. Don’t listen to any of my mixes in my signature for examples of this, ha!
I just recently got a pile of vinyl that I’ve been practicing on. No more BPM numbers for me! I have been cheating a bit and looking at beatport and making notes of the BPM, but for the most part, I just grab a watch with a second hand and count for 30 seconds, take that number and double it. I then know the BPM of the track. So I either find another vinyl with the same bpm to play next, or I adjust my pitch fader as necessary.
Then it’s just getting the beats to match while both tracks are playing - you can’t practice this enough. Easiest way for me was to play the same track on each deck and go back and forth. Play track A, mix in track B, stop track A and let B play, mix in A again and vice versa.
Yeah, its just practice. Over time it just comes and you’ll instinctively know which track is slower. Practice with all types of tracks with different bpm.
In this view you should have, no mixer section, no faders, no knobs of any kind, no fx section.
Decks should be in essential type.
All that you need to do extra is remove phase meter and change the BPM counter in decks layout to something like track bpm (which shows you the tracks original bpm instead).
All you will have to work with is the pitch fader position, the waveforms and your jogwheels.
If you are really keen you could learn to ride the pitch, so don’t even touch the jogwheels.
But by relying on BPMs you aren’t really training your ears or learning to beatmatch at all, it’s basically a slower version of sync. If you can beatmatch someone could just give you two random tunes (obviously within range) and a set of turntables/cdjs and you should just be able to mix them straight up. Challenge yourself a bit more dude if you really wanna learn. I’ve never once manually counted a BPM… that seems crazy.
Start by having all aids there. Match the bpm visually then just try to beat match without looking. semi close the lid, turn it away, whatever. This will get used to what it sounds like when you are on and off. When you think you are good open your lid and see how far off you are on the phase meter. Repeat with different songs, until you think you have that down pat.
Then do the same with some tracks. Just choose two tracks, without knowing the bpm, and beat match, use the pitch adjuster and the jog wheel, then see how close you are to beat matched. You won’t be perfect, cause the level of sensitivity is pretty huge on traktor s2 pitch fader but i’d say if you are within about .2 bpm and your phase meters are ok, you are on track.
When you do it on vinyl or cdjs or whatever you are constantly adjusting the track just a little to keep things in time, so its ok if it comes off a little as long as you are on top of it and adjust accordingly.
does seem a bit insane. when beat matching by ear you don’t need to know the actual bpm of the tune, in fact makes no sense at all. when you can hear that they are in sync then they are. who care’s what the actual bpm is???
The best way to learn to beatmatch is to set the BPMs evenly, cue up a track at the first beat of a measure (use the waveform, or scrub until you find the beginning of the measure), set the temp cue point, and tap (and hold) the cue button on the first beat of a measure of the playing track. If your timing/latency is right, they should be smack in time, if it’s off, you either press play and nudge the track in time, or let off the cue button and wait for the next measure on the playing track to re-cue. Which method you choose depends on how strict your bar structure is, and how much you missed it by (eg, slight phasing: nudge, double-beating: re-cue).
The old method of “blindfold yourself, throw two random tracks on, and slap the pitch fader until it works” is a relic from the vinyl days. You’ll never play on analog vinyl, and the above method is standard, and extremely easy, for CDJs. Anyone who says you’ll be at a disadvantage for using a quantized BPM display is either bitter, or doesn’t know what theyre talking about (Rekordbox).
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Dude. Wow. That is not beat matching at all. It’s a slow version of sync. It’s Not hard to train your ears, if you need the BPMs your being lazy and won’t learn.
Not every CD deck is a 2000. BPM Counters are quite often wrong. Wow.
Don’t listen to that guy, you’ll learn nothing.
and for the record the above method is not standard you don’t just slap the pitch fader till it works, eventually your ears just no what to do. Ask any DJ who doesn’t snyc if they do that and I guarantee they’ll say no.
Every single CDJ released in the past few years supports quantization (Rekordbox), and no piece of equipment I’ve ever played on couldn’t hold a tempo +/- 2 BPM. Unless you’re hauling around a crate of vinyl with you in case the club you’re playing at only had 5 year old CDJs and your laptop vaporizes, learning to ride the pitch fader is a waste of time. As I said, anyone who says otherwise is either clinging to vinyl, or just doesn’t understand that tempo isn’t an arcane science beyond mechanical comprehension.
+1 what shishdisma said has nothing to do with learning how to beatmatch by ear really…
find your cue point on either a kick drum of hat (personal preference i guess and depends on the tunes as to which is easier), learn to drop it in in time (just by pressing/holding the cue button as shishdisma says if you’re on cdj’s or a controller) and you can train your ears to get the bpm in the right ballpark very quickly. rinse and repeat a few times, how much u ride the pitch fader is all down to personal preference and what works for you. the important thing just being to learn to hear when the tune is behind of ahead of the beat and too slow/fast.
you’re missing the point of this thread, which is how to learn to beatmatch by ear. i’m not “clinging” to anything… learning to beatmatch by ear is still a very useful skill. lets not turn this into another sync verses quantize verses anything else mental masturbation session. personally i tend to just use sync now with my controllers but could also jump on a deck and mix.
I’m not sure what you mean, what I said was beat matching by ear, on a CDJ. If you’re talking about limiting yourself to 70s technology and manipulation, then I guess you’d be right. “Tempo matching” and “beat matching” aren’t exactly the same thing, since the existence of an accurate BPM readout on virtually every modern CDJ makes the blind tempo part of it mostly irrelevant. It’s still being matched by ear, it’s just not done vinyl style. If 1200s had a pitch indicator, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
i’m not talking about limiting anything to anything (tho not entirely sure that phrase makes sense )
a pitch indicator wouldn’t help on a 1200 - unless u mean a bpm auto detect gizmo.
it’s not “by ear” if all you’re doing is looking at the bpm’s - tho i guess u are talking about using your ears to be able to hear when they’re in phase. the OP was asking about how to really beatmatch by ear anyway which isnt quite what you’re talking about. tho i do see your point.
bpm readouts and sync buttons are great tools - but personally i like knowing that if something goes wrong i’m not going to end up with a train wreck.
oddly enough there’s another thread atm that seems to be the usual “you’re not a dj unless u can do it manually” verses “sync”… these seem to come around way too often. as with most things in life the truth is somewhere in the middle
That is not beat matching at all. It’s a slow version of sync. It’s Not hard to train your ears, if you need the BPMs your being lazy and won’t learn.
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