had my first go on some decks today, it was fun. met this guy at a house party who was spinning found out he lived right around the corner from my house. So went over there, started messing with them beatmatching is actually harder than it looks.
I guess I have a understanding of what all these cats are getting mad over, i mean it is about the music, but i guess i can understand they feel they are getting cut out, because they took the time learning how to beat match and buy decks and a mixer.
beat matching is best learned on 1200’s then you work your way up, sure people dont have all that money to blow, but atleast you were able to find someone close to you that has some tables for you to practice on.
beat matching is fk’n hard. So I can entirely understand why some DJs get pissed off. But in saying that if you think about it, beat matching hinders musical expression far more then it adds, thus digital ftw. I mean I love a good DJ like a love a good guitarist, its an awesome technical skill I wish I had but it is limited in the same way.
I fucking love mixing/beatmatching tho. Its well fun. Fully keen to get into it, and get better at it… but I have so much other stuff to do its hard to get time to get good enough :[
I always play a beat matching game. How it works is…how fast can i beat match the song with out making any fine adjustments. My mixing is tighter when i spin on vinyl.
beatmatching isn’t hard at all. Most people with a little sense of rhythm can learn it in a few hours. The most difficult part is seperating the incoming audio from your left and right ears and keep the tempo info seperated. If you know how to do this it’s easy.
yea i only messed with it for about 10 mins but i did manage to beat match one song, but i did learn how to beatmatch with ableton. Easier than i thought, but we had a good 3 hour b2b mix going on.
I am just so ready to get my needles so i can start learning how to beatmatch and the main reason i bought my decks scratching, the midi controller might be put up for a while lol. But i did show the guys the site, and they were really interested in how i used my controller and stuff
I never thought beatmatching was hard. The concept was really simple, the application took work.
But I had a friend who owned two technics 1200’s, and he had me over a few weekends and taught me how to beatmatch and mix. And then I transitioned to CDs. That knowledge of beatmatching definitely helped my understanding of mixing on digital, and how loops and the such should fit over other sounds.
I completely agree. there are too many instances where hitting the sync button isnt an option, to not have a pitch fader (and, be able to use it). example: Coming on after a traditional dj, or fine tuning a track that isnt gridding perfectly, or dropping a track that u havent gridded at all, or having to go to your back-up CDs, etc, etc..
Another reason why i havent put my 12s on craigslist.
It can be a pain at times. I started with TTX’ and a PCV. Learned on those. Then learned on CDJ 1000s. Now Im getting into the digital world. Still need to decide on a controller. It feels odd still using sync. Im not sure I can give up having a pitch bend nob or jog wheel just yet. I can see the merit and limits of both camps. Only time and preference will tell. Best of luck with the needles!
if ive said it once, ive said it 1000 times.
everyone who considers themselves a DJ needs to learn to beatmatch. it is a foundational skill that every DJ should be able to do.
some people let software to the hard work, i am perfectly ok with that. i used sync all the time. but i also know how to beatmatch.
some people see people like richie hawtin say that he doesnt feel the need to beatmatch anymore and say, well i dont need to know how to do it. but remember, richie hawtin can do that because he is simply moving passed that as the end all and be all of djing into something new.
dont skip foundational skills. they are foundational for a reason. you will be hard pressed to find a successful DJ that doesnt know how to beatmatch.
you can learn with traktor. assign pitch faders and pitch bend buttons and take off the BPM and phase displays and use your ears, not your eyes, to match them.
check this video…
Ok let me rephrase that. Beat matching FAST and accurately is hard imo.
The concept itself is simple and can be picked up quickly without to much effort.
Same as with guitar you can be taught to bust out a few chords within hours/minutes, being able to play well/fast is a whole new thing… tho guitar is a whole lot more complex,
Could not have put it better its a FUNDAMENTAL skill every one starting out should learn even with Traktor !
And the argument of oh I would not have time to apply effects is crap because people like James Zabiela has been messing with effects in the mix while still beatmatching on cdjs for years
Sync is a wonderful thing but you gota learn the basics it will make you a better dj in the long run and its more of a good feeling knowing you just cracked that great mix on your skills alone
beatmatching is not difficult. its either an art, or a science. if you are any good with math you will get this…
DJing has always been 90% preparation and 10% performance. when you prepare you music, you need to find the BPM. at that point its all about working percentages to determine things. if you have a 127 track and it is at +1% it is running at 128.27. now, say you need to mix in a track that is at 130 BPM. find the percentage difference, 1.3%. bring the 130BPM track down 1.3% and you should be real close to perfectly matched. (I ran the exact numbers, there a variance of .04BPM because of the i was rounding decimal places. that is where the fine turning comes in)
it would be wise to memorize a few of those numbers. what is the percentage difference per BPM?
its not hard, just takes some time.
It also doesn’t hurt to have a graph key or something.
Top row would be the original BPM. Pick common ones for your sets. Mine would be 110, 115, 120, 124, 125, 128, 130, 134, 145, 138, 140, 145, 148, 150, 152, 155, 160
then your left column will be a pitch change, -8% through 8%, etc. etc., and then the middle shows the amounts. It’s a quick and easy way to practice and learn it amounts and stuff.
I think this might hinder improvisational mixing, but if that’s not what you’re going for than who cares. And it’s easy to do that in Excel with formulas.
