I think im developing some bad habits. Help me retrain!
So I think I’m getting some bad habits. I haven’t been mixing for very long but our DJ community is small and I have had some great opportunities.
My blends just aren’t sounding as smooth as they could be. I usually play electro house and some hard dance. I was reading somewhere about dropping the first beat of the next song on the 1 of the currently playing one. What is the best method for determining the current bar of a song being played?
Say 128 bpm Skrillex going into 128 bpm Le Castle Vania.
Also I don’t want to end up mixing at breaks like DJ BL3ND. Im feeling a tad scatter brained, i just played a little house party last night and i felt my stuff of garbage. The drunks ate it up but i wasnt happy with my performance. Does anyone have any tips for retraining? I was going to watch some ellaskins and start over essentially.
Also, does anyone have any scratch tips for the S4?
When you’re mixing dance music you’ll mostly be able to hear 1,2,3,4 over and over for 8 different bars, then it might slightly change so maybe a new hihat or something comes in etc, and on a breakdown it tends to be a multiple of 32, and occasionally 16, that is used. try waiting for the drop and, starting on the one, count
1, 2, 3, 4,
2, 2, 3, 4,
3, 2, 3, 4
etc up until 8, 2, 3, 4 and then you should notice it change. do this with all of your tunes while mixing and try to drop the new song etc on the 1 of 1, 2, 3, 4 after a while it just becomes natural and you wont even need to think anymore!
I know that most preach the 8 bars for each phrase in edm, but I tend to see more major changes every 16 bars. I may be nuts (or doing things differently) but I tend to sound like total garbage when I try to mix using the 8 bars method if that makes any sense
Really probably doesn’t even need saying, but cutting the bassline of one tune and swapping the basslines in the mix is a quality standard move.
In short: more often than not - don’t play 2 basslines at once unless you have some epic double drop.
Also, try switching up short fast mixes and long progressive kinda mixes. Nothing worse than a DJ who does the same mix over and over all night (yawn).
yeah i do the bass swap. standard. maybe im swapping them too slowly. i tend to have 1 track -25 and one at 0. i then blend them bringing them both to about -15 then keep swapping. Perhaps i should try it a little faster?
Generally if a track has mad hi percussion I’ll even consider bringing the hi’s in and out in a similar fashion, just not so dramatically
Cutting is a fun way to mix, and deploy some furious drops. If I mix hiphop, of course, scratching in and out is dope.
Using chained FX and delays and stuff to take a mix out is nice too.
Basic but I like filter swap mixes. Ie have deck youre about to bring set filter allthe way to bottom. Bring the filter down on deck playing then bring up filter of new track. Simple but effective imo
Sometime to mix it up a bit when the track is playing i turn the reverse gain on then gradually (within like 4 counts) i turn it from 100% to 0% then i hit the switch on the gater play around with that and then adjust the key to match the next song, cue the next song on a big bass+drum beat, something everybody is just gonna start jumping to that has some. pause the first track and play the second at the same instant. has anyone else tried the reverse gain - gater switch?
A tip, grab a song and put a marker every 8 counts and then you will slowly learn when the 32 count is..
I tend to do my progressive mixes every 32 count..
so on the 32 beat, I bring my fader of the new song up half way,
then within the next 32 bring the fader all the way up and either bass change or wait another 32 depending on when the bass is going to come into the song..
If you count 16 bar phrases like I do, well amount really, then try this:
kick on A
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
cut out bass A for 4 counts before the phrase starts and then on the 1 turn up the bass on track B.
I find it very smooth.
As long as you get the start on the beginning of the phrase you can adjust the length of the phrase of the new song based on how its going to play out.
Or…
If you have one song playing that has 32 beat phrase and the new one you wanna play only has 8 in the break. Drop the new song at 16 +8 and then they flow properly.
You just need to hear the difference on the first beat of a bar…Almost all songs have a distinctive 1, so just listen for something a little more on one beat, could be a kick on top of kick etc…If you really start to analyze songs when you listen to them then you will hear it.
I did this for a while, and if you think you can recognize the 1 then just count beats for 4 or 8 bars and see if a major change in the song happens on the one again. Its a good way to reconfirm that you are picking up the first beat.
Do you use Traktor? Do you beatgrid? if so and you place your grid marker on the 1st downbeat then Traktor tells you where the one is. You can either choose to “mix by numbers” or get to know your music and “feel” the mix. I recommend doing both.
dj music you generally dont like, dont buy, and never think about for 2 weeks. dont spin your regular genre whatsoever. especially dont spin anything like it (for example, if you play dubstep, dont move to drum and bass or jungle). spin dutch house or trance, or progressive or deep or hip hop or something instead).
when you go back, all bad habits gone, and now you have a fresh perspective on the music you usually play.
Just start getting in to a habit of counting like everyone says.Do it all the time,with your ipod/in the car etc!
For the first while youll have to force yourself and after a while itll just come natural and you wont have to count!
Get to know your tracks inside out and youll know when the changes are,if its every 8,16 or 32.
You could have cuepoints saved to give you a visual indication while you’re learning!!
When I was learning I had to figure out all this by myself!There was no one to help,no tutorials it was all watching djs and trying out stuff… and it took a long time!!
Thats why I love this place it makes learning quicker and easier!
This… If you know the music you are playing like the back of your hand you will have a way better idea of when you want to drop the next track.
Even if 99% of your music has the same 4/8/16 phrase structure, some of the tracks you love will have a wonky count in there somewhere. It just happens, and if you know it’s going to your music, you will be ready to adjust accordingly when the time comes
That’s actually pretty sound advice. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something you don’t like, but mixing a completely new genre is very good for making yourself think abuot what you’re doing. The tricks or shortcuts you might normally use simply don’t work and you have to go back to basics for a bit.
Just feel where the one is. I don’t usually count but its in my mind none the less. I find overthinking can lead to boring mixes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and do what sounds right.
after a while it just becomes natural and you wont even need to think anymore!