knowing the right tempo
how do you know when you have the right tempo? is there a way to tell or an instinct?
I’ve been beatmatching for a month and I can get the songs matched for a good 15 to 20 secs but if I leave for a minute the songs are usually off. is there a way to set the.right tempo from the start?
also, roughly how much do you usually move the tempo control? I can’t tell if I’m over, under or accurately adjusting it. I use 6% on the cdj900’s
thanks!
With practice, it’s easy to remember what a specific tempo feels like. It’s possible to check against a metronome, click track, or a track already marked with the tempo.
Don’t do this.
It’s always an option to use arithmetic, but not always necessary. For example, if the first track is at 102 BPM and the second at 100, then they will be in time if the second track is sped up 2%.
I’m used to the +/- 8% pitch control on Technics turntables. I let track decks in Traktor move as wide as 25%, but rarely adjust farther than the single digits, especially without keylock.
Its really instinct over time where your cue ear can differentiate between the two tracks BPM… Are you using one ear headphone monitoring or mixing in the headphones (personally I always found One ear easier).
Just a matter of training yourself to separate the various elements from each track - it’ll come.
If you are intent on doing it blind without looking at the BPM - riding the fader is how I find works most accurately for long mixes.
Its rare that you will not need a lil bit of pitch bend or adjustments to keep the tracks in sync over long periods though.
Unless you are looking at the screen to find the exact speed of the first track, at which stage you may as well just match the BPM on both players and be done with it.
Gigging and Math do not go hand in hand IMHO - should be feeling it rather than needing to concentrate.
Use your ear… Your can tell if a song is over/under tempo… If so use pitch bend buttons on Cdjs to adjust. I use ttables so it is easier to make small adjustments
I label most of my tracks with BPM and key, even regular vinyl records. Personally, I’m must faster if I’ve done that preparation.
Thanks all for the help! Is the pitch chart to be used in conjunction with the jog wheel or by itself? I’ve seen DJ’s who ride the pitch to get them matched and barely touch the wheel
Till last night, I’ve used earphones to cue the tracks with both ears. I will practice the one ear method, cause it looks fkn awesome lol. But seriously, I gotta figure out which method is better once I get a good mixer. The one I’m using doesn’t have a cue/master mix so I have to figure that out
They say you need a speaker on the side to beat match with one ear. Is that true. Cause I don’t think the places I’m gonna play have monitors. But I like the idea of hearing it on speakers before bringing the cues track in cause it always sounds a little more matched than it is through earphones
With the one ear method remember to have the volume level balanced or a little bit quieter in your ear when trying to beat match. Having it too loud can make it hard to concentrate on the track that’s playing out of your monitors
If the nearest speaker is more than 3 or 4 meters away at most and not pointing in your general direction one-ear mixing just ain’t gonna work due to speed of sound latency (every meter adds over 3ms of delay)
That’s what the master cue switch is for so you can here it in your headphones the same way the master out is projecting the sound
