^ This is pretty solid information (at least for most house-based electronic music), but don’t expect every song to be exactly like this. I also think it might be overcomplicating things for this kind of music. Think about it this way - count to 32 and see if something changes between 32 and 33. Another bassline comes in, a high hat, a synthesizer note, etc. Count to 32 again and see what changes next. Listen to two songs you want to mix together all the way through from start to finish and map them out like this; 32 beats intro, 64 beats funk guitar riff, 64 beats crazy percussion, 28 beat breakdown, 128 beats slamming banger, 32 beat breakdown, etc. etc. If you have these things mapped out it’s real easy to figure out possible mixpoints; you want to start the next track on one of those transition points. A general rule of thumb is if you count 32 beats from the last time you heard something interesting happen, something interesting is likely to happen again and that’s the point to throw in the next song. There are exceptions (note the 28 beat breakdown), and it won’t always sound good but you practice it and if you know your songs you will get a feel for what will work and what won’t. Other rules of thumb are try not to mix out of one song during a vocal. If you’re going to mix during a breakdown make sure you know when the drop is supposed to come and you time it so that the drop of the new song comes in at that point. You don’t want this big buildup without a payoff; if the outgoing song sounds like it’s building up to something, slam in the drop of the incoming song at the right moment. You can easily do this with Traktor by finding the two drops and using the beatjump feature to go backwards 32 beats (or 16 or 64 or whatever multiple of 8 you care to use).
If this sounds tedious, that’s because it is, but believe me eventually it becomes second nature and you do it by feeling the music rather than counting numbers in your head. But you won’t likely get there without being tedious about it in the beginning.
The best and easiest answer here is to buy the book 'how to DJ (properly) - it has so many great tips and little titbits of advice, a massively helpful read for DJing and mixing.
Using the search function is basic forum etiquette. It is basic etiquette for two simple reasons. It is better for the individual, and better for the group.
The individual benefits as s/he: Gets answers more quickly - previous threads already contain a developed discussion on the issue Gets more complete answers - previous threads already contain a discussion in progress with more viewpoints Gets more accurate answers - the discussion is more likely to contain a consensus Gets more authoritative answers - experts are less likely to get involved in a repeat discussion when they have provided an authoritative answer previously
The group benefits as Searching become easier - less duplicate threads, easier to find answers New threads indicate fresh topics for discussion - and a certain level of knowledge, which encourages people with the appropriate level of knowledge to get involved Less misinformation in new threads - experts less likely to repeat authoritative answers in duplicate threads Less energy expended in repeating discussions Threads generally have a more developed discussion A discussion’s development is traceable through a single thead Less acrimony from the community because everyone is getting the answers they need quickly and enjoying richer discussions
So by asking someone to use the search function, you are equipping them with a vital tool that helps them get the information they need whilst providing maximum benefit to the community. It is better for them, and it is better for everyone else.
Until you understand basic music theory and structure and all that jazz, playing two songs on top of each other is going to sound like crap. Even after you’ve learned theory, it’ll sound like crap. Why? Because you’re new. It’s okay, it’s normal. Finding two tracks that sound good together isn’t easy when you’re first starting. All these guys who can mash four songs up together have good ears and a lot of time invested. My recommendation to you is to watch different artists mix-not controllerists, because they get a bit too technical for the beginner sometimes (not saying you can’t learn it later, but it may be a bit too much now). But listen to different genres for inspiration. For instance, by listening to a long trance mix, you’ll see how they use long transitions between songs. You’ll see tons of 15 year olds doing fader slams on their Mixtrack Pros in their brostep mixes (and that’s okay!). Point is, there’s a lot of stuff to learn, so just try to watch, listen, and understand the music rather than trying to pull off great mixes right away. You’re still new, there’s still time.
It might also benefit you to play songs in Traktor instead of just listening to them. Keep you hands off the glitchy, funky effects and focus on making a transition from song to song smoothly and cleanly. You’ll be surprised at what you can do once you get the track selection thing down, and this will improve your understanding of the structure of the music as well.
Agreed, I went in with a little advantage because I was a percussionist for 5 years, but even then, it still took a while to get down. Just use your imagination, try and re-try.
If the OP feels like a little light reading, I found this instructive. It doesn’t cover digital DJing particularly, but the principles are the same: http://www.djhistory.com/books/howtodj
I actually disagree. It’s not horrible, and there’s definitely some wisdom in there. But unless there have been major revisions from the version I read, it seems like the guy has a decent grasp of DJing but absolutely no idea about music. And he’s trying to use the language of music for a lot of it…gets things wrong…and would confuse people or make it hard to talk to anyone else.
I learned based on mentoring from forums (mostly DJF) and videos (also posted to DJF).
yeah I’m starting to wonder, if I’m too old. I wasted a lot of my life not doing music. So i feel like I’m starting too late.
wonder if i should just give up on dj’ing, seems like i’ll never have the basics down…
Most the people i watched were age 17 and doing excellent shows. Im starting to think I’m too old. I’m 21 with no career choice, just want to dj… man this sucks.
Uh I’m 46, and started the dj thing 2 years ago. You are never too old. I remember some one posted about a gentleman in Europe that is 65-70 that DJs in the club scene.
I’m going to buy a controller tomorrow, i was borrowing my friends s2. Im going to go buy one for myself. To learn on, i felt far behind without knowing music theory and musical structure, thought i was not going to have enough time to learn it all. So i wasn’t going to spend 700 on my setup since thats a huge amount of my money saved up. But i think i changed my mind, the more i play with it, the better i should get.
Yes you’ll get better with practice. I would worry less about understanding music theory and more about keeping things simple. You don’t need to play four tracks at once, and you don’t need to use effects. In fact I would strongly recommend you practice mixing two songs together only, and only use the volume faders to go from one track to the next, until you feel like it doesn’t sound like crap when you mix the songs. Count the beats in your head (and your body – bop your head or tap your foot or whatever to the beat) until it becomes second nature. If you’re playing house-type music count in groups of 4 or 8 (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-2-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, etc.) and listen for the changes; eventually you just feel it. If your mixes sound like crap to you in the beginning don’t get discouraged; it actually means you are doing something right, which is actively listening while you mix – something even a lot of experienced DJs often forget to do.
You got any tips for when to start my 2nd track? i tried some different approaches, i play track b for 7 bars, and then start track A from the beginning.
sounds better when they’re playing at the same time, but when they continue to play, they start to clash again, so i need to find a spot during the track where i can pause one track, and let the other play for a bit, then start up the other track again so they both sound good together.
just keep it simple at first mate. concentrate on the basic Track A> Track B transition. once you have that down its time to try some new things, or not, like me
So true. I rather spend my time digging for new music than trying to come up with some different mixing-technique that can’t be used more than once or twice in a set without become annoying, anyways.
Again, count in blocks of 8 and you’ll get a good sense for when to start and stop the mix. You don’t need to start at the very beginning of track B but it won’t sound good if you just start in a random spot – instead count 32 (or 64 or 128 etc) beats into track B and see what’s happening there (Traktor makes this really simple with the beat jump feature).
lol jester your music is flawless man.
thanks for all the advice, you always seem to keep me motivated.
Come visit me here in america teach me how to do psy trance/goa trance.
yeah i was looking at the song structure guide. which is this.
intro (8-16 bars)
Usually a simple beat that makes your track easy to mix
Bassdrop (32 bars) - Like it sounds, this is where the Bass comes in. The intro gives the DJ time to transistion from one Bassline to the next.
Breakdown/build up (4-8 bars) - This is usually where the kick drum is removed and a key melody or emotional aspect is introduced.
Meat of the song (32-64 bars) - This is where the song really comes together and sets the tone. this should make you move but not yet give you everything
Breakdown/build up 2 (4-8 bars) - similar to the first breakdown but may feature elements that make it even more intense.
Peak (32-64 bars) - this is the moment everyone lets loose and the track gives you everything it’s got. Typically after 32 bars, the intensity should back off a bit like the way it was after the first breakdown.
Outro (8-16 bars) - this is similar to the intro and is there to allow the DJ to transistion to the next track without conflicts.
i add up all the bars in that ^^
so 16 bars for intro + bassdrop bars 32 bars + buildup/breakdown bars 8 + meat of the song bars 64 + breakdown/buildup 2 bars 8 + the peak of the song bars 64 + the outro bars 16 bars = a total of 208 bars. When i add up all the bars in the demo tracks included with traktor pro 2 i don’t have 208 bars, more like 40-60 bars total. I can’t remember the exact amount but nowhere near 208 bars for the entire track A or Track B. I know they are demo tracks so there probably not going to be 208 bars, but when i try and follow this song structure guide it throws me off since my tracks aren’t 208 bars each…
owel ill just keep playing around.
Thanks for the advice, ill keep posting up my crappy mixes for you all hehe
