Tips for cue point juggling?
So, I got an akai mpd24, modified the pads, and am all set up for juggling cue points. My only problem is, what are good ways to practice this? I think I have the cue points set up fine, but I don’t know of a way to get a good rhythym going. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.
I think a good way to learn is to mimic drum beats you really like. So you set a loop, and start banging out the cue points over it, kinda like scratching over a loop, y’know? Record it and listen back and see what you need to work on, and before you know it you’ll have your own rhythms you’ll be able to improv after a while.
Also, watch any cue juggling videos you can find.
Agree with DvlsAdcvt!
Put some hotcues on a drum, bass, hihat etc - loop a nice track and when you are ready to move on , try twist some vocals on it too 
To develop your rhythm I recommend you practice over some sort of metronome. It may be a simple click track, or over a looped drum track. Start with on the beat whole notes and then move up to more complex stuff.
If you really want to get into rhythm one fun thing to do is buying a djembe and playing it with friends, at parties, etc. That will develop your musical instintcs far more than pressing pads IMO. But it all depends how far you want to go.
There’s this rhythm called “paradiddle” you play on the djembe for starting to develop hand independency. It goes like this. Each hit follows the beat. When you get it go faster and faster:
R L R R L R L L
Also if you’re planning on producing music in the future, taking piano classes will also develop each of your fingers and give a good rhythmic knowledge, plus you’ll learn about harmonies, notes, etc.
I found this pretty inspiring:
Thanks for the responses, any suggestions for the kind of loop to mash over?
I’d start with a simple drum beat, kinda like a metronome but with more balls.
Speaking of hand independence does anyone here have suggestions for scratching. I find it so hard to do while scratching.
It’s my understanding that “select/set+store hotcue” is the function to assign to the pads to juggle cue points, but why does it set a cue when I hit the button instead of trigger ones i’ve already set?
it only sets a cue if you don’t have one already stored in this hotcue.
not triggering the normal cue, just hotcues in the list below your waveform-display
It all depends on your skill. The faster and more complex, the harder it will be.
If you’re starting from zero (if can’t even tap a beat with your foot) I’d start with a steady 125 bpm house beat and go faster from there.
Start with a few minutes of beat tapping with each of your fingers, then when you are confident try changing that pattern and move to faster bpm.
Hit Quantize button :eek:
Quantize is good for simple routines involving quick cuts or simple re edits. But for everything else make sure its off along with sync. I do alot of cue juggling when spinning hard style/techno. Cue juggling with the beat masher brings up many possibilties.
Also to pretend your doing something use the slicer in advanced mode, amazing results with vocals. You can even turn 4/4 beats into a dnb rythym.
TT FX in advanced mode is pretty damn cool as well when used with juggle routines.