I was hoping to find something in here on this, but unless i’m missing it i did not… so… Beatmatching and when to use and not to use…
Alright, I know that the ears would certainly detect if everything sounded the same in terms of tempo for a few hours at the club on mixtape, so my question to the more experienced Dj’s “when” to beatmatch or sync.
I did my first mixtape (80’s soul) over the weekend and although i dug what I heard I felt I got stuck in “beatmatching”… I know there are no “hard coded” rules to djaying, but i’m needing some guidance on this… and how to transition between various tempos… is this the time where you use hard crossfades on the “1”…
I think its ok to not beatmatch all together as long as you do something else that is out of the box, if you dont beatmatch and simply play linear sets then I think its wrong your doing nothing, if on the other hand your not beatmatching but come proficient at using other tools to enhance the experience ( live production/remixing ) then its all good.
I am all for new technology as long as your using it to improve not to do the same with no effort.
When I use my RMX I sync it cos beatmatching with this thing sucks, but when I do a gig or at a club with CDJ’s or TT’s I beatmatch always. I still enjoy beatmatching whenever I can, it sort of reminds me of the good old days, and keeps me involved with the music.
It you using a shitty controller and it doesnt beatmatch to well then sync it, if you playing on CDJ’s or TT’s then do it oldschool and beatmatch!
Try bring in tracks in non conventional places, don’t mix songs start to finish, that’s just boring. Quickly bring in a new track half way through a song musically. If done right and using the right tracks, it sounds great.
Definitely, i do this all the time; i particularly like to use the build up the drop of one track with the build up of another, then cut the first track when the second drops.
If i think about it i rarely mix the intro of alot of music i play, i just cue and monitor it along side and wait for a good sounding phrase and drop it, it’s good for keeping the energy up since i normally come in after the first breakdown.
Yep! that’s exactly it. It’s good to have the surprise element in a set as well. Not too much as it becomes predictable but every so often it just lifts the energy level higher in my experience. Imagine the dance floor is a roller coaster, it needs its ups and downs to keep moving and then suddenly something crazy happens like a loop or some upside down track (that can be the surprise element). Do that for your set and you’ll have a winner
