DJing ***FAQ*** methods and techniques, bump often

Id say learn how to match the records using your finger first, but im a biased anti-pitch bender
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. Once you learn how to match using your fingers, it couldnt hurt to learn how to do it with pitch bending.
 
I have a question......what is say a bar in trance. Is that just a group of 4 beats? so...32 bars would be like 32*4 beats? Is that right? If someone could pick out two mp3 tracks and tell me at what time they introduce it at, and say..."here is the 32 bar" or something, that would help out a lot. Thanks
 
well agree with everyone on the process of mixing in your posts, but if you really think about it...Mixing makes a big difference especially depending on what kind of mixer you use. Dj's like carl cox, bad boy bill , etc. etc. do not use just any kind of mixer these days...every club or even rave party the pioneer djm500 or 600 is supplied for them which makes it so much easier for them to match the beats because of the beats per minute counter.Basically what it comes down to is the more money you have to spend(such as a mixer) the better the dj you become or in other words sound.
 
I don't think having the bpm counter makes it easier to beatmatch at all. I have a DJM-500, and I've found that by the time the damn thing actually reads the bpms of the record I can already have the records matched, or close to matched. And it doesn't seem to be any good except for getting the records in the vicinity of each other, speed-wise...you still need to be able to beatmatch by ear to get the records matched perfectly. I'm sure that even if Carl Cox and Bad Boy Bill request a Pioneer mixer when they spin out, they aren't doing so because they need the bpm counter. More likely it's because it's a badass mixer, and/or they're using the effects.
 
BPM counter are like training wheels. After a while you just don't need them anymore. I have a DJM-500 and I used to use my BPM all the time. Now I hardly ever look at it. After you learn what a pair of matched beats sound like you don't need a beat counter and you'll be faster without it.
Then again what do I know I only spin in my basement.
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well i guess from what you guys have said, the bpm counter on a mixer doesnt really matter...I dont have a mixer WITH A BPM COUNTER so I really dont know how it works. I learned something new about this discussion so i admit to my mistake.I apologize to anyone who got offended on my post other than that...KEEP ROCKIN THE BEATS!!!!!!
 
The only thing I've found the bpm counter on my 300 good for is making sure my mix is around 140. You can't really beatmatch using the bpm counters, since they don't display "135.4" or "135.5" There is a lot of room for error between, say, 135 and 136 bpm.
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Jonathan
--"That's Willy time."
 
when i was learning to mix, i found it easier to mix the record coming in, if it was slower and needed speeding up. rather than slowing it down!
 
Yo Heinkien, if youre dealing with trance, think groups of 32 or 16. Dont worry about 4. Most commonly youll hear the track change every 32 beats: bassline comes in or goes out, hi percussion comes in or goes out, or a crash cymbal is a pretty common indicatior.
Agreed, the bpm counter doesnt help too much. I use it to get it in the general vacinity, then i cue it up again and fine tune the pitch without using the counter. And the pioneer mixer isnt exactly "supplied" to the club or party. Clubs and soundsystem companies buy those mixers cuz.. well.. they kick ass.
 
make the beat your bitch. bump
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just say know
[This message has been edited by panic in paradise (edited 08 February 2001).]
 
I just started spinning about a month ago and I'll go ahead and say I'm already damn good at beatmatching and fundamentals like that...
My secret?
I was a musician (played trumpet in jazz bands and orchestras) for 9 years before ever touching a vinyl...
Explanation?
Ive had years and years of musical experience.... sorta like having 9 years of practice hearing what "on beat" and "off beat" sounds like....
my advice?
practice! it WILL get easier, you just gotta hear it, decided whats going wrong, then try fixing it....
one observation ill make though...feel free to flame at this one...
I think house and hard house leaves a lot more creative and musical opportunities to the DJ instead of just fading between mushy trance tracks....
musically, you can do some damn interesting and 'showy' shit with house and hard house...
but I'm a trance/progressive hard trance dj..... go figure....
good luck!
 
The best way to mix hard house...
get a nice big fat Food blender, break records in half and then proceed placing half a record at a time into the mixer!!
This should ensure a brilliant hard house mix!!! (hehehehehehehehehehe)
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The journey never ends!!!
 
I use the Pitch bending technique. I never touch the record after i que it unless im doing some kind of mixing trick. I think thats the best way to keep in n'sync. I noticed also that dj's that are really big exclude PVD that they all do it wioth the pitch bend idea. I noticed like about a week ago but i guess everyone's diffrent.
 
****Bumpidy Bump Bump****
Just trying to keep this one going.....
Trainspotters Beware!!!!
!!*!!PeTTySpInS!!*!!
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Set me on fire with emotion and douse me with life.....
 
All right, here are my best DJing secrets. Some of you may consider them cheats, but, whatever.
The best money I ever spent was $150 on a redsound beatcounter (Micro BPM). It measures BPMs to .1 (E.G. 135.8) This was really helpful in learning to beatmatch.
Now I don't use it while I beatmatch. Instead, I measure the BPMs of all my records down to the .1 and write it on the label.
Now here's my REAL trick: I print out a label for each record with Title & Artist & I list the pitch adjustment needed to go from the actual BPM to a range of desired BPMs. E.G.: If the record is 137.8 BPM, to get it to 140 it need to adjust +1.60, for 142 I need to adjust +3.05 etc.
The formula for pitch adjustment is this:
Desired BPM divided by Actual BPM minus 1.
Anyway, this has allowed me to quickly and accurately beat match. Of course, the pitch slider is not precise, so you still have to fine tune it with your ears. Although, I've been eager to try this method with one of the Vestax tables with digital pitch adjustment to see if it works well.
I don't like the progressive method, perhaps only because I suck at it. I usually make the record slightly faster than I think it needs to be, then slow it down by pressing my finger against the platter. My mixes usually last 45-60 seconds.
Oh yes, and I mix hard house, not trance, despite my name.
Finally, A good pair of headphones is key for precise beatmatching. I have Sony MDR-900, same as the DJ-700s, except closed & circumaural. GREAT CANS!
Anyway, good thread, bump!
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Trance and Dance: the enlightened path to Trancendence.
 
Denial aint just a river in egypt...hes right too...
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i was a musician for a long time (10 years) before i ever layed my hands on tables (trumpet too!) and it really has helped (i think) my beatmatching skillz etc....so yeah it just takes practice for those of you who dont come from a musical background...
ok, so aside from beatmatching, what else are the main things i should be conscious of when im playin to a crowd (sometime, hopefully, in the future)?
I recently saw DJ irene spin and although i personally didnt like her DJ skilz, she went mad crazy and pumped the crowd up flayling her arms around and pumpin up the crowd....is that sometime people normally do?
because i saw Arman van helden next and he didnt even acknowledge the crowds existance...and the crowd definitely wasnt as into it...
so should i be throwin free stuff into the crowd?...screamin, waivin my hands, dancin around? whats everyones opinion on the matter..?
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dj mystery
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"Who's king? You lookin at him my brotha. The origional Magnetic King is the one sittin here doin his thing."
 
Trancendance: Good comment on the headphones.. A few spin off tips..
1. Get a good monitor system.
Particularly when your learning to hear the beats. Having a good quality speaker up close will really help. Also make sure its pointing at you rather than the rest of the room..
If your using a stereo system then TURN OFF any digital EQ effects (POP, ROCK and any music enhancing stuff), this really seems to screw around with the bass line..
2. Tape yourself often.
Its easy to think that was really good or really bad. When you've got your headphones on it sounds different. Listening to a tape of yourself helps identify your mistakes..
BUT don't listen to it straight away, leave it a day. You can get far too critical if you've just recorded it and start hearing things.. Like faults with the song production rather than your own mixing ability
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3. Practise..
Practise often and put some structure into it. When your first learning getting beat mixing, down just keep at it. Time spent here should be on just getting with beat mixing.
As you get better just keeping at it, isn't as good a technique. Its better to spend time concentrating on mixing two records till your completely happy with it than spending hours mixing loads of records and not evaluating what your doing. - I've done this and others have and sometimes you get worse rather than better..
4. Commercial Chart Stuff..
Don't waste your money on cheesey records while your learning. This is not a slam on cheese! But you'll be suprised how easily you'll get fed up with those anthems when you only have 5 records and are practising for 4 hours a day!
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All this comes with a big pinch of salt. I've been mixing 18 months and I'm still shit, but these tips helped me along..
Jase.
 
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