By day I work in a search engine marketing firm. At night I'm a superstar dj...tutor. Yes that's right i teach in local community center vocational university. I prepare the uninitiated for life as a master deck specialist. If you need to learn how to dj these are some tips for you.
There are always software programs that can mix music in time, but avoid these as they may devastate your natural rhythm and they'll make you unable to realise the full nature of how hard and rewarding it is to mix 2 or more records together by hand.
To begin with it's best to start out using turntables, or cd's. The internationally renowned Technics are famous in the djing world. They are excellent and so easy to operate. You can use Pioneer CD Decks if you like to use cd's. You operate these just like records. You can pull them forwards and backwards and they respond like a record. Then for the more technologically inclined you need to use a software mixing program like Tracktor with a hardware mixer. That means you may have a library of thousands of songs on your personal computer. Easier to carry than a suitcase full of cd's or record box.
Next you want to select 2 tracks. Select 2 from the same musical genre for simpleness. Select tracks possessing a clear punchy kick drum in a 4/4 beat. This'll help you get accustomed to the rhythm and find out how to beat match in time.
On the decks or mixer interface if you are using a computer program you will see + and - buttons for speeding up and slowing the tracks. The art of beat mixing involves catching the beat on time and dropping the next record in at the same speed (bpm - beats per minute) and mixing the 2 tracks together or cutting bits in forwards and backwards. Mose house, trance and techno music is in the range of 130-160 bpm.
First up you need to play one song. Then you need to listen to the other in your headphones, keeping one ear free to listen to the record playing over the speakers. You have to start with rolling the beat backwards and forwards on the record you would like to mix in. Then you drop it in hopefully on the same beat at the start of a bar of the track that is playing over the speakers. You then adjust The speed of the record in your earphones so it approximately is the same speed. You will need to reset the record and constantly stick it back to the start before you get it right.
After you finally get this bit right you can use the crossfader on the mixer to mix or chop in the new record. It might take months or years to polish even a basic mix. After you can work on playing with the EQ and utilizing trick. Practise makes perfect!
There are always software programs that can mix music in time, but avoid these as they may devastate your natural rhythm and they'll make you unable to realise the full nature of how hard and rewarding it is to mix 2 or more records together by hand.
To begin with it's best to start out using turntables, or cd's. The internationally renowned Technics are famous in the djing world. They are excellent and so easy to operate. You can use Pioneer CD Decks if you like to use cd's. You operate these just like records. You can pull them forwards and backwards and they respond like a record. Then for the more technologically inclined you need to use a software mixing program like Tracktor with a hardware mixer. That means you may have a library of thousands of songs on your personal computer. Easier to carry than a suitcase full of cd's or record box.
Next you want to select 2 tracks. Select 2 from the same musical genre for simpleness. Select tracks possessing a clear punchy kick drum in a 4/4 beat. This'll help you get accustomed to the rhythm and find out how to beat match in time.
On the decks or mixer interface if you are using a computer program you will see + and - buttons for speeding up and slowing the tracks. The art of beat mixing involves catching the beat on time and dropping the next record in at the same speed (bpm - beats per minute) and mixing the 2 tracks together or cutting bits in forwards and backwards. Mose house, trance and techno music is in the range of 130-160 bpm.
First up you need to play one song. Then you need to listen to the other in your headphones, keeping one ear free to listen to the record playing over the speakers. You have to start with rolling the beat backwards and forwards on the record you would like to mix in. Then you drop it in hopefully on the same beat at the start of a bar of the track that is playing over the speakers. You then adjust The speed of the record in your earphones so it approximately is the same speed. You will need to reset the record and constantly stick it back to the start before you get it right.
After you finally get this bit right you can use the crossfader on the mixer to mix or chop in the new record. It might take months or years to polish even a basic mix. After you can work on playing with the EQ and utilizing trick. Practise makes perfect!