Wen learning to mix

[connor]

wot is the best style to learn with?

my mate says i should do it wiv hard house as its easiest to get a beat match to and jus gernerally easy to mix... but i really aint the biggest lover of hard house at all....

i love hardcore and hardstyle and started buyin those records... but he suggested i learn wiv hardhouse as sum times i struggle to get a beat match and bring it in at the right place...

or perhaps mixing is jus not for me who knows....

[EmotionComplex]

well idealy you want to be learning with the styles of music you are into, sure learning how to beatmatch will probobly be simplified with 2 simple dance tracks but your not learning anything other then beatmatching there.

i say if your around your mates or something then have a little practise with there music but at home stick to the music you want to mix for if you get me, as that way you will be picking up the beatmatching skills you need but at the same time learning how to bring together the music you are into and how to structure your sets etc :).

[DJTrubass]

if you learn to mix with harder to mix tunes, then you will only benifit from it..

[Yoshimitsu]

if you like hardstyle, why not buy some hard trance as thats usually fairly simple in structure to mix and is easier to learn than hardstyle where your gettin stitched up all over the place

[basslinejunkie]

just learn with the music you like,no point learning with hard house when you dont even like it like you said,poinless really m8 ;) just keep buyin the stuff you like,practice as much as you can and youl be beatmatching in no time :cool:

[Voorheez]

I disagree, I'd recommend some normal uplifting trance to begin with, even if you only use the same 5 records or so. It's the easiest genre if you ask me as it's a nice speed (house is a little slow which makes it a bit harder to learn) and there are no complicated structures. Learning to mix with hardstyle would be virtually impossible if you ask me, the structures are just all over the place, and the basslines are unforgiving.

[Evil G]

it doesn't matter what style you start with. whatever style you play, figure out what the key sounds are, and focus on listening for those in the mix, and ignoring everything else.

mixing the kick drum can actually be difficult if the kicks of the two records sound alike, especially with slower, fatter beats, like house, because your beats will have to go waaaay off before the kicks stop overlapping and you notice the difference.

in breakbeat or drum & bass, it's easiest to mix if you listen for the snare drum on the back beat. in 4/4 styles the ride cymbol is usually pretty easy to pick out.

basically, for each mix, pick a sound that you can easily identify from each record, then listen like crazy to keep track of those two sounds. really try to keep them seperated in your head, even when they are coming out of the speakers together. the more you practice, the more you can listen for without getting lost in the mix.

[Voorheez]

Am I really the only one who finds bass size, speed and sequences a lot different throughout genres? I think it matters a great deal, I sure as hell wouldn't want to learn to mix with drum n bass or gabber, because you're just making it far more difficult for yourself.

[Yoshimitsu]

Am I really the only one who finds bass size, speed and sequences a lot different throughout genres? I think it matters a great deal, I sure as hell wouldn't want to learn to mix with drum n bass or gabber, because you're just making it far more difficult for yourself.

no i agree with that. definitely would be harder to learn with hardstyle for ecample

[Evil G]

as long as there are clear and distinct sounds you can pick out a record is a record. if one record is 250ms behind the other, you have to adjust it by the same amount, no matter what the tempo of the music is.

[Yoshimitsu]

as long as there are clear and distinct sounds you can pick out a record is a record. if one record is 250ms behind the other, you have to adjust it by the same amount, no matter what the tempo of the music is.

yeh thats just for beatmatching. wot about the different structures of tunes in hardstlye?

[Evil G]

some genres use very predicatable formulas, some don't, but i think it's better to know your individual records inside out. there is always a range within each genre anyway. instead of grabbing two records at random, and then discovering in the mix that the basslines clobber each other and the changes don't line up, you can do things like mix a simple beat with a complex one. you should really have an idea of what it's going to sound like before you even put the record on the platter. place your sounds intentionally instead of mashing them together and hoping for the best.

i've seen lots of drum & bass dj's do that. two rollers together would be a nightmare, but two steppers together is boring, so they will mix a roller and a stepper, and magic happens.

[piginabush]

I would say definately learn with Hard Trance..... the natural progression from that is to go to Hardstyle so should be a doddle :shock:

[connor]

hmmm sum of the points u guyz made there where a bit to deep and i got a bit lost.... guess i'll jus keep practising and eventually it might come to me....

i ave enough problem workin out whther to speed a record up or down.... i think its jus me i wasnt invented to be a multi tasker

[DJ SPUDIE]

hmmm sum of the points u guyz made there where a bit to deep and i got a bit lost.... guess i'll jus keep practising and eventually it might come to me....

i ave enough problem workin out whther to speed a record up or down.... i think its jus me i wasnt invented to be a multi tasker

Nah m8 everyone that has just started to mix would of had that problem, I know that I did. Keep at it m8.

[connor]

yeah i will do... its jus nice to do wen at hoem bored and play sum choons...

plus at afterparties then u decide wot choons get played ;) :lol:

i aint ever lookin to take it serious or anythin its jus summit i'd liek to be able to do

[DJ SPUDIE]

yeah i will do... its jus nice to do wen at hoem bored and play sum choons...

plus at afterparties then u decide wot choons get played ;) :lol:

i aint ever lookin to take it serious or anythin its jus summit i'd liek to be able to do


Once youve started theres no stopping. Been mixing around 1yr 1/2 - 2 yrs and there is no way im giving it up :nono:

[Voorheez]

some genres use very predicatable formulas, some don't, but i think it's better to know your individual records inside out. there is always a range within each genre anyway. instead of grabbing two records at random, and then discovering in the mix that the basslines clobber each other and the changes don't line up, you can do things like mix a simple beat with a complex one. you should really have an idea of what it's going to sound like before you even put the record on the platter. place your sounds intentionally instead of mashing them together and hoping for the best.

i've seen lots of drum & bass dj's do that. two rollers together would be a nightmare, but two steppers together is boring, so they will mix a roller and a stepper, and magic happens.

I think you need to keep in mind that this is for someone to learn the bare basics only. As Connor himself says, it's all gone a bit above his head for the level he's at now.

I'm not suggesting that anyone should play music they don't necessarily like, i'm just saying that it makes sense to use simple records for say the first fortnight after buying decks, just to get the basics of beatmatching learnt, and in my opinion trance is the best for that.

After the basics are there, then you can go on to discover sequences of the genre you want to play.

[DJ SPUDIE]

some genres use very predicatable formulas, some don't, but i think it's better to know your individual records inside out. there is always a range within each genre anyway. instead of grabbing two records at random, and then discovering in the mix that the basslines clobber each other and the changes don't line up, you can do things like mix a simple beat with a complex one. you should really have an idea of what it's going to sound like before you even put the record on the platter. place your sounds intentionally instead of mashing them together and hoping for the best.

i've seen lots of drum & bass dj's do that. two rollers together would be a nightmare, but two steppers together is boring, so they will mix a roller and a stepper, and magic happens.

I think you need to keep in mind that this is for someone to learn the bare basics only. As Connor himself says, it's all gone a bit above his head for the level he's at now.

I'm not suggesting that anyone should play music they don't necessarily like, i'm just saying that it makes sense to use simple records for say the first fortnight after buying decks, just to get the basics of beatmatching learnt, and in my opinion trance is the best for that.

After the basics are there, then you can go on to discover sequences of the genre you want to play.


Yeah trance is the easyist to mix, then go up to the hard trance, and then hard style. imo
But dont do what people tell you to just discover what you wont for yourself ;)

[connor]

hmm well not had a mix for a a week or so now as i left me choons at a mates house ****in miles away and cant get em back as he on holiday lol....

but ill keep practisin i guess itll come eventually.... jus the beat matchin i still sturgle wiv even though its like the most basic thing

[dan the acid man]

hmm well not had a mix for a a week or so now as i left me choons at a mates house ****in miles away and cant get em back as he on holiday lol....

but ill keep practisin i guess itll come eventually.... jus the beat matchin i still sturgle wiv even though its like the most basic thing

people vary, some pick up beat matching really quickly, some it take's a little longer, it took me a while.
just keep at it, it will come together

[Mindful]

I think you sould be mixing the music you like bro that way you should enjoy it more and youl get to know the structure of your tunes anyway but maybe buy a bit of hard trance n trance asswell as the hardstyle you like.
You will pick up beatmatchin easely with practice honest you will ;)
ive been mixing for a fair bit now(since i was 15 im 27 now)and i remember how frustrating beatmatching was for me but one day it will just klick :dance: belive me youl find yourself getting quicker at reconising it slipping and whether it needs to be faster or slower.
Then when youve got this nailed thats when the fun realy starts.
Its a never ending learning curve i love it!!PRACTICE!and you will see

And imo hardstyles easy to mix mate(just a bit limating-just my veiw)and as good as anything to learn with.

In at the deep end i say.Try techno,break-core or hip hop if you want difficult. :mashed: :twisted:

[Hakka]

In my opinion you need to first concentrate on beat matching before anything else. Learn the principle then practice it. Trust me if you jump in with trying to mix hard style tunes you will end up getting very frustrated.

Hard House is so very easy to mix. It has good speed, long long intro's and outro's to mix with and plenty of easy beats to hear. Once you have got used to beat matching try uplifting or hard trance. This will get you in to looking for cue points and blending tunes that are beat matched fine. Once you've mastered cue points and timing, then move on to hard style.

Hard style IS a cunt to mix. It isn't if you like that stop and start style mixing where you just stop the other tune as the other one cuts out before the huge bass line comes in. To me, that isn't really mixing that intelligently and its so obvious to hear. But, some people like that... - Hardstyle often has very short intro's or intro's that so quiet in relation to the other tune its hard to accurately hear whats going on. Also some intro's and outro's are strange in that they will have unexpected gaps. Also the bass lines are very heavy on hardstyle, so it will often sound swaped or too much to have both on full together.

To me mixing is about blending one tune in to another as cleverly as you can so that to the listener, it sounded like the music was supposed to cross over at that point and progess... Where mixes break up and then it goes quiet and the then the next beat slamms in I find it too chop and change for my liking... unless one record runs out as the other one breaks :) - I prefer one track to wind down as the other one steps up with clever use of shifting the bass and easier down on the mids at the right moment. But hey everyone has there on ways of doing things.

Starting with harder tunes to mix will frustrate you greatly. One of the first pieces of vinyl I bought was "Scot Project - Future is Now". I loved the tune but HATED it because I felt it was a bitch to mix. These days I find it fine to mix, but that's because I'm comfortable with my beat matching and can work out when its right to cue it off. You can't teach that, it comes with practice and hard work.

Please please... if your starting to learn to mix get some simple hard trance (early uberdruck tunes are often easy to mix...) and just try your hardest to ensure you can beat match and keep it matched for as long as possible. Once you've done that I would say move on to experimenting with different places to cue your record off... and then looking for places where records will change over together nicely. I feel it helps to go over and over a mix until you find you've found the mix your most happy with. Then you will always remember it with that record. As you get more experienced you will hear patterns in the music and notice trends in the groves of the vinyl even to help you even further.

I can't stress enough that jumping in the deep end with mixing only puts you off it and causes you stress. Work your way up. If you was starting out as a diver, you wouldn't head straight for the top board. You'd start with the basics and get better and better until you move up.

Hope that helps man.

[Hakka]

I think you sould be mixing the music you like bro that way you should enjoy it more and youl get to know the structure of your tunes anyway but maybe buy a bit of hard trance n trance asswell as the hardstyle you like.
You will pick up beatmatchin easely with practice honest you will ;)
ive been mixing for a fair bit now(since i was 15 im 27 now)and i remember how frustrating beatmatching was for me but one day it will just klick :dance: belive me youl find yourself getting quicker at reconising it slipping and whether it needs to be faster or slower.
Then when youve got this nailed thats when the fun realy starts.
Its a never ending learning curve i love it!!PRACTICE!and you will see

And imo hardstyles easy to mix mate(just a bit limating-just my veiw)and as good as anything to learn with.

In at the deep end i say.Try techno,break-core or hip hop if you want difficult. :mashed: :twisted:

I disagree. If you were teaching someone how to drive a car by sticking them in a Formula 1 car and asking them to try and do what Michael Schmuacher does it would be asking for trouble. It's a learning curve as you say, not a learning jump...

[Yoshimitsu]

"Scot Project - Future is Now". .

that was my first tune along with life on mars by dj wag! got em free with my decks. had them tweo proper sussed :lol:

good advice in general there as well m8. I completely agree about mixing where you cut the other tune out 8 beats b4 it kicks in or wotever, tis the most basic way of mixing hardstyle and loads of djs do it :neutral: i admit i do sometimes but only wen its appropriate to the tune ;)

[Hakka]

"Scot Project - Future is Now". .

that was my first tune along with life on mars by dj wag! got em free with my decks. had them tweo proper sussed :lol:

good advice in general there as well m8. I completely agree about mixing where you cut the other tune out 8 beats b4 it kicks in or wotever, tis the most basic way of mixing hardstyle and loads of djs do it :neutral: i admit i do sometimes but only wen its appropriate to the tune ;)

With some tunes you have to do it. Visions of Paradise is a big gamble if you leave it in, Kat - Kaos you have to get it right or it comes in all wrong etc...

[Yoshimitsu]

Havent got the Kat tune but yeh visions of paradise is an example :cool:

Also nature on project 5, other wise it comes in on an off beat or a beat out out cant remember which so it sounds crap wen in the mix if you account for this :doh:

[Hakka]

Havent got the Kat tune but yeh visions of paradise is an example :cool:

Also nature on project 5, other wise it comes in on an off beat or a beat out out cant remember which so it sounds crap wen in the mix if you account for this :doh:

then there is the other end of the scale, tunes that have weak and VERY SHORT intro's before going in to mayhem. i.e Mat Wax - Insane

http://www.germantrance.com/audio.ram?s=BV001C

It's ok, just such a massive shift though from light percussion to DEATH percussion! Try and smooth that out! It can be done and I've done it many a time, just have to practice like hell with it.

[Yoshimitsu]

yeh ive got that tune i know wot u mean! Tis nice if u want it to slam in unexpectedly though :twisted:

[Mindful]

I disagree. If you were teaching someone how to drive a car by sticking them in a Formula 1 car and asking them to try and do what Michael Schmuacher does it would be asking for trouble. It's a learning curve as you say, not a learning jump...

yeh fair piont mate but i think youl find that theres a bit less danger in messing a mix up in your bedroom than trying to take a corner at 200mph
in an F1 car. :shock:
And i admit i started to learn with hardhouse(the old stuff) n trance/hard trance and yes trance did teach me alot about blending,finding good places to cue,set programming ect. but the difference is thats the sort of music i loved at that time and thats the reason i learnd to mix,to play music i loved :love:

[S/E]

Just keep practicing with whatever you want to practice with. Remember to pay attention to the loops that are playing and have fun. You will notice one day that it is beginning to make sense and thats where the real fun begins! :)

If you want to get a feel for what to listen to, record yourself playing and listen in a pair of headphones. Also, listen to mixes by DJs who you KNOW have serious skills and pay attention to them to hear what is good and what is not.

"All you have to do is learn how to listen."

--Piece of advice from a certain DJ that is near and dear to all of our hearts.

[Hakka]

I disagree. If you were teaching someone how to drive a car by sticking them in a Formula 1 car and asking them to try and do what Michael Schmuacher does it would be asking for trouble. It's a learning curve as you say, not a learning jump...

yeh fair piont mate but i think youl find that theres a bit less danger in messing a mix up in your bedroom than trying to take a corner at 200mph
in an F1 car. :shock:
And i admit i started to learn with hardhouse(the old stuff) n trance/hard trance and yes trance did teach me alot about blending,finding good places to cue,set programming ect. but the difference is thats the sort of music i loved at that time and thats the reason i learnd to mix,to play music i loved :love:

haha... yeah I know driving a F1 car is a bit of an extreme analogy, but I was trying to point that starting off with something hard to learn with will only cause a lot of problems for a person which you don't need when your learning to mix, in my opinion.

:)

[Traxx]

Go your own way is your best bet

[Mindful]

So how are you getting on Conner?

The thread started Wed Jul 28 2004 and its now Wed Oct 20 2004 and i was wandering how youve proggressed with the beatmaching n what your playing

[Hakka]

So how are you getting on Conner?

The thread started Wed Jul 28 2004 and its now Wed Oct 20 2004 and i was wandering how youve proggressed with the beatmaching n what your playing

haha... probably find out now that by now he's won the DJM Sractch Competition and is earning £1000+ a set.

Hakka

[Louk]

this will cause controversy as i love the stuff but techno

Louk

[Hakka]

this will cause controversy as i love the stuff but techno

Louk

don't get this post louk! what you mean?