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DJ Tutorial (författad av mig för min gamla sajt)

Quick links:
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Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
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INTRODUCTION:
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Dance music; House, Techno, Trance, Euro... whatever style that has a 4/4 beat is based upon four kicks per bar.
You can count along to it - one, two, three, four (and repeat). Every now and then a new element comes into the track.

Most trance tracks (12" mixes) are often built up in the same way so that they will be easier to mix.
Kicking off (no pun intended) with a kick and perhaps some percussion and/or a bassline four about eight bars.
On the first kick there might be a crash to accentuate (tell the DJ) that this is the beginning of the bar.
Every eight or sixteen bars there might be a crash/effect again in case the DJ chooses to cue the record further into
the track. I will now refer to the eight/sixten bars as to a "sequence".

1 bar = four kicks (one, two, three four).
(Click for audio example)

8/16 bars = 1 sequence.¨(This depends on for how many bars the main theme/melody of the tracks needs to reach
it's startingpoint again. (It can be longer but generally not shorter than 8 bars for trance.)
(Click for audio example)

In trance, most producers also use buildup effects, like drumrolls or reversed cymbals that generally rises into beginning
of the next sequence of bars.

This is very elementary stuff but to be able to mix tracks together without getting laughs from your friends you need to
fully understand the basic structure of a dance track. I started to mix without knowing and when I finally started to
think about this is when I got my "technical breaktrough" as a DJ novice (about 15 years ago). :D

1.A sense for rhythm. (Being able to count along to tracks and sensing when to start counting is it really).
2.A sense for what sounds good (clean ears).
3.Determination. (Don't give up, you know it's true... eh, yes.)
4.Time. (You won't be good for a while, but knowing the theory is an advance, take it from me)
5.Equipment. (You might start with mp3 software, but to become good turn to professional equipment ASAP).

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Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
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CUE - What does it mean?
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Cueing is what the DJ does that nobody in the audience hears but sees him do.
 
The crowd hears the outgoing record while the DJ hears (this is what the headphones are used for) both the outgoing record (let us call this DISC 1) and the record he/she's about to mix into DISC 1. We will call that... eh, DISC 2.

To cue a vinyl record up for mixing, most DJ's use kicks/percussion/hihats/synths/basses or whatever element the track starts with.

If you're only learning how to beatmatch, I suggest you use one disc with a very distinctive percussion
or synthline that's easy to nod your head to. Like "Flight 643". That lead (love it or hate it) is very distinctive.
If you hate it(don't have it) choose a record that you know like the palm of your hand.

The other "training disc" should be in the same general tempo (more on this further down in this tuturial) and also have a distinctive sound.

The biggest beatmatching obstacle for me was to be able to tell the two tracks apart. This is important when you hear them drifting apart in tempo. "Which one is going to fast?"

Depending on your mixer, there are different listening/cueing setups for different brands. On my Numark for example, I can choose "Split cue" or "regular". I call it "regular" because it's the most used type of cueing system.

"Split cue"
You get one mixer channel in each ear. This can also be accieved by only wearing your headphone on one ear,
with the incoming track in the headphone and the outgoing track on the speakers. This method is very good if you're having a hard time telling the records apart.

"Regular cue"
You will hear both channels in stereo, i.e. in both headphones. Personally, I prefer this as I tend to get the mixes tighter this way.

An important part of cueing is setting the volume for each track. Some mixers have level meters that show you if the records are of equal level.
 
Most mixers have a "Gain" knob for each channel. The Gain knob is nothing else than an extra volume setting for the incoming audio source. On vinyl discs whith more than one track per side, there's generally a loss in volume that you can adjust with this knob. And when you later in your set play a disc with a higher level, you should lower it.

Keeping the level straight is not only good for how your mix will sound, but for cueing. Some mixers even have a crossfaderfor cueing. Some let you fade between channels and some mix between your cued track and the "PGM/Master out" which means the outgoing sound.

As you'll be going to change the tempo of the incoming record to match the outgoing, I suggest you keep the level of the incoming record a bit lower. This way, you won't loose the beat as easy as you're not bound to get "caught" by DISC 2's beat.

_____________________________

Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
_____________________________


CUEING (Vinyl):
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1.Start DISC 1 and let it play in your speakers.
2.Depending on your cuesystem, set it to play only DISC 2 for now.
3.Put your headphone on one ear(if you're using split cue, make sure you're wearing the one that plays DISC 2 :D )
4.Start DISC 2 and when it comes to the first kick, stop it with your hand like if you would use it for scratching and pull it back to the beginning of the kick.
5.Listen to the outgoing track until you feel the structure of the track and start to count along to the beat.(Remember? One-two-three-four)
6.Start to "scratch" the kick on DISC 2 to the beat of DISC 1.
7.When you feel you're ready to start let the beat kick on DISC 1's "One".
8.If your two records aren't in the exact same bpm from the beginning, one of them should be faster. Adjust the pitch slider for DISC 2.

!! For some people, this comes natural. Some people have a real hard time. But remember, don't give up! Don't expect to mix like PVD or Sasha from Day 1. !!

Tip!
There are ways to find out what the exact tempo of the tracks you're using are in. For example, you can count.
Use a watch with digital timer that shows the time in at least seconds. Count (one-two-three-four) and on "one", start the timer. Keep counting for exactly 15 seconds. Multiply the amount you get with 4 and you should be close to the actual bpm. (Or if your fancy schmancy mixer has a BPM counter, use that)

Let's say you know how fast the two records are. Now you know in which way to turn the pitch slider. (If you're beatcounting is good enough). Say DISC 2 is a couple of bpms faster.

Go to step 7 in the example above.
8.As DISC 2 is faster, brake it gently with the tip of your finger on the edge of the record platter. Adjust the pitch VERY gently to the -region. (Down).
9.If the two tracks seem to be in sync, wait 'til they're not and adjust it the same way until;
a) They don't drift apart anymore (Voila, you're getting there) or;
b) They keep getting worse (Pitch the other way and instead of braking the record, grab hold of the pin at the center and twist it clockwise)

_____________________________

Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
_____________________________


CUEING (CD):
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1.Start DISC 1 and let it play in your speakers.
2.Depending on your cuesystem, set it to play only DISC 2 for now.
3.Cue up DISC 2(As there are several different makes of CD-players for DJ's out there, read your owners manual) to the first kick.
4.Put your headphone on one ear(if you're using split cue, make sure you're wearing the one that plays DISC 2 :D )
5.Listen to the outgoing track until you feel the structure of the track and start to count along to the beat.(Remember? One-two-three-four)
6.When you feel you're ready to start let the beat kick on DISC 1's "One".(This means press "Play")
7.If your two records aren't in the exact same bpm from the beginning, one of them should be faster. Adjust the pitch slider for DISC 2.

!! For some people, this comes natural. Some people have a real hard time. But remember, don't give up! Don't expect to mix like PVD or Sasha from Day 1. !!

Tip!
There are ways to find out what the exact tempo of the tracks you're using are in. For example, you can count.
Use a watch with digital timer that shows the time in at least seconds. Count (one-two-three-four) and on "one", start the timer. Keep counting for
exactly 15 seconds. Multiply the amount you get with 4 and you should be close to the actual bpm.
(Or if your fancy schmancy mixer/cd player has a BPM counter, use that)

Let's say you know how fast the two records are. Now you know in which way to turn the pitch slider. (If you're beatcounting is good enough).
Say DISC 2 is a couple of bpms faster.

Go to step 7 in the example above.
8.As DISC 2 is faster, brake it gently with the tip of your finger on the edge of the record platter(if you're cd has one, otherwise there are buttons called "Nudge/ Pitch adjust". Adjust the pitch VERY gently to the -region. (Down).
9.If the two tracks seem to be in sync, wait 'til they're not and adjust it the same way until;
a) They don't drift apart anymore (Voila, you're getting there) or;
b) They keep getting worse (Pitch the other way and use the adjust buttons to push the tempo)

_____________________________

Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
_____________________________


MIXING:
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IMO, the best mixes is the ones you do where the producers' intended 'em to be. So when the big break of DISC 1(if there are several, choose the last one)
is coming to the climax, be ready to mix.
 
Most people dancing along to the track seems to enjoy getting to hear the whole track as well. This of course also depends on how long DISC 2 takes to kick in properly, since some have like 2 minutes of plain ol' beats first. So start mixing in time!

In many beginner mixes I've heard over the years, the power from DISC 1 gets to finsh and there's not enough energy yet in DISC 2 to keep the people in their peak, so to speak. (In the worst cases, DISC 1 gets to finish before the DJ even mixes :D )
 
In some cases even, this is the style of the DJ, "Give them a little breather, I will, before whop-ass track kicks in".

Soundclips: Powerful all the way (clips aren't up yet)
Give 'em a breather (clips aren't up yet, sorry)

Advantages with vinyl:
On a vinyl disc, you can see when there is a break. If you look on the surface you will notice that as the break kicks in, the record has a different look than when the track in it's more intense parts.
 
If you stop, look and listen to your records, you will soon learn what looks like what. Some of the newest CD players have some sort of "Waveform display" but I don't think it gets more visual than this. Do you?

Advantages with CD:
Not as heavy as vinyl. Muhahahahaha! No, seriously; Display of time remaining/played. When you cue up DISC 2, set the time display onto "Played" and when the track reaches a nice point when DISC 1 can be cut away in the final mix, make a mental note of the time displayed. Say it's 1.45. On DISC 1, set the time display for "Remain".
 
Now, when the time on DISC 1 draws near 1.45, you start DISC 2 and you know that by the time DISC 2 reaches a nice cutaway point, DISC 1 will end, maybe with a nice effect that rings out as DISC 2 kicks in. (For vinyl owners, this can be done by eye measuring if you know what to look for.)

I prefer long mixes to short ones, but most people prefer good mixes before bad ones. EVERYBODY prefers short bad mixes before long bad mixes. So if you have to DJ and you can't mix? Fade and fade again.
 
Do it gently, but do it fast. You're doing a perfect beatmix when suddenly, someone accidently crashes into one/both of the decks and what once sounded great is now... well, bad?
 
Fade, damn it! Don't try to fix something that people obviously understand isn't your doing. You will have more time now to prepare for your next mix and if that's good nobody will even remember the skipping needle from a couple of minutes ago.

_____________________________

Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
_____________________________


USING THE EQ/KILLS:
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Most new mixers have at least 2 band EQ (Hi, Mid, Low) or kill switches/rotary kills. Kill switches (usually appears in groups of three for each channel)cut away everything in a specified EQ range (Hi, Mid, Low).
 
Rotary kills are like regular EQ but they will take everything away if you turn the knob to zero).

Depending on you're style (hardtrance, uplifting, progressive) you can use the EQ on your mixer to make the mixing smoother.

Say you're mixing two melodic tracks and both have basslines that move up and down. If you cut away all of the bass on the track that you're mixing in, things won't get as messy as it otherwise can be.
 
When you have mixed DISC 2 to it's full level turn the bass back up as you turn the bass from DISC 1 away. If you have a mixer with kills, this can be used for really cool sounding mixes. Turn of all of the mid and highs and let the bass enter the mix first.

Say you're playing "Gouryella - Gouryella" and suddenly you mix in the bassline from "Love Stimulation" into it. I haven't tried the example myself so I can' tell you how it sounds, but I hope you get the general idea of how this could be useful.

If you're an energetic DJ, like myself, you might wanna play with the EQ a bit while mixing. Cut the bass and Voila, you have a break. :D Hello, here comes some extra beats. Dig it?

_____________________________

Introduction
Basic skills needed to become a dj
Cue: What does it mean?
Cueing: Vinyl
Cueing: CD
Mixing
Using the EQ/Kills
General tips for mixing trance
_____________________________


GENERAL TIPS FOR MIXING TRANCE:
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If you need to adjust the pitch while people are listening to you mix two tracks, adjust the track that is less prominent in the mix or the one that doesn't have soaring strings all over the place.
 
If you brake the record or push it on, it will be a very clear fact to everyone in the room. If both tracks have long sweeping sounds going on, use the pitch slider, but very gently.

Some tracks are harder to mix into each other. Usually, you test-mix your records at home before you play them out. Make mental notes (or physical if you're mental) of these tracks for when you're playing to a crowd.
 
Or do really short mixes if you feel that you just "have" to play them into each other.

Det känns helt overkligt att stå och se José Gonzalez live inför en massa folk när man repat på samma våning så länge. Han var fantastisk dessutom på Odeon och slutade konserten med Bronski Beat's gamla hit "Smalltown Boy". Årets José-cover?

Jag och Patrik har precis varit och småtittat på Solomon Burke, men kom på att han var ju inte ens bög. Så då gick vi och kollade på Judas Priest. NOT. När jag skriver detta är jag motoriskt försvagad (pga diverse alkohol) och hjärnan är inte heller med. Beware.