help beatmatching

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d-fekt

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i've been produceing for a little bit i been tryiing to start djing. i got two tables a mixer and i been doing some cuts and fades and stuff liek that. iw as wondering if anyone could take me through beatmatching. i got thiw book but it doesnt really help.
 
Do you mean getting a song to match the tempo and rhythm of another song. Like, mixing two tracks so that one seems to outro seamlessly into the other's intro? If you're having trouble, you're probably just over-thinking it. You just need two songs that are about the same tempo (BPM) and... well... It's kind of hard to explain something that comes so naturally, now (Don't worry, it will for you to after you practice)... the wikipedia's article about it isn't so bad:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat-matching

I don't know if that helps. Maybe if you can be more specific about what's confusing you, I can offer some tips. There are some other cats on here that are monsters at mixing, maybe we can get them in on this, too.
 
basically i would like to beatmatch which is getting to records to plau atthe same time at the same tempo. like synchronizing both records.
 
If you download the mixmeister bpm analyzer for free of their website you can record all the bpms of your tracks and then mix them seemlessly. Then with that practice, you'll soon develop an ear for the timing of the snare and all that beatmatching stuff.

If you still are confused about beatmatching here's an example:

If you have this song:

Missy Elliot feat Nas - Hot Boyz

which is about 82.5 Beats Per Minute, and this song:

Juvenile - Pop You feat. Ludacris and Fat Joe

which is 83.5 BPM, then you would only have to turn Hot Boyz's pitch up 1 beat per minute (making it 83.5) or you could turn down Pop U one beat per minute (making it 82.5 bpm)!

Hope I was of help!
 
You don't want to get caught up with the bpm's and everything too much. Just listen to the records and you can tell if it's too fast or too slow.

There's lots of different methods to beatmatch quickly and accurately. I just move the pitch control to where I think it's pretty close to matched, then move it up and down in smaller and smaller increments until it's matched up.

If you want to get the record to stay matched up while you're moving the pitch control around, you can touch the platter to slow it down a little or push the label near the spindle to speed it up a little. You don't want to do any of that when the record is playing out of the speakers because it will sound obvious and weird.
 
Just use your ears man. Thats the only way. No one can tell you how to do it, or even show you because no 2 records will live up the same on the pitch. You can't just figure it out and start matching. You have to practice, practice, practice! Eventually your ears will begin to train themselves to pick up on which one is slow and which is fast and that is when you will begin to start locking them in. enjoy =)
 
Hi There!

Firstly, I agree with mcshine- don't get too bogged down with the bpm (but then it's not all bad knowing a little bit of theory and what is a bpm to explain things for you).

My advice to you is to understand the whole process of beatmatching and why you need to do it (a brief explanation is below but google it or search this forum and you'll be an expert by the end of the day).
There are basically two main methods of beatmatching -First is pushing the vinyl and then adjusting the pitch control; or Secondly "Advanced beatmatching" where you just adjust the tempo of the song using the pitch control. My advice is google "advanced beatmatching" and try beatmatching with that method first. It's also nice to have the first method in your pocket as well. From my experience, I've actually used both methods - I use advanced beatmatching but sometimes it goes out, so I use the first method to fine tune the tempo. Anyways, below is a brief intro of bpm and beatmatching.

The BPM
I'm sure you're a producer and I dont want to teach you how to suck eggs- basically it's beats per minute- how many beats there are in a minute. That's how we determine the tempo of a song (sort of like how we determine a speed of a car in miles per hour or kilometres per hour).

The connection between bpm and beatmatching is because DJs want to get the tempo (speed) of the beats the same (why do they want to do that? See below).

BEATMATCHING
The Theory
What beatmatching is is getting the BPM of two songs the same. The reason we do this is to get the beats in sync; this is because if it wasn't together, it would sound terrible (clash). Imagine how unimpressive marching soldiers that's not together would sound???
Example: You're a dj and you've been playing a nice dance song with extra cheese at 130bpm. You want to bring another track in but it's at 135bpm. Using the pitch controls on the second turntable, you would want to reduce it so the tempo of the second song is at 130bpm (you're making the second song slower by 5bpm). You're probably asking how on earth would you know what the bpm of these songs are?? In practice, you don't need to know. All you need to know is whether the song you're about to bring in ("cue in") is faster or slower than the song already playing - so you can match it (to the song already playing). Just like AdamEly's advice- "use your ears" and "practice, practice, practice!".
 
I find especially on breakbeat or hip hop, it is easiest to listen for the snares. They are generally put on beats 2 and 4. You'll have to listen for the bars to know which one is 2 and which is 4. If you listen for the snares on both, it's much easier to tell which is faster and get them started at the same time.
 
get 2 of the same record and practise getting them synced is the easiest way to get ur control down. u just put one at a random point on the pitch fader and then try and get the other one to match it without looking where u put it.

tap your foot or nod your head to the first one (the one your trying to match) then once u got that start the next record and listen to that one in your head phones. then try and match that to the beat your tapping your foot at. its easier coz by tapping your foot you are kinda making it so you dont have to listen to it and can focus on the one ur changing. its well easy man. practise solid and u will have it in 2 weeks.
 
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