Advise thread.

I was going to post this is EKT, but people who make/listen to set would give better advice.

Ok so I've never made a set before and I was thinking of making one. Beyond picking songs with similar atmospheres can you offer any more tips?

Thaaaaaaaanks watmm.

two ways of mixing - beatmatching (like a proper dj) or just crossfading the beatless bits together.

if you want to beatmatch, you have to choose tracks with a similar bpm.

unless you're called optimo espacio or john peel, i'd suggest sticking with one style of music per mix, at least to begin with.

also, experiment with cutting the bass or treble to make transitions feel smoother.

apart from that, just have fun.

  On 4/28/2010 at 12:30 AM, margaret thatcher said:

two ways of mixing - beatmatching (like a proper dj) or just crossfading the beatless bits together.

if you want to beatmatch, you have to choose tracks with a similar bpm.

unless you're called optimo espacio or john peel, i'd suggest sticking with one style of music per mix, at least to begin with.

also, experiment with cutting the bass or treble to make transitions feel smoother.

 

apart from that, just have fun.

Good advice.

Yeah I dont think I'll be beat matching. I was think more along the lines of using a beat from another track to fade out the preceding track part with no beat.

I sometimes think about it and think "hey, this part of the song would be good for a fade in/out"

Thanks again Maggie.

Not that I think I'm a good dj or anything; but here's what I've learned:

- Just play whatever you want (you're the one that's probably going to end up listening to the mix the most in this day and age, so do it mostly for yourself, not for any perceived audiences).

- Don't try to sound exactly like your favorite djs

- Harmonic transitions own.

- I think one of the most difficult things is knowing when you don't even need to crossfade (ie: the use of silence or gaps can sometimes create the perfect tension for the track that follows).

one more that I've been struggling with since forever:

- Prooflisten to your mix before you show it to the world a few times; then, a few more. You'll avoid many a

My memory sucks so this might not be as useful to you but I keep a little notebook handy and write down the names of tracks that mix together really well and denote a time stamp (or these days just mark a cue point in traktor) if its a particularly long track. I find writing it down helps me commit it to memory better, plus I have a notebook full of sweet tracks that mesh well and can sort of connect the dots to put a mix together on the fly.

  On 4/28/2010 at 12:30 AM, margaret thatcher said:

 

also, experiment with cutting the bass or treble to make transitions feel smoother.

 

 

this is particularly important while beatmatching or else you might come across lots of clipping when two meaty beats are over top of each other or another song's bassline is interfering with what you're mixing it with