To be a DJ, you must first recognize the following terms:
BPM (Beat Per Minute)
As the name implies, it is the total number of beat per minute (BPM) in a clock, due to the limitations of turntables and speed-adjustable CD Players, and the speed of the songs, too much sound will be very cartoonish and funny, so the two songs to be connected! Speed to be about the same, the best difference between 5 ~ 10 beats, in addition to each type of dance music has about the same rhythmic approach and speed, the same type of music more, otherwise it will be very strange, such as Trip-Hop and Raggae almost about 80 ~ 90 a few beats, House about 120 ~ 130 beats, Techno about 120 ~ 150 beats, Drum 'N' Bass is Drum 'N' Bass is about 150~180 beats.
Cue
A song starts to play a point, usually the first beat of a bar, but some people think that the second beat is more accurate, the purpose of the Cue point is to pick up the song must be the same speed of the two songs, and the normal way of marching for the dance music is 4/4 beat (i.e., 4 beats of each bar, 4 notes for a beat), when a song is in the first 4 beats at the end of the other bar when it comes out, the hand will be caught in the of the Cue point at the same time to broadcast.
Scratch
The technique of using a record's reversed sound is usually used a lot in Rap and Hip-Hop, and also in other music genres depending on the situation, but because scratching can hurt your favorite records and stylus, it's not to be abused even though it's very flashy; in addition, scratch is often done in conjunction with a crossfader. Crossfader is often used in conjunction with scratch, for example, when a record is launched the crssfader comes out, and when it's pulled back the crossfader goes back to the other track.
Stacking songs
One of the most basic ways to pick up a song, the so-called stacking songs is to use a special turntable and CD Player adjustable speed function (Pitch), the two songs to be picked up to the same speed (the turntable and the CD Player on the speed of the device to increase or decrease the speed), and then use to catch the Cue point step, will be the same time to play the two songs, about stacked 2 to 4 bars after the two songs Fade In / Fade Out. Fade In/Fade Out the two songs, for example, the BPM of Underworld's "Born Slippy" is about 139 beats, and PF Project's "Choose Life" is about 136 beats. If you want to use the latter to pick up the former, you have to adjust it 3 beats faster.
For example: Song A│32345678│42345678│FADE OUT...
Song B│In (1)2345678│FADE IN (at this point and Song A beat overlap) depending on the situation to lengthen the number of bars, one into the other out of the proposed 32 or 64 beats (basically, a few bars will be repeated once in pop music). The other points of the song may not feel smooth.
Throwing a song
Throwing a song is catching a cue point and then throwing it out at the end of the previous song or at a certain point. Usually Alternative Rock doesn't pick it up, and there's too much difference in speed between the two songs, but the genre doesn't pick it up and throws it out, as in Fatboy Silm's new song "The Rockatelle Skank". Skank" is an awkward 152 beats, too fast for Big Beat and too slow for Drum 'N' Bass.
For example: Song A |4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |FADE OUT
Song B throws 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
Fine-tuning
The fact that the beats of the two songs are right doesn't mean that the beats will be right all the time when they're stacked up, so occasionally you have to use your left hand to push on the record (speeding it up) or rub on the turntable (slowing it down), and use your right hand to push or pull on the pitch to correct it.
Monitoring
The volume of the headphones should not be too high, to be able to hear the music played on the outside speakers, and sometimes you have to switch between monitoring the song you want to put on the air and the music that's being played, so that the volume and eq are close enough to avoid launching too abruptly.
Formally enter the subject, to be a DJ must have at least two adjustable speed turntable, at least one must find a direct drive turntable, with a belt turntable you will absolutely regret! Or CD Player to Pioneer or Dennonw is better, a Mixer and a not too broken sound can be, the following you want to start wiring.
Basically, the Mixer has two Line In connectors, CD/Aux and Phono, and the CD/Aux connector can be used for CDs, Tapes, DATs, and MDs (all of the above outputs are Line Level).... Turntables must be connected to the Phono connector, and don't forget to connect the ground wire, the ground wire connector is often found at the back of the Mixer, and there is usually only one, if you connect 2-3 turntables, don't forget to connect all the ground wires to the Mixer's ground terminal, There are 2-3 types of Mixer Outputs - Master Out, Monitor Out, Rec out, etc. Usually, the Master Out is connected to an amplifier for dancefloor sound, the Monitor Out is connected to a monitor speaker, and the Rec Out can be connected to a recorder. Note: Sometimes the EQ on the Mixer is not as good as it should be! Sometimes the EQ and other processors on the Mixer will only be sent out from the Master Out, in the case of DIY, there is usually no Monitor speakers, connect the Master Out to any Line In of the Amplifier (Tape, CD, Tuner, Video, Aux can be used) and you're done!
After completing the above procedures, you have the instruments in the orchestra, and then you have to start choosing songs. As I said earlier, to connect two songs together, you have to have the same type and tempo, so it's okay to listen to more songs and record the BPM of these songs, and then line up a list of songs, and then look at the song to connect to that song, such as The Prodigy "Smack My Bitch"/The Chemical Chemical Bitch. For example, The Prodigy "Smack My Bitch"/The Chemical Brothers "Setting Sun", Apllo 440 "Ainit Talkin", "Bout Dub", "Ainit Talkin", "Ainit Talkin", "Ainit Talkin". "Bout Dub"/Aisan Dub Foundation "Buzzin"; Amazon Ⅱ "King of The Beats"/Jungle Brothers "King of The Beats"/Jungle Brothors "Jungle Brothors" can be picked up. After choosing a song, you need to practice adjusting the tempo and choosing when to pick it up, which can't be described in words, but only depends on your own efforts. Some people suggest starting with some songs that have similar tempos and practicing picking them up over and over again! Wait until you know what you're doing before replacing them with other songs; practicing all the time tends to distract you when you're picking them up.
In fact, the skill of picking up a song is not too difficult, as long as you practice carefully, one or two months can be practiced, but the important thing is the concept and what is in your head, if you compare picking up a song to a guitar playing skills, as a DJ is the same as singing a complete song, you have to be familiar with the function of the machine and listen to at least 10 times more than the random listen to the song, so that you will know exactly what songs can be picked up each other, when to pick up the songs, and also because of the elimination rate of the songs, you will know when to pick up a song. Because the rate of song elimination is actually very fast, so you have to keep up with the trend, in addition to listening more, buy more records, you can also read professional DJ magazines (such as Muzik, Mixmag, DJ, etc.) not only know those new releases can also know some of the information related to DJ; in addition, you can also ask for advice from the current DJs, copy their song list or steal their playback skills, and so on. All in all, DJing is a somewhat specialized and fascinating industry, because you only need one person to drive the dance floor hundreds or even tens of thousands of people's rhythm, no wonder many people can't help themselves once they fall into it.
Beginning with Disco Fever in the seventies, rock 'n' roll in the eighties, soulful blues in Motown, house in the late eighties, hip-hop in the US, rave culture in the early nineties, and a wide variety of electronic dance music at the end of the century, the DJ's job and his skills have evolved. The work and skills of DJs are constantly changing. Through these generational changes, DJ culture has not declined, but has become more and more respected and loved by the world, and therefore more and more people have joined the DJ industry. With this in mind, this tutorial will give those who want to join the music industry an initial idea of what DJing is all about and how it works.
While professional CD players now have the ability to pick up songs, it's better to learn DJing skills from a traditional turntable. You've seen the World DJ Contest tapes, and you know that there are contestants who jump on the turntables and use "that place" instead of their hands to do their DJ tricks.
Of course, the CD Player is not without its advantages, such as the ability to set the sound quality to stay the same when you speed up (traditional turntables can turn sharper and sometimes even male voices can turn into female voices when you speed up). When you play a CD, you can instantly find out the BPM of the song, and the best part is that you can play more than 10 songs on a single CD without having to change discs too often.
Second, hardware awareness
Vinyl record (LP) dedicated turntable, need to have Pitch (speed correction).
CD Player Turntable for laser records (CD), with Pitch.
Mixer Mixer, with the following basic equipment: two or more outputs/inputs, and master volume adjustment; headphone outputs, and the ability to manipulate the headphone monitor (cue) and its volume; a set of microphone inputs; PGM level (output track volume decibel indicator); a PGM level (output track volume decibel indicator); and a PGM level (output track volume decibel indicator). PGM level (output track volume decibel indicator). And of course a crossfader. A separate track equalizer (EQ) is desirable, as well as built-in effects and samplers.
Monitor monitor speakers. Placed on both sides of the DJ booth, to avoid the venue more than 17 meters echo limitations caused by the time difference, so that the DJ on the beat when the running beat. The bass should be strong enough, and the sound level should be clear, so as not to cause a time lag in the monitor due to the muddy bass and treble.
Headphone monitor headphones. The headphones are designed to be strong enough to provide a clear sound level, so as to avoid time lag when monitoring due to muddy bass and treble. The best headphone cover and palm size, easy to take and wear. Now there are DJ-specific headphones, the use of the head must be tilted to the side in order to clip (only a line and a headset).
Cartridge Turntable and needle. The DJ's special needle is preferred.
Slipmate Turntable special anti-static slide; otherwise it is not good to catch the beat and can not Scratch.
Hardware brands to choose the configuration and how to press the installation of this omitted here ......
V. Basic Concepts
1. The Basic Structure of Electronic Dance Music - The Concept of the Loop
Almost all electronic dance music has a certain structure and rules, no matter how complex and varied it is, there is a certain structure to follow. In the case of electronic dance music with drums, it's possible to understand how the basic structure of electronic dance music works with the drums. It's like writing, a song is an article, and an article is composed of words, sentences, and paragraphs; electronic dance music is the same: one beat is equal to one word, eight words (beats) are one sentence, four sentences are one paragraph (that is, 4×8=32 beats), and this kind of paragraph is called a "loop" (loop). Then it's just one loop after another, OK, now the basic structure of electronic dance music is not too difficult to figure out. If the drums are beating solidly every beat, it's very easy to recognize; but if it's breakbeats or interludes without drums, it's not so easy to recognize, but it's still following the basic pattern of four eight-beat segments. If you know the basics, DJing won't be so difficult.
2. BPM
BPM stands for "Beat Per Minute", which is a unit of beats per minute. The most obvious concept is how many times the drums are ****ed out between time segments in a minute, and the unit of this quantity is BPM. e.g. a house dance track where the drums are hit 124 times in a minute is 124 BPM. as for the calculation of BPM, you can use a watch or a stopwatch and count the drums slowly and artificially; or you can use a You can also use some BPM calculating machines or synthesizers to calculate BPM, such as the Pioneer DJM-500 mixing console with a built-in BPM metronome, and Casio's G'mix series of watches with BPM calculating functions.
3. Cue point
The first beat at the beginning of each loop, the moment when the first drum thud comes out, is called the "cue point" (or cue point). The search for drums is the foundation of DJing skills, and there is no DJ who doesn't look for drums before mixing, unless he or she is off-beat, which is a different story.
4. Pitch
Pitch is a function of the DJ's turntable, or perhaps it should be said that it is a function of the turntable that the DJ can use. Pitch literally means pitch control, but in fact, pitch changes because of changes in the turntable's rotation speed, and the DJ will need to control the speed of the track that is about to come out of the DJ's head. The DJ needs to control the speed of the upcoming tracks to achieve the same BPM on both the left and right tracks, so that the two tracks can be mixed together seamlessly.
5. Fader/crossfader
The pitch control slider on a Mixer is a device that can be pushed up and down or side to side in accordance with the track. nudge the track up and down, or left and right. This slider has a scale next to it that indicates how much volume is being played in the slider position, and it is the fader that allows the DJ to control the volume of the left track or the right track. The crossfader controls the volume of all channels at once, as shown below.
6. EQ
EQ stands for equalizer. On more advanced mixing consoles, there are knobs to adjust EQ. Generally speaking, EQ adjusts the audio variation of treble, middle, and bass in a track as it plays.
The use of EQ should be trained after a good foundation in DJing has been laid.
Gettin' Started
Now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty of DJing. In this section, we're going to look at the way a DJ thinks about mixing, so that we can get a clearer picture of how DJ mixing works.
The first step is to count the beats:
At the beginning of the practice session, take a random electronic dance record that is not too difficult to hang on to and put it on one of the two turntables, assuming it's the one on the left, and then press the Start button on the turntable to get it to start spinning. Carefully place the needle on top of the record as shown. While the record is playing, count the loop of the left track in your mind: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - 22345678 - 32345678 - 42345678...". 12345678..." And keep looping.
Remember: You can't be a DJ if you can't even hear this kind of loop. You can start by counting 1234 in your mind when you listen to music. After all, that's what every DJ does.
The second step is to choose a track:
The next step is to work on the second track. Pick a BPM and the first difference does not exceed the Pitch control range ± 8% of the dance music record to play, but in fact, the best to ± 4 BPM for the best, there are two kinds of songs can not be too much difference, it is best to be able to pick the same kind of music, such as techno on the Techno, want to Breakbeat and Techno together unless the skills of completely skilled hands. The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on some of the best music you've ever heard.
The third step - finding the cue point:
Now monitor headphones come in handy. When you wear headphones, you can only wear them in one ear, and the other ear is responsible for monitoring the track that's currently being played; so what you're hearing in each ear is a completely different tune. As for whether to wear the left or right ear, it is up to you. The next step is to catch the cues.
For the sake of convenience, let's call the track that's currently playing in the stereo CH1 (assuming it's the phono on the left), and the track that's coming out of the monitor headphones CH2 (assuming it's the phono on the right). Start by switching the monitor cue on the mixing console to CH2, i.e., let the music in the headphones be the track you selected in step two. Press the Start button on the turntable to start it spinning, and carefully place the needle on top of the record. At this point, use headphones to monitor, if the needle just touched the record when there is a drum sound, you have to lift the needle and reposition the needle in the part more outside than the previous needle contact point, that is, to look for the first drum beat of the beginning of a song, and so the principle of looking for the cue point (there are also DJs is to catch the fourth beat or third beat; if it is my words is to catch the second beat, because if you are not familiar with the dance music that is being played, and If you're not familiar with the dance music that's playing, and you're waiting to pick up the first beat, it's hard to catch up once you've missed the Mix point). Usually, in most cases of house music, there is a drum beat at the beginning of the music, and the cue point is the point where the music rushes out from the beginning; in other electronic dance music with strong musicality, there may be an empty melody in front of the music, and it is not easy to find the cue point. Records have a characteristic, that is, there are drums part of the track is more sparse, while the empty part of the track is denser, master this characteristic of the first drums will be good to find. Once you find the cue, don't let the cue get away. At this point, put your hand on the CH2's turntable and push and pull the record back and forth as shown in the diagram, so that the first drum beat appears repeatedly. After catching the cue point, it's a good idea to be able to push and pull on CH2's cue point in time with CH1's beat, so that the two sides of the drums can overlap (when pushing the record, the drums sound normal; when pulling the record, the drums sound the other way around).
Step 4 - Tune the Pitch:
Count the CH1 loop in your mind, at this point the CH2 cue point is pushing and pulling back and forth in time with the CH1 beat. Pay attention to CH1's loops, the first beat of each loop is the only chance to push CH2's first beat out, that is, if you miss the first beat of this loop, you have to wait for the first beat of the next loop. If CH1 and CH2's cue points go out at the same time, the difference in tempo between the two songs will be obvious, and it's time to adjust the pitch.
First, you need to determine whether CH2 is faster or slower than CH1, which is something you need to do with experience. If CH2 is slower, push your hand on the record as shown on the right; if it's faster, use your fingers to gently apply a sideways force to the edge of the turntable to slow it down as shown on the left. While you change the speed of the turntable with your finger, adjust the pitch with your other hand, depending on whether it's faster or slower.
Follow this principle: for slower speeds, push and pitch faster with your finger; for faster speeds, pull and pitch slower with your finger. By practicing this over and over again, you'll be able to get more and more accurate and shorter pairs, which will buy you time to play tricks and fade in the CH2. Once you've done this, you'll need to fine-tune it.
Step 5 - Fine-tuning:
Sometimes, if you just listen to one or two loops and then ignore them, it's easy to run out of time, so you'll need to switch the Mixer's monitors to enable CH1 and CH2 to be heard in the headphones at the same time. When you hear both tracks at the same time, it's easy to tell if the beat is running or not; then fine-tune CH2 and listen to a few more loops until you're sure it's right before proceeding to the next step. For a good beat (we call it an on beat), you will only hear the on beat in the monitor headphones. If there is a run beat you will hear the drums at a different point.
It may be difficult to hear this when you first start practicing, but as you get better at it, you'll be able to detect the slightest on beat.
Sixth step - fade in/fade out:
When both CH1 and CH2 are traveling at the same BPM, i.e., the on beat, the next step is to work on the Mixer. As introduced earlier, the DJ-specific Mixer has a fader (independent sound decay control slider) and crossfader (crossfader control slider), the two volume control units, when CH1's fader position is not in the ∞, CH2's fader position is in the ∞, and crossfader position in the middle of the (as shown in the figure on the left), the output to the speakers of the sound is the CH1 sound; the opposite is CH2 sound (as shown in the right figure); CH1 and CH2 are not in ∞ at the same time, then both tracks can be heard from the outside, the higher the position of the fader, the louder the volume (note that all the above cases are crossfader position in the middle of the time). So if you want to cut CH2 in, you should first cut the crossfader to the center, and then slowly push the fader of CH2 upwards, the sound of CH2 will become more and more obvious, and the volume will be the same as that of CH1, and then you will complete the action of fade in; and then you have to slowly pull the fader of CH1 downwards, and then the sound of CH1 will disappear until there is only the sound of CH2, and then you can hear the sound of CH2 from outside. Then you have to slowly pull down the CH1 fader, then the CH1 sound will disappear, until there is only CH2 sound, and then the mixing will be completed. Another way to accomplish fade in and fade out at the same time is to first cut the crossfader to the left, that is, CH1 can play dance music, at this time CH2's fader is useless, so you can pre-set CH2's fader to the desired volume, and then slowly push the crossfader from the left to the right, then CH1's sound will disappear until there is only CH2's sound, and the mixing will be complete. Slowly push the crossfader from the left to the right, then the volume of CH2 will slowly appear, and then get louder and louder, when it reaches the center position, it will be the most obvious time for both channels to sound at the same time, then push it to the right, then the sound of CH1 will get smaller and smaller, and when it reaches the rightmost side, the sound of CH1 will disappear completely. At this point, the fade in and fade out are complete.
Seventh step-adjusting the EQ:
The more advanced Mixers have EQ knobs, which are useful in mixing (in the mix) such as fade in/fade out. Theoretically, when CH2 fades in, turn down CH1's bass and treble, and turn down CH2's bass as well, in order to avoid overlapping drums that would cause resonance and make the mixing sound abrupt. When CH1 fades out, adjust CH2's bass back down. These are the general principles of EQ modification, and if you master them, you're not far from success.
VII. Other notes
1. On the other hand, during the downturn, there's usually no main theme hovering around, just drums, hi hat or bassline, or at most one or two more timbres, which is a great place to pick up the slack, and it's mostly at the end of the music or in the middle of a song.
2. DJ set tripping:
A DJ set is about two hours long at a party, so it's a lot of work to emphasize the DJ's character through tripping. In two hours, about thirty tracks can be played, so the pursuit of the journey must be based on the principle of playing the same kind of dance music for a considerable period of time, if you want to play all kinds of music in a set or a small period of time, it is easy to let people do not know what to do.
Eight, afterword
DJ's work is not only on the surface of the song will be connected together, the really great DJ should have a deeper understanding of the music, that is, put the music in fact, as in the creation of their own music, and put their own emotions into it, to focus on their own music, so that, no matter what music, will have life, so that a track will have life, so that a track will have life, so that a track will have life, so that a track will have life, so that a track will have life, so that a track will have life. This way, a track will have a soul, and it's only a matter of time before the dancers reach High's level
.