Video:Learn DJ Beat Basics

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Transcript:Learn DJ Beat Basics

If you're in a setting, and you're playing all of your songs in a 120 BPM range, it's going to get a little boring. It is for me, and I know my friends are going to want some sort of vibe-change within the club at some point. Hi, I'm DJ Ilan and we're going to talk about beat matching.

Counting Basics

In the old days, they used to go–one, two, three, four–well, thank God for computers. On every program, there's a way of counting. In terms of beat matching, with today's software, you could make it so that the beats are aligned. Instead of having the songs in alphabetical order, you could actually have all the songs in line, in the beat, in the browser of 100% of all the software out there.

It just makes it so much easier for DJs –- that's why a lot of the time, nowadays, you could go to a lounge or a club and you're going to notice that the DJs changing songs so fast. It's not that hard to do, of course, when you practice.

Matching and Blending Beats

If you're playing electronic music, like electro, trance, house music, it's just nice precise beat matching–from one track to another, blend mixing. If you're at a song that has 120 BPM, all you need to do is set up your other table to be going at 120 BPM and just mix the beat –- the snare or the kick drum –- to go along and then you could cue out and make it a nice blend mix.

Pitch Adjustments

Now, the song on this side, the tempo is 120 BPM. And the song on my right turntable here –- its original beat per minute count is 121. Now it doesn't sound like it's a lot, but if you try to blend 120 and 121 in an electronic format, you're going to see that it's not going to be matching, and it's going to be a very dirty mix.

What we do, Tecnics 1200 turntables –- as well as every imitator out there -– has a pitch adjuster/controller right here. You can go down, and you can go up. My song selection –- now I can choose from 116 to about 125 -– I can blend them within that range.

Shift BPMs

Let's say you're playing a song at 120 BPM and you want to change that vibe. It's nice to physically manipulate that transition by slowing the tempo with your hand. For example, I have a song right here on the left side, it goes something like this: one, two, three, four–pretty upbeat tune. On this side, totally different beat, different environment, right away.

As soon as that kick hits the floor, you can tell. I'm playing one song at 122 BPM, and the Dr. Dre song, Ring Ding Dong, is at 68 -- it's a huge BPM jump. To make that transition, and make it effective, slow down the tempo, go with it. That's a nice skill to have in your palette to throw out there.