agreed, in a similar vein learning to read the grooves on the vinyl(helped by knowing general structure/feel of tunes) will help in that area immensely too.
breakdowns look different to areas with more of a full bandwidth of audio for example... to people who already do this (probs most people that have mixing for a while), this seems blindingly obvious. when i explain that to most beginners tho you should see their faces light up :) robin... -> very very true Andrew....knowing your records inside out -> will help you -> click much easier than before.. -> -> -----Original Message----- -> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -> Sent: Thu 08/01/2004 15:26 -> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -> Cc: [email protected] -> Subject: (313) how do you mix -> -> -> -> On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 23:12:54 +1030, -> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: -> -> > ok so i am curious to know how you all mix, im not -> into -> > tricks and things i -> > just want a nice smooth mix without endless -> > beatmatching (get on with the -> > tunes i say!) -> > -> > generally when i mix house i tend to bring the next -> > tune in with the bass -> > turned 3/4 of the way down and gradually bring it up -> as -> > i bring the outgoing -> > tune's bass down then i wind down the volume until it -> > is faded out. or ill -> > bring a tune in with the bass almost off then at the -> > appropriate time ill -> > swap the bassline into the new tune (if that makes -> > sense) -> > -> > anyway its getting a bit 'samey' and im looking for -> > some tips -> -> hi, alex; from my experience i've found what is best -> regardless is to know your tunes inside out structure -> wise and use this to your advantage. know which songs -> have beatless or acapella intros, which have these -> sorts of breaks, which have these sorts of extros. -> which songs fade in, which songs fade out; which sounds -> kick right in with a beat, which soungs end with a -> beat. which songs end cold (ie no fade out) and which -> fade. then, when you're mixing, instead of thinking in -> terms of tempo and beatmaching, just think in terms of -> "stitching together" a fabric of songs into a whole. -> example; -> song 1: starts right off with a beat and has no -> breakdowns that are beatless or acapella and it ends -> cold. -> song 2: has an acapella intro and then the beat kicks -> in. it fades. -> -> mixing this way you have a variety of options. you -> could let song 1 play and the second it ends (because -> it ends cold), you could start song 2. you could lay -> the acapella from song 2 over song 1 in bits (ie not -> all at once; "tease" it in) and then switch over -> completely to song 2 (on beat, of course :)) at a time -> that feels right. -> -> when you've got songs with beatless intros and/or -> breaks and/or extros, it becomes even easier because -> you can lay the beatless intro from song 2 over the -> beat of song 1, or start the beat from song 2 during -> the beatless break or extro of song 1, etc. -> -> as you get more confident with this style and know your -> songs even better, your stiching will be even tighter -> and you'll have times when even you don't know which -> bit is playing from which song (when they're playing at -> once) and you'll be creating new pieces of music (the -> "third song"). -> -> when i started mixing, (this is extremely funny in -> hindsight, but i was extremely serious about it at the -> time) i was playing everything from public enemy and -> new order and inner city to r.e.m. and u2 and led -> zeppelin. and i was anal beyond belief (flashback to a -> young andrew: mom: "andrew, how come you never have -> your friends over anymore?" andrew; "because they don't -> put things back in the right place!") whenever i got a -> new record, i would take out my watch and find the bpm -> of *every single track on the record* (yes, *even* the -> ones that i would never play out!) and write them down -> on a piece of paper in order from slowest tempo to -> highest tempo on that record. i would then file all my -> records (12"s were easier, of course, cos they would -> have less songs to bpm than an album) in terms of the -> lowest starting bpm on that record. here's the -> punchline: then when i djed (i was doing like a 6 hour -> set on weekends at the university plus gigs here and -> there (back then they were called "mobiles")) i would -> start the night around 8pm with songs at the lowest bpm -> (say 60) and play all the 60bpm songs, then move to 62 -> for a while, then 65, etc. later in the night i would -> be up to 120 or so. (gosh, that must have been -> horribly painful and annoying and repetitive for repeat -> attendees!) if i would get a request for a song that -> was downtempo and i was playing in the 120 range, i -> would say "i've already played songs in that tempo". -> (yes, i hope you're laughing as you read this. -> thankfully i'm not that anal person anymore, but you've -> got to picture lil' ol' me back then, so damn serious -> about bpms that--get this--if i got a new record, i -> would not play it out--no matter what--until i had -> figured out the bpms for it! crazy, i realize now.) -> anyway, i cured myself of this -> bpming-every-single-song-no-matter-what and -> playing-songs-according-to-bpm-from slowest to -> fastest-all-night a couple of years after i got into -> that phase. at first i just didn't bother bpming every -> single song, than i stopped filing them by bpm (changed -> to alphabetical), than i got looser and looser with my -> filing system until now, many many years later, i just -> have pre-90s stuff roughly in one area and stuff since -> then in another and the pre-90s is divided loosely up -> into disco/funk, dance, and hip hop and the 90s on -> stuff is loosely divided up into house, techno/electro, -> and everything else rows. now when i mix i just go by -> feel, if it is close and the mood warrants it, i'll -> beatmatch, but otherwise i'll just stitch the songs -> together in a fashion that makes best sense. speaking -> of sense, hope this long ramble/blather makes sense and -> is possibly of some use to you. take care, alex and all -> the best with the mixing. andrew duke -> -> -> Jason Trenholm was born 31 August 1969 and died -> 1 January 2004. We met when we were 5 years old; -> he was my best friend for the next 29 years.***** -> Andrew Duke releases out now: -> Take Nothing For Granted http://cognitionaudioworks.com -> Environmental Politics http://and-oar.org -> Sprung http://bip-hop.com -> http://warprecords.com/mart/music/release.php? -> cat=BLEEP12&fc_type=CD -> *Canadian electronica album of the year nominee* -> More Destructive Than Organized http://staalplaat.com -> Highest Common Denominator http://pieheadrecords.com -> Physical and Mental Health http://dialrecords.com -> 74'02 (split with Hypo) http://tsunami-addiction.com -> http://cognitionaudioworks.com -> -> -> -> --- -> Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. -> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). -> Version: 6.0.558 / Virus Database: 350 - Release Date: 02/01/2004 -> ->
