Great video! As a legally blind DJ, I can’t see the waveforms. So, I am always beat matching by ear. This skill is extremely crucial when I’m playing on CDJs with unanalyzed files because Rekordbox, unfortunately, lacks screen reader support. So, I believe that every DJ should learn how to beat match by ear just in case if technology decides to not work properly at an event.
i’m always impressed when a person achieves a task while not taking the easiest route like learning to drive on a MT rather than AT or mixing without modern tech. Not to mention the op over came their visual disability to pursue a passion in dj-ing. Well done.
Music is consumed by hearing and feeling the vibrations. Therefore, any piece of music technology that cannot be operated by another sense, besides vision, should not exist.
Holy shit... i've been learnig to mix for almost two years now, never found a tutorial as simple as that going into the absolute essentials of "old school djing", it feels like what i'm supposed to do finally clicked! Thanks for no skipping the obvious. Precious
I started in 99, of course on vinyl that's all there was, with a cheap Gemini 2 Channel mixer. I never even saw a beat counter till 2002 on a high-end Pioneer mixer. I am so glad I learned when I did and made me so much better than I would be without. And I took 15 years off in the middle. I just got my flx 10 a month and a half ago first controller ever, I'm on stage in front of 5,000 people the 28th and 29th of this month. With the new technology, I am so much better than I used to be.
Epic!. I have been mixing since the 1980s & I still love practicing beat matching without the sync. I usually only use sync when I am recording a set for my radio show. It's all fun for me. Nothing wrong with using sync, nothing wrong with mixing manually. I just have fun & I keep on learning new things. It's all gravy. Love ya. Luke! You are one of the good guys out here. Be safe & be kind!
Do you remember those electric pens that used to hurt when pressed, well I stripped one down for a laugh and wired it to my controller sync buttons.. So one night during a party we were having I let a couple of friends take over for a bit, you should of seen their faces when there pressed the sync button what a laugh, best night ever.
Luke this a huge milestone for me, I was spinning vinyl at clubs in the 90s and early 00 but got out of it twenty years ago. I believe we did a gig in leiden together many many years ago at InCasa, so great to see where your career brought you. I made some different life choices i guess. My interest in djing suddenly got back, and now I see they even have bpm counters and sync buttons. Omg I feel old. I remember driving around with my case full of illegal cd's that was the innovation then. Got some catching up to do with the tech hehehehe
I know that I'll probably never need it but I'm really curious to find out how all of this works. Just to know what DJs are doing and what they're actually capable of when I'm watching their live sets. This video was extremely helpful.
Thanks for the great tutorial, Luke. Both the Manual and ‘Sync’ beat-matching methods have their place. For me, using Sync frees us up to be more creative in other areas when the rally car is cruising along nicely, but when you hit the rough terrain of, say, a tricky track that didn’t get analysed well by the software, then we can quickly switch back to manual to take control and get safely around those bends.
I'm a beginner and I can tell for sure tha's one of the best video on youtube to explain beatsmaching, the explanation a clear and what I like is that even for basic things that seems obvious you explain them
It took me a full year to be able to beat match by ear using just the fader in that last example you gave. Worth the patience, coolest feeling ever! I DJ just for myself, I like doing it but I dread playing in front of people lol
It’s like , driving a manual car . You are driving the car ,changing gears , pushing clatch pedal, so this feeling is kind of tasty for you , plus you look like more professional and it’s good . Luke , really happy to see your video ! Fight 👹
Pitchriding is absolutly necessary if you want to be confident to play vinyl in any club, because some still use technics 1210 mk2. The mk2 have a quartz lock which makes it super hard to nudge and drag. i remember visiting a friend after i just learned to beatmatch on my stantons 150´s and was loosing my mind on his technics hahaha.
Don't want to start that endless sync discussion but nowadays for the sake of creativity and losing less time, when using more than two decks, I would definitely give SYNC a go even if I can easily master all the expert tehniques. To conclude, I consider that the most fair way of using sync 🙏
Easy way I found to explain how beat matching works to begginers,is with 2 cars on the high way,gotta put them side by side,so they must have the same speed,and one will need a push to get next to the other or vice versa. Master Tempo,Quantize,Key Lock,help a lot to mix in key and to change the tempo of a music with vocals without making the singer to sound like Mickey Mouse or Darth Vader if we increase or decrease the tempo. Sync can be handy,but it isnt always accurate,tracks that can have different tempos also have different compass,time signature or beat grid!If a guy doesnt know to beat match by ear,wont notice if the tracks have different beat grids. Love to see your videos and your technic under a microscope ;) Cheers from Portugal.
Both beatmatching by ear and sync have their place. Some songs weren't written or performed by a computer, or don't have any beat correction applied in post- Sync will never handle those properly, not without extensive preparation work with Ableton or other modifying software. Developing the brain skill to ride the tracks (especially when the drummer goes loopy or the composition beats change) is an incredibly valuable skill, and opens entirely new arenas of songs to play during sets. That being said, if you *are* using computerized tracks, freeing up extra time or brainpower to work FX, samples, or more creative mixouts can be a benefit of using Sync where possible. Use sync to free up your hands to the limits of your creative mixout ambitions.
For me beatmatching by ear gives you way more joy while djing. And always when I hit play in time with another deck, the feeling is just remarkable. I'm also not against the sync button beacause it sometimes can save you.
You don't need the sync button, if your track is running out put the track in a loop to give you more time to get your next track matched and the good thing is the crowd doesn't even realize this.
I have always wondered how the old guys did it using vinyl and thanks to you mr Luke I have an idea. I wil start practising this so much and I cannot wait to see myself fumble over my controller and the neighbours complain... This is one of the techniques that can make me unique.. Thank you so much. Stay safe!! I always get impressive results with LAidback Luke. From Lesotho!
Hi Luke. Thanks for all of your tutorials! I used to dj back in the days of vinyl and I recently picked up a Denon Prime 4. The sync button is OK but I run into a ton of problems with psy trance and drum and bass tracks, particularly when there are triplet beats. The BPM's are wrong 80% of the time and because of how the tracks are structured the grid is usually way off so the only choice I have is to use old school methods. I remember riding the fader back in the day and pushing/dragging the platter! Brings back memories! DJ's today have it EASY! lol. We had no data to work with other than our ears. While the sync button is great to have for say, Big Room Bangers and structured tracks like house, techno, etc, I think in order to be a great DJ, you have to be able to mix anything at any time with your ears! I just did an off the cuff set of Big Room (which easy easy) and then I got into psy trance and had to get really creative in mixing / beat matching because I was spinning random tracks I was grabbing from beatport and didn't know the BPM's or even the sound of the tracks until I loaded them into the Prime 4. Tracks that are 144bpm were marked as 108 and tracks marked as 155 were 142. It was an interesting challenge! I say: take it to the next level and learn to mix by ear. It's the only way to be limitless in your track selection and get all "pockets" of the crowd hyped up (a reference to one of your other videos lol). Cheers!
Hello there Luke my pinoy Brotha , My name is Roger from Chi town (Roger da mixologist aka dj oldskoolroge Ride the Pitch Show). I’ve been a big fan of yours for over 8 yrs! Whoa how time flies. The way you handle yourself as a Producer, DJ remixer, Family man and Of Course Pinoy Represent. I salute you. Natural Disaster is still one of my favorite jam to drop in the mix. Anyway I like the way you covered the Topic Ride the Pitch, I’ve been mixing for over 36 yrs, yes music will never get old especially if you enjoy the Art of Mixing… Matching… Measuring and Riding the Pitch in Real Time. For me, this what gives that Natural High in music when mixing the Groove. Learning the Fundamentals of matching.. Mixing.. Measuring and Riding the Pitch on a Belt drive Technics SL B21 back in the days, with a real drummer on dance Groove, Definitely paid off. You then appreciated the Birth of Technics 1200 Direct Drive. Oh yeah what a difference. No more nudging the record for me, just and Ride the Pitch. This is one main key that DJ’s forget to talk about the Technics Direct drive revolution, It changed the way we Mix the Groove, it’s not just for scratching, the Pitch Control is dead on smooth when you ride the pitch IN THE Mix. No more nudging or holding the pin in the middle of the platter. You are correct, there were no master tempo then. Pitch control movement is very important. I believe this is one of the missing key. If you give someone a map of a Forest, what good is the map if you don’t know where you are at? Many Dj’s today do not understand which way to go when that beat mix starts to go off. ( Shoe Dryer Mix ). You either you go forward, backward or stay on your pitch. If you master these fundamentals you will have a better understanding where to go and avoid the Shoe dryer affect. You will be able to tell on the first note as you as you drop that needle in the mix which way to go. And of course there are technique how to learn, master and understand this method. And as you progress to today’s mixing style and new Dj gears. You will experience a better understanding and appreciate more the digital world has to offer. I learned to understand the difference and the transformation from regular Dj to a Hot Mixer DJ. Back in the days dance music is just music that makes you dance, But if you mix it.. blend it and Ride the Mix with another Hot groove then the Groove develops the Natural high that HOUSE music gives. That’s why House music It’s a feeling. Not everyone mixes the same .I respect everybody’s way of Mixing and for me Riding the Pitch is my choice. But people still need to understand the difference. Keep up the good work ma Pinoy Brotha. Peace Love and Music, Dj oldskoolroge
Great video. The other reason why we used to ride the pitch is because we had belt driven turntables and they used to skip if you breathed too heavily let alone put our hands on the platter lol
Man, would've loved to have seen something like this tutorial video when I was first learning how to beatmatch on a pair of Denon DN-S1000s 15 years ago (and no sync button then)! Thanks for sharing this!
just finished the vid and I wanted to add a clarification for beginner dj’s - the push or drag technique is used to match beats between tracks and that slider is to match bpm’s. in particular i was getting a little confused when i heard Luke say the track is too fast so pull back. I think he meant the track beat was hitting too early so drag to correct the train wreck. edit: 7:57 is one instance. happy practicing everyone! thank you LL for excellent content and pushing to keep the dance music community alive. Ive been watching your vlogs since you posted that TEDtalk like event about DJ’ing.
For clueless beginner as I was before, Sync was a "necessary evil" to make next step accessible and triggered my interest to improve and finally give up all the assistance tools. Great video! I wish I got that when I started!
After watching ❤️❤️❤️❤️ so much love 🙌 I've been making DJ mixes for a while but with best sync, been needing that push to learn for real 🤝 my philosophy is if someone else can do it so can I, and i may not be the best, but I definitely won't be the worst 🧐😆
For me, using the sync button is like losing control over the mix. I wanna be in control and also I wanna be the one who is responsible if the beat is a little off....
sync can be very useful if you have a 4 channel controller and have to switch between decks 1/3 and/or 2/4 or want to sync it with a sampler or other midi devices for example
Hey Luke can you speak to how to mix in phase? How to keep the bass lines from sounding muddy because they’re out of phase. Why does this happen and what to do about it live? Thanks!
Going to practice it this weekend. Got on to mixing during quarantine, trying not to lean on tech instead train my ears. Thanks for this tutorial, Luke!
Loved the matching with the lights as a preview! audibly, it was sooo hard to determine if the track i was mixing in was ahead or behind to determine push or drag.
Personally when im beatmatching i dont count 1-2-3-4 but i count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 hitting the cuebutton on the number and in between making it a total of 7 pushes and the last one holding down pressing play. I find it easier to land on beat without any nudging needed
learning & mastering the hard manual ways is to train our hearing & brain processing better after that auto sync is for creative mixing transition. All pros have to begin with manual ways just like Rally & F1 drivers to feel & control the equipment.
I'm a beginner dj , When beat matching what do I listen for? Do I listen for the highs or bass when beat matching? Its hard for me differentiate which beat is slower or faster. I'm constantly looking at the graphics on the Pioneer DDJ SX2. Thanks for the video.
So if you match the second track to the first, do you return it to its normal bpm after transition? Or is every song locked to that bpm. How much does it change the pitch of the songs when you speed a song up?
I love the rough mixing, and adjusting the pitch on the fly. It sucks me into the mix as someone in the crowd. I love the comparison to a rally driver. It really is just about going for it, and figuring it out as you go.
In the 2nd point. You say it's too slow or too fast but it's not really, the speed (bpm) doesn't move. Its that the track is too far forward or too far back. You have to slow it down or speed it up to compensate.
I know what you meen. It's important to really listen to the 2 tracks. I always move the record to the right speed then adjust pitch. Then listen again. The closer you get to the right bpm the harder and longer you need to listen. I like to mix for as long as possible . Well to the break. Not very good a mixing quickly lol
Great stuff! I've used that exact looping technique to practice beatmatching; I'm a huge fan of learning how to do things yourself even if there's a button to automate it, because it never hurts to have a deeper understanding. But it turns out that beatmatching is also really fun, so I just don't really do sync DJing.
Mastering beat matching is key to everything in djing. Once you master this skill, you will never forget how to. It’s like riding a bike. You never forget how to.
youre 100% right i sold my dj set up and went 8 gears without touchin a deck, just bought some new cdj900 nexus players and a djm800 and recorded a mix after spendin 30min gettin some refresher practice, its a skill youll never forget.
The vinyl nudge sound effect you made was great 😂. I love your tutorials! Please keep making them, because they have helped me improve so much and I love learning from you.
I wish if you had made this video 15 years ago.. I used to watch all your videos uploaded in youtube by people who attended your gigs just to figure out how the Hell you can manage to ride the pitch that much easy and smooth while its so damn difficult! I really admire and enjoy watching you doing the beat-matching when you mix tracks (GOD LEVEL).. Anyways.. Please, I would love to afford the same LBL t-shirt and get the copyrights of the sample @14:23 LOL
Hey Luke, I’m trying to learn how to beat match on software, on djay, pro, without a controller, it’s pretty difficult to try to touch the screen, and get the beats matched up together, without looking out the wave points.
Great demonstration! I think that if you don't do match with the pitch slider alone, you might as well use the auto-sync + match features - you're just selecting songs at that point and letting the computer do the rest.
Hey Luke, great post by the way. Keep up the good work. Just a comment on some of the cheap low end controllers for beat matching. Not mentioning brand names, but the degree of accuracy +/- fractions on bpm using pitch control are poor on some. I noticed your pitch moved through tenths of a percent nicely. (Not so good on low end jobs, they can have a large percentage margin between tenths??) Just making people aware not to get disheartened that the low end controllers aren't perfect for honest beat matching without push or pull. And likely sync button for running together in extended mixes is going to be a good friend. Who doesn't want a perfect match any way? Poke at the engineering of low end controllers now... If I want something to spin at a certain speed and have a pitch control, I would like a piece of equipment that can do that without any hands on help on the platter/jog wheel and make all the tenth +/- percentage incensements one by one without any jumps. To have something that doesn't do that falls short on customer satisfaction, and shows poor craftsmanship. Back on topic for Luke's question, "sync or pitch?" So for low end controllers the sync button gets you bang on percentage, but for some reason the pitch only technique can't make the 100% match with the other deck at times. Really annoying if you want to learn perfect beat matching and let them run together. I saw this as a flaw in low end controllers, so don't panic it's not the end of the world guys just hit sync and move on with the times. You could be there forever trying to match that pitch perfectly when it isn't going to happen perfectly. It looks to me that my answer will definitely be both sync and pitch, it's a tool to use to improve your DJing and sound better. Do what you feel like. I see people on controllers beat matching kudos to you, but I have to laugh when I see a controller LCD display reading out the BPM. so what's the point? Hit sync, wasting your time.. Get in the mix! =D Old school days you never had BPM read out. If later on you did have a mixer that had this built in and relied upon that feature, a power failure or latency could spell disaster. so the old way works best because you could still pitch in without one. But that was decks 12/10's where you could still finger spin them and get sound with no power to the deck. Ok....Now days though?? if your LCD or power fails on your controllers how will pitching in solve your dilemma? Good luck using a malfunctioned non responsive piece of tech. It's always made more sense to me that pitching stayed with the original art of turntablism and controller users move on with the times and use what you have today. Must be said it's Great fun and full of satisfaction to pitch in so I would say you're missing out if you don't try it. Handy for ever wanting to give vinyl a go obviously too. ;) Looking at the history of pitch control, it was the tools of the trade for the times, now in the current times you have so much built into a controller. That would of cost old schoolers' hundreds if not thousands of Bux to have at their finger tips to utilise for set making/mixing.. If you have a controller and only use a fraction of the buttons and knobs, do you know your controller? I imagine in time more and more things will be added, leaving little time for pitching in when you have the star ship enterprise to control. lol.. Keep up with the times, don't stress it. The more people accurately pitched in on the decks with sync means in my mind, more artists that want to express and create on the job and more mixes being made to listen to. Back to -Practicing Bpm/Pitch matching... Looks to me that higher end controllers have this covered better than low end controllers in regards to a accurate and responsive pitch control. Would recommend trying controllers at your DJing store and test this out before purchase. The ones Luke is using in his video here look to me like they work properly. Hope I added some positive thought to tech and practice. Good luck all, from some random engineer ;)
i was sharpened using the "old school" style pitch-slider beat matching technique way back by playing all those 70s and 80s music. Back then, they didn't have metronomes when they recorded their tracks so you need to listen to the drums,the hook, and even familiarizing yourself with the track itself because back then, remixes were 12". 7" and had such a long instrumental intro. now THAT was a challenge. ive said it before and im saying it again: practice with 70s and 80s dance tracks and todays music will just be a breeze.
I dont like the sync button because I like to gradually change the bpm during a set and for me it is just simpler not to use it, also not using it helps you improve your skills overall.
I'm jealous of those that have the luxury of viewing the BPM> It took me numerous hours learning beat matching on the same Gemini CD players I'm still using today. Their manual was only a one page diagram of the names of the buttons on the console.
Great video! As a legally blind DJ, I can’t see the waveforms. So, I am always beat matching by ear. This skill is extremely crucial when I’m playing on CDJs with unanalyzed files because Rekordbox, unfortunately, lacks screen reader support. So, I believe that every DJ should learn how to beat match by ear just in case if technology decides to not work properly at an event.
that is very impressive
@@Mr.Thermistor7228 There's nothing impressive about doing something the tried and tested way. Not that I am putting the DJ down.
i’m always impressed when a person achieves a task while not taking the easiest route like learning to drive on a MT rather than AT or mixing without modern tech. Not to mention the op over came their visual disability to pursue a passion in dj-ing. Well done.
kis4ketchup it’s equally impressive that someone that’s blind can navigate, use, and comment on TH-cam. Guys a champ
Music is consumed by hearing and feeling the vibrations. Therefore, any piece of music technology that cannot be operated by another sense, besides vision, should not exist.
Holy shit... i've been learnig to mix for almost two years now, never found a tutorial as simple as that going into the absolute essentials of "old school djing", it feels like what i'm supposed to do finally clicked! Thanks for no skipping the obvious. Precious
I started in 99, of course on vinyl that's all there was, with a cheap Gemini 2 Channel mixer. I never even saw a beat counter till 2002 on a high-end Pioneer mixer. I am so glad I learned when I did and made me so much better than I would be without. And I took 15 years off in the middle. I just got my flx 10 a month and a half ago first controller ever, I'm on stage in front of 5,000 people the 28th and 29th of this month. With the new technology, I am so much better than I used to be.
Epic!. I have been mixing since the 1980s & I still love practicing beat matching without the sync. I usually only use sync when I am recording a set for my radio show. It's all fun for me. Nothing wrong with using sync, nothing wrong with mixing manually. I just have fun & I keep on learning new things. It's all gravy.
Love ya. Luke! You are one of the good guys out here. Be safe & be kind!
Unrelated to djing but he seems like such a nice, wholesome guy
Do you remember those electric pens that used to hurt when pressed, well I stripped one down for a laugh and wired it to my controller sync buttons.. So one night during a party we were having I let a couple of friends take over for a bit, you should of seen their faces when there pressed the sync button what a laugh, best night ever.
Damn those poor sync users
That’s so evil, I love it
I love spinning on vinyl because beat matching by ear is so much fun.
Exactly espacially on vinyl!✌🏼
Luke this a huge milestone for me, I was spinning vinyl at clubs in the 90s and early 00 but got out of it twenty years ago. I believe we did a gig in leiden together many many years ago at InCasa, so great to see where your career brought you. I made some different life choices i guess. My interest in djing suddenly got back, and now I see they even have bpm counters and sync buttons. Omg I feel old. I remember driving around with my case full of illegal cd's that was the innovation then. Got some catching up to do with the tech hehehehe
I know that I'll probably never need it but I'm really curious to find out how all of this works. Just to know what DJs are doing and what they're actually capable of when I'm watching their live sets. This video was extremely helpful.
Wow those Denon decks are SLICK! Nice to see something besides Pioneer. Love the logo in the centre of the jog wheels.
I have always been a big fan Luke I do have your course but iv been busy with producing but cant wait to watch it .
Thanks for the great tutorial, Luke. Both the Manual and ‘Sync’ beat-matching methods have their place. For me, using Sync frees us up to be more creative in other areas when the rally car is cruising along nicely, but when you hit the rough terrain of, say, a tricky track that didn’t get analysed well by the software, then we can quickly switch back to manual to take control and get safely around those bends.
A few seconds in, I love u dawg ❤️🙌 I will learn this all, I love learning hard stuff and fine tuning stuff 😎😍
Been djing for almost 40 years and the pich mixing,yes i still got it. Hade to try it after de video😊. Havent done that for years.
I'm a beginner and I can tell for sure tha's one of the best video on youtube to explain beatsmaching, the explanation a clear and what I like is that even for basic things that seems obvious you explain them
Laidback luke you are
my inspiration you
inspired me to
become a dj i am a
huge fan of you and i
respect your dedication
to your work..
Brilliant, short and sweet tutorial. It's all about loving music, practice and of course loving what you do too.
It took me a full year to be able to beat match by ear using just the fader in that last example you gave. Worth the patience, coolest feeling ever! I DJ just for myself, I like doing it but I dread playing in front of people lol
It’s like , driving a manual car . You are driving the car ,changing gears , pushing clatch pedal, so this feeling is kind of tasty for you , plus you look like more professional and it’s good . Luke , really happy to see your video ! Fight 👹
When the sync button doesnt work then you need to beat match by ear and also like you say its a rollercoaster ride... 😍😍.... Love it...
Or you can just adjust the bpms normally 😂 with the tempo slider and make sure you drop it in on the 1
it's exactly like that. Very good lesson for all the beginners outhere
I liked your demonstration it was very nice. I am doing dj course now i was struggling for beat match, thanks for teaching easiest technics
Thank you for this Mr. Luke ❤️ we love you ❤️
Simply stop looking at the music and start listening instead...
Amazing content! Thank you🙏
Pitchriding is absolutly necessary if you want to be confident to play vinyl in any club, because some still use technics 1210 mk2. The mk2 have a quartz lock which makes it super hard to nudge and drag. i remember visiting a friend after i just learned to beatmatch on my stantons 150´s and was loosing my mind on his technics hahaha.
Real Djing amazing man!
Don't want to start that endless sync discussion but nowadays for the sake of creativity and losing less time, when using more than two decks, I would definitely give SYNC a go even if I can easily master all the expert tehniques.
To conclude, I consider that the most fair way of using sync 🙏
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO MAKE THIS VIDEO. THESE ARE GREAT TIPS I WILL DEFINITELY BE PRACTICING. 🎧😎🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Love you Luke.
This is wat I'm after thank U heaps kind sir legend
Brilliant Video. I love that your pushing releases from your record label!
Easy way I found to explain how beat matching works to begginers,is with 2 cars on the high way,gotta put them side by side,so they must have the same speed,and one will need a push to get next to the other or vice versa.
Master Tempo,Quantize,Key Lock,help a lot to mix in key and to change the tempo of a music with vocals without making the singer to sound like Mickey Mouse or Darth Vader if we increase or decrease the tempo.
Sync can be handy,but it isnt always accurate,tracks that can have different tempos also have different compass,time signature or beat grid!If a guy doesnt know to beat match by ear,wont notice if the tracks have different beat grids.
Love to see your videos and your technic under a microscope ;)
Cheers from Portugal.
Both beatmatching by ear and sync have their place. Some songs weren't written or performed by a computer, or don't have any beat correction applied in post- Sync will never handle those properly, not without extensive preparation work with Ableton or other modifying software. Developing the brain skill to ride the tracks (especially when the drummer goes loopy or the composition beats change) is an incredibly valuable skill, and opens entirely new arenas of songs to play during sets. That being said, if you *are* using computerized tracks, freeing up extra time or brainpower to work FX, samples, or more creative mixouts can be a benefit of using Sync where possible. Use sync to free up your hands to the limits of your creative mixout ambitions.
For me beatmatching by ear gives you way more joy while djing. And always when I hit play in time with another deck, the feeling is just remarkable. I'm also not against the sync button beacause it sometimes can save you.
You don't need the sync button, if your track is running out put the track in a loop to give you more time to get your next track matched and the good thing is the crowd doesn't even realize this.
Yess it's a high that's like no other. I remember the first time I transitioned smoothly, I wanted to cry hahaha
Glad you are back to your tutorial videos. I wouldn't have started playing my gigs when I did, if it wasn't for your tutorials.
Love the vibes selector Luke.
I have always wondered how the old guys did it using vinyl and thanks to you mr Luke I have an idea. I wil start practising this so much and I cannot wait to see myself fumble over my controller and the neighbours complain... This is one of the techniques that can make me unique.. Thank you so much. Stay safe!! I always get impressive results with LAidback Luke. From Lesotho!
Hi Luke. Thanks for all of your tutorials! I used to dj back in the days of vinyl and I recently picked up a Denon Prime 4. The sync button is OK but I run into a ton of problems with psy trance and drum and bass tracks, particularly when there are triplet beats. The BPM's are wrong 80% of the time and because of how the tracks are structured the grid is usually way off so the only choice I have is to use old school methods. I remember riding the fader back in the day and pushing/dragging the platter! Brings back memories! DJ's today have it EASY! lol. We had no data to work with other than our ears. While the sync button is great to have for say, Big Room Bangers and structured tracks like house, techno, etc, I think in order to be a great DJ, you have to be able to mix anything at any time with your ears! I just did an off the cuff set of Big Room (which easy easy) and then I got into psy trance and had to get really creative in mixing / beat matching because I was spinning random tracks I was grabbing from beatport and didn't know the BPM's or even the sound of the tracks until I loaded them into the Prime 4. Tracks that are 144bpm were marked as 108 and tracks marked as 155 were 142. It was an interesting challenge! I say: take it to the next level and learn to mix by ear. It's the only way to be limitless in your track selection and get all "pockets" of the crowd hyped up (a reference to one of your other videos lol). Cheers!
Hello there Luke my pinoy Brotha , My name is Roger from Chi town (Roger da mixologist aka dj oldskoolroge Ride the Pitch Show). I’ve been a big fan of yours for over 8 yrs! Whoa how time flies. The way you handle yourself as a Producer, DJ remixer, Family man and Of Course Pinoy Represent. I salute you. Natural Disaster is still one of my favorite jam to drop in the mix.
Anyway I like the way you covered the Topic Ride the Pitch, I’ve been mixing for over 36 yrs, yes music will never get old especially if you enjoy the Art of Mixing… Matching… Measuring and Riding the Pitch in Real Time. For me, this what gives that Natural High in music when mixing the Groove.
Learning the Fundamentals of matching.. Mixing.. Measuring and Riding the Pitch on a Belt drive Technics SL B21 back in the days, with a real drummer on dance Groove, Definitely paid off. You then appreciated the Birth of Technics 1200 Direct Drive. Oh yeah what a difference. No more nudging the record for me, just and Ride the Pitch. This is one main key that DJ’s forget to talk about the Technics Direct drive revolution, It changed the way we Mix the Groove, it’s not just for scratching, the Pitch Control is dead on smooth when you ride the pitch IN THE Mix. No more nudging or holding the pin in the middle of the platter. You are correct, there were no master tempo then. Pitch control movement is very important.
I believe this is one of the missing key.
If you give someone a map of a Forest, what good is the map if you don’t know where you are at? Many Dj’s today do not understand which way to go when that beat mix starts to go off. ( Shoe Dryer Mix ). You either you go forward, backward or stay on your pitch. If you master these fundamentals you will have a better understanding where to go and avoid the Shoe dryer affect. You will be able to tell on the first note as you as you drop that needle in the mix which way to go. And of course there are technique how to learn, master and understand this method. And as you progress to today’s mixing style and new Dj gears. You will experience a better understanding and appreciate more the digital world has to offer.
I learned to understand the difference and the transformation from regular Dj to a Hot Mixer DJ. Back in the days dance music is just music that makes you dance, But if you mix it.. blend it and Ride the Mix with another Hot groove then the Groove develops the Natural high that HOUSE music gives. That’s why House music It’s a feeling. Not everyone mixes the same .I respect everybody’s way of Mixing and for me Riding the Pitch is my choice. But people still need to understand the difference. Keep up the good work ma Pinoy Brotha.
Peace Love and Music,
Dj oldskoolroge
Great video. The other reason why we used to ride the pitch is because we had belt driven turntables and they used to skip if you breathed too heavily let alone put our hands on the platter lol
Man, would've loved to have seen something like this tutorial video when I was first learning how to beatmatch on a pair of Denon DN-S1000s 15 years ago (and no sync button then)! Thanks for sharing this!
Wow, really like your teachings:-) can you dj palmas too bpms time key off technology skills too laudback loft luke?????
just finished the vid and I wanted to add a clarification for beginner dj’s - the push or drag technique is used to match beats between tracks and that slider is to match bpm’s. in particular i was getting a little confused when i heard Luke say the track is too fast so pull back. I think he meant the track beat was hitting too early so drag to correct the train wreck. edit: 7:57 is one instance. happy practicing everyone! thank you LL for excellent content and pushing to keep the dance music community alive. Ive been watching your vlogs since you posted that TEDtalk like event about DJ’ing.
yeah I was confused with the way he worded that. thanks for the clarification!
I learned it without touching the platter, only using the pitch as he taught in this video. Great tutorial for everyone at any level.
For clueless beginner as I was before, Sync was a "necessary evil" to make next step accessible and triggered my interest to improve and finally give up all the assistance tools.
Great video! I wish I got that when I started!
After watching ❤️❤️❤️❤️ so much love 🙌 I've been making DJ mixes for a while but with best sync, been needing that push to learn for real 🤝 my philosophy is if someone else can do it so can I, and i may not be the best, but I definitely won't be the worst 🧐😆
For me, using the sync button is like losing control over the mix. I wanna be in control and also I wanna be the one who is responsible if the beat is a little off....
Good shout. Agreed!
before i bought the prime 4 i used cdj1000mk3 there was no sync button. now with prime 4 i still dont need sync.
Agreed, I love the accountability of doing it all yourself!
EJAY that is why I still like CDJs... they feel a bit more old school and sync isn’t as in your face (seems like that to me anyway, vs controllers)
sync can be very useful if you have a 4 channel controller and have to switch between decks 1/3 and/or 2/4 or want to sync it with a sampler or other midi devices for example
Hey Luke can you speak to how to mix in phase? How to keep the bass lines from sounding muddy because they’re out of phase. Why does this happen and what to do about it live? Thanks!
Going to practice it this weekend. Got on to mixing during quarantine, trying not to lean on tech instead train my ears. Thanks for this tutorial, Luke!
Training your ear is the best way to do, honestly. 👌🏽
@laidback Luke
Need help w beat matching /dj lessons.
Cool I'm gonna try this when I get home. Thank you sir!
I imagine beat matching by ears vs auto sync is like driving a car with stick vs auto
It's never to late to learn more skills day by day I truly enjoy the video
This is great for wrapping my head around beatmatching by understanding it in different ways. Thank you!
Loved the matching with the lights as a preview! audibly, it was sooo hard to determine if the track i was mixing in was ahead or behind to determine push or drag.
Can you please use vinyl and show us how to mix and blend without using the beat counter on the decks
Beat matching by ear is fun it’s like a game !
I used just the pitch mixing vinyl. But with digital i definitely lightly push and drag the platters.
thanks for teaching beat matching
Personally when im beatmatching i dont count 1-2-3-4 but i count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 hitting the cuebutton on the number and in between making it a total of 7 pushes and the last one holding down pressing play. I find it easier to land on beat without any nudging needed
learning & mastering the hard manual ways is to train our hearing & brain processing better after that auto sync is for creative mixing transition. All pros have to begin with manual ways just like Rally & F1 drivers to feel & control the equipment.
Laidback Luke & Domastic- U Don't Is so fire
Thanks for sharing, super awesome lesson. Mixing way better, now i learned it the old school way!!
Thanks For The Video Mr. L.L.
I'm a beginner dj , When beat matching what do I listen for? Do I listen for the highs or bass when beat matching? Its hard for me differentiate which beat is slower or faster. I'm constantly looking at the graphics on the Pioneer DDJ SX2. Thanks for the video.
Keep doing it learned a lot from you
Can you please do a studio tour
So if you match the second track to the first, do you return it to its normal bpm after transition? Or is every song locked to that bpm. How much does it change the pitch of the songs when you speed a song up?
9:33 for the pro level
12:43 for the expert level
I love the rough mixing, and adjusting the pitch on the fly. It sucks me into the mix as someone in the crowd. I love the comparison to a rally driver. It really is just about going for it, and figuring it out as you go.
In the 2nd point. You say it's too slow or too fast but it's not really, the speed (bpm) doesn't move. Its that the track is too far forward or too far back. You have to slow it down or speed it up to compensate.
I know what you meen. It's important to really listen to the 2 tracks. I always move the record to the right speed then adjust pitch. Then listen again. The closer you get to the right bpm the harder and longer you need to listen. I like to mix for as long as possible . Well to the break. Not very good a mixing quickly lol
Great stuff! I've used that exact looping technique to practice beatmatching; I'm a huge fan of learning how to do things yourself even if there's a button to automate it, because it never hurts to have a deeper understanding. But it turns out that beatmatching is also really fun, so I just don't really do sync DJing.
Thanks luke🔥🔥🥺: Learnef A lot
Learned alot*
Cheers Luke. This is going to come in handy sometime!
This guy is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Thanks for the lesson
Been waiting for something like this Luke, missed you uploading videos to teach us stuff. Keep it up
What if you don't have a loop facility or a large platter to push or drag with?
Love it man it helps alot
Mastering beat matching is key to everything in djing. Once you master this skill, you will never forget how to. It’s like riding a bike. You never forget how to.
youre 100% right i sold my dj set up and went 8 gears without touchin a deck, just bought some new cdj900 nexus players and a djm800 and recorded a mix after spendin 30min gettin some refresher practice, its a skill youll never forget.
The vinyl nudge sound effect you made was great 😂. I love your tutorials! Please keep making them, because they have helped me improve so much and I love learning from you.
I wish if you had made this video 15 years ago.. I used to watch all your videos uploaded in youtube by people who attended your gigs just to figure out how the Hell you can manage to ride the pitch that much easy and smooth while its so damn difficult!
I really admire and enjoy watching you doing the beat-matching when you mix tracks (GOD LEVEL)..
Anyways.. Please, I would love to afford the same LBL t-shirt and get the copyrights of the sample @14:23 LOL
Great video
Hey Luke, I’m trying to learn how to beat match on software, on djay, pro, without a controller, it’s pretty difficult to try to touch the screen, and get the beats matched up together, without looking out the wave points.
Great demonstration! I think that if you don't do match with the pitch slider alone, you might as well use the auto-sync + match features - you're just selecting songs at that point and letting the computer do the rest.
This was a great tutorial! 👍🏾
Wow, what a sound tooooooo
Thanks for the video Luke, I liked the part when you beat matched by ear. I’m going to try the tape thing.
Hey Luke, great post by the way. Keep up the good work.
Just a comment on some of the cheap low end controllers for beat matching. Not mentioning brand names, but the degree of accuracy +/- fractions on bpm using pitch control are poor on some.
I noticed your pitch moved through tenths of a percent nicely. (Not so good on low end jobs, they can have a large percentage margin between tenths??)
Just making people aware not to get disheartened that the low end controllers aren't perfect for honest beat matching without push or pull. And likely sync button for running together in extended mixes is going to be a good friend. Who doesn't want a perfect match any way?
Poke at the engineering of low end controllers now...
If I want something to spin at a certain speed and have a pitch control, I would like a piece of equipment that can do that without any hands on help on the platter/jog wheel and make all the tenth +/- percentage incensements one by one without any jumps. To have something that doesn't do that falls short on customer satisfaction, and shows poor craftsmanship.
Back on topic for Luke's question, "sync or pitch?"
So for low end controllers the sync button gets you bang on percentage, but for some reason the pitch only technique can't make the 100% match with the other deck at times.
Really annoying if you want to learn perfect beat matching and let them run together.
I saw this as a flaw in low end controllers, so don't panic it's not the end of the world guys just hit sync and move on with the times.
You could be there forever trying to match that pitch perfectly when it isn't going to happen perfectly.
It looks to me that my answer will definitely be both sync and pitch, it's a tool to use to improve your DJing and sound better. Do what you feel like.
I see people on controllers beat matching kudos to you, but I have to laugh when I see a controller LCD display reading out the BPM. so what's the point? Hit sync, wasting your time.. Get in the mix! =D
Old school days you never had BPM read out. If later on you did have a mixer that had this built in and relied upon that feature, a power failure or latency could spell disaster. so the old way works best because you could still pitch in without one. But that was decks 12/10's where you could still finger spin them and get sound with no power to the deck.
Ok....Now days though?? if your LCD or power fails on your controllers how will pitching in solve your dilemma?
Good luck using a malfunctioned non responsive piece of tech. It's always made more sense to me that pitching stayed with the original art of turntablism and controller users move on with the times and use what you have today.
Must be said it's Great fun and full of satisfaction to pitch in so I would say you're missing out if you don't try it. Handy for ever wanting to give vinyl a go obviously too. ;)
Looking at the history of pitch control, it was the tools of the trade for the times, now in the current times you have so much built into a controller. That would of cost old schoolers' hundreds if not thousands of Bux to have at their finger tips to utilise for set making/mixing..
If you have a controller and only use a fraction of the buttons and knobs, do you know your controller?
I imagine in time more and more things will be added, leaving little time for pitching in when you have the star ship enterprise to control. lol.. Keep up with the times, don't stress it. The more people accurately pitched in on the decks with sync means in my mind, more artists that want to express and create on the job and more mixes being made to listen to.
Back to -Practicing Bpm/Pitch matching...
Looks to me that higher end controllers have this covered better than low end controllers in regards to a accurate and responsive pitch control.
Would recommend trying controllers at your DJing store and test this out before purchase. The ones Luke is using in his video here look to me like they work properly.
Hope I added some positive thought to tech and practice.
Good luck all, from some random engineer ;)
man, the tutorial that i'm looking for!
Thank you
Excellent
What headphones are you using ?
Absolutely delightful thanks 👌💯
Thank you 🙏
Greetings from México! 🇲🇽 You are the BEST ♥️🔥🔥🔥
Thank's Luke, I like the way you teach us, that's awesome
i was sharpened using the "old school" style pitch-slider beat matching technique way back by playing all those 70s and 80s music. Back then, they didn't have metronomes when they recorded their tracks so you need to listen to the drums,the hook, and even familiarizing yourself with the track itself because back then, remixes were 12". 7" and had such a long instrumental intro. now THAT was a challenge. ive said it before and im saying it again: practice with 70s and 80s dance tracks and todays music will just be a breeze.
I dont like the sync button because I like to gradually change the bpm during a set and for me it is just simpler not to use it, also not using it helps you improve your skills overall.
I'm jealous of those that have the luxury of viewing the BPM> It took me numerous hours learning beat matching on the same Gemini CD players I'm still using today. Their manual was only a one page diagram of the names of the buttons on the console.
Awesome lesson and thank you for sharing your tips 👍 👍