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In order to be a DJ you have to learn how to mix and the basis of all mixing is Beat Matching. This series will focus on the essential skill of beat matching, learning about BPM’s and how to differentiate music genres based on beats and tempo.

Beat Matching or also referred to as (Beat Mixing, Beat Synching) is the technique of taking two different tracks and making them play at the same tempo whilst synchronizing their beat patterns.

Regardless of what format you are using (CD/Vinyl/MP3) or genre you are playing (e.g. techno, trance, house, hip-hop, drum n bass); beat matching is what ties everything together. As the basic concept is relatively simple to understand, “take two tracks and synchronize them”; it will take quite a lot of time and practice before you will eventually conquer the technique.

Why would a DJ want to beat match?

A DJ beat matches in order to create a mix. When two tracks are beat matched, their tempo and beat patterns are in harmony. This will allow you to make a transition from one track to the other with out a noticeable gap (no dead air and no abrupt changes) Thus, creating the illusion as one continues track and ultimately creating a mix. This keeps the dance floor in a constant, fluid motion. If a DJ didn’t beat match the two tracks (out going and incoming track) beats would train wreck (i.e. clash or sound incoherent) and would be difficult for the dance floor to follow.

What is a Beat?

In order to understand beat matching and with out sounding to egotistic; you must first understand beats. To a DJ the ‘beat’ is the most fundamental characteristic of dance music. It is a steady and continuous pulse in the music within which rhythms are formed. In dance music, a (Bass/Kick) Drum and Snare usually defines or represents the beat. Sometimes this may even be a symbol or high-hat. However, the kick drum and snare are by far the most widely used. Normally you will hear boom-clap-boom-clap-boom-clap and so on…

Silent Beat
Sometimes in a track, there won’t always be an actual drumbeat leaving just a melody or vocal sample, in this case their will still be a beat often referred to as a ‘silent beat’ or ‘invisible beat’. This is when you have to imagine the beat in your head. It helps to think of the beat as the pace of the song.

Extra Sounds or Notes
It is important to understand when I refer to ‘beat’ I am referring to the underlying beat or musical beat and not necessarily every sound or note that you may be hearing. Don’t confuse the musical beat with other elements of the song such as extra percussion hits and other sounds. A musical beat never changes through out the duration of a track; it stays constant and is usually a more dominant sound. On the other hand, other percussion hits or sounds can occur at anytime in any rhythm or pattern to give the track extra spice.

Understanding (Beats Per Minute) BPM?

Now that you have a basic understanding of beats your ready to learn about Beats Per Minute or better known as BMP.

In the previous section you learned in dance music that beats are arranged in regular intervals; meaning they stay constant through out the duration of a track. Because of this consistency, there will be a specific number of beats per minute. DJs know a tracks tempo or (rate of speed) by calculating its bpm.

The more bpm’s in a track, the faster the tempo; the less bpm’s in a track the slower the tempo. For example, a house track with a 135bpm would have a faster tempo than a hip-hop track with a 95bpm.

Why is understanding BPM important?

Knowing the bpm of your tracks will ultimately tell you if two tracks can be mixed together or not. When choosing tracks to mix, you want them to be of a similar style and as well as you want their bpms to be in a reasonable range with one another. This will allow you to match their tempos with out alerting their original sound or feel. A typical rule of thumb is no more than a 3% difference between the two tracks bpms. Typically, above 3% is when vocals will have a “Mickey Mouse sound” or the original melody or sound can be ruined.

For example, Hip-Hop music will typically range between 90 and 120bpm, while a lot of House music is between 120 and 140bpm. Trying to mix a 94bpm Hip-Hop track with a 130bpm House track will not work very well because both tracks are an entirely different style of music and each track would require a large adjustment on the pitch control in order for the two tracks tempos to be matched. On the other hand, if you have a house track that has a 125bpm another house track +/- 5bpms (120bpm or 130bpm) should work nicely.

Important: Don’t confuse a 3% difference with a 3bpm difference. They are the same ONLY when pitching up or down from 100bpm. A 3% pitch increase from 100bpm is exactly 103bpm. However, a 3% pitch increase from 120bpm is 123.6bpm, not 123bpm. A 3% pitch increase from 140bpm is 144.2bpm, not 143bpm.

Explore your creativity
Once you get better explorer your options and creativity. In “certain cases”, you can mix anything with in the capabilities of your pitch control. You may even find that a 90bpm track will mix with an 180bpm track with a little creativity. However, for general and starting purpose stay with in a close range.

Calculating the BMP of a track (how to calculate the bpm of a track)

Now that you have a better understand of ‘beats’ and ‘Beats Per Minute’; you are ready to calculate the bpm of your first record.

Grab one of your favorite records and a timer of some sort. Make sure the pitch control is set to ‘0’, start the record playing. Wind the record until you find the beginning of the track and the first beat. In most cases, this will be a bass drum. Rock the record under the needle just to get you familiar where this beat occurs. Once you are ready hold the record right before the first beat and then release the record. Once you hear the first beat start your timer and on the second beat begin to count.

Tap your foot in time with the beat and count the number of taps your foot makes in a 60-second period: Do this three times and add the results together and divide the total by 3. The resulting number is the song's BPM. Make sure when counting the BPM of a track that the pitch control is set to ‘0’ and on most decks, the green light is on.

If you don’t want to count for 60 seconds, count for 15 seconds and multiple the resulting numbers by four or even for 30 seconds and multiply the resulting numbers by two. However, the longer you count the more accurate your calculations will be.

Note: The bpm is calculated while the record is spinning at 0% pitch, or quartz-locked.

Electronic BPM counters: A lot of DJs use electronic bpm counters to assist them while calculating a tracks bpm. For this purpose, they are great, and your mixer may even have one built in. However, I don’t recommend using BPM counters for mixing purposes. You will realize some DJ’s will start to rely on them too often. The first time they play in a club that doesn’t have one, they will be lost. In addition, with certain genres of music and in certain circumstances their not always accurate. I suggest if your mixer has one to take a piece of black tap and cover it up. You have to learn to mix by ear and not by sight.

BMP Software; are simple shareware programs that will assist you in calculating the BPM of a track by simply clicking the mouse or the space bar on your computer in time with the beat. This type of software may be something that can assist you and can usually be found relatively easily on the web. The only draw back to this time of setup it’s dependent on how accurately you tap the button in time with the beat.

Tip: When you calculate a record’s BMP, write it on a sticker or label and place it on the records center label for future reference.

Get a grasp of beats and bpms because next time in part 2 we will go a little further with beat structure!