The Basics of DJ Mixing (Part 2)

Spin an album on turntable A and bring up the volume on channel A. The cross fader is all the way to the left. Now, while it's playing through the speaker system to the audience, cue up a track on turntable B through your headphones. Remember, the cross fader is all the way to the left side, but your headphone toggle switch is all the way to the right. Keep in mind that on a turntable, a cue must be back tracked enough from the desired start point so that the DJ device is up to speed by the time it reaches that point after the "on" switch is engaged. Before starting the turntable, using fingers directly on the label of the record, spin the disk back and forth until you've found your beginning note, then you turn the record backwards far enough from that note so that when you hit the "on" switch the record will be spinning at full speed.

Now as your song on table A comes to an end, switch on turntable B while bringing the cross fader to the center and on toward the right as song B begins to play. You can time this so that A jumps into B or a smooth cross fade takes place, much like the lapse dissolve in film where two images linger together before transitioning away from one to the other. Now that you've faded from table A, you can delete that record and cue up another, reversing the process you just completed.

Another good technique of cross fading involves beat matching and takes more and more practice to accomplish. Listen to both the live track and the cue track through your headphones, playing both tracks at speed. By varying the speed of the turntable you can get the best beats to match up. When you've got both thumping together you cross fade and the songs seem to merge. Then you have scratching, and mash ups and all kinds of remixing techniques and devices, but practice the basic things first and you'll be on your way. Improve your ability! Sure, one day you can be a professional DJ player. Learn more about DJ mixing using video tutorials.

The Basics of DJ Mixing (Part 1)

Some of the good skills you need to be a successful DJ include a passion for entertaining others with diverse styles of music, the ability to network with local nightclubs and music retailers, and the ability to get the audience interested in the music you are playing. You don't always have to attend college to become a DJ, and you don't have to work at a radio station. You may want to start an independent business and perform at local events. Whether you're mixing up hip hop at the club, euro dance at the disco or and weddings, there are some basic mix techniques you'll need to master on your way to becoming the next DJ mix master. The concepts aren't difficult to grasp, but do require some practice to master. A good mix will keep people on the floor having a good time. The standard DJ setup consists of a DJ mixer, two play sources and a microphone. The output signal is routed to amplification and speakers and you'll need a set of headphones. The play sources can be variable speed turntables for spinning vinyl, MP3 players or even PC. For the purposes of this illustration we'll use two matched variable speed turntables. The concepts are transferable to variable speed CD players which can be purchased from a DJ supply house. MP3's are easier to work with in some regards, but beat matching becomes an issue though software exists to make it possible

 The DJ mixers have three or four audio channels, one for the left source input (A), one for the right (B), one for a microphone and possibly an auxiliary input. There will also be a master volume and a headphone volume control, which is often a twisty knob. All of these are represented and controlled by a vertical slider. There is also a horizontal slider used to cross fade from A to B and it's usually located below channels A and B, and there is a headphone source switch. It has three positions: source A, to the left mix at the center and source B, to the right.