Elastic beatgridding in Serato ITCH: It's one of the most flexible programs for beatgridding non-static tempo material which is a real help when mixing multi-genre sets.
Last time, in Why Smart DJs Play More Than One Style Of Music, we explored why you may want to push your boundaries and start playing multi-genre sets. Today we’re going to look at the practicalities of doing this.
By working on the following elements, you’ll be able to play confidently in situations that maybe you currently find daunting, or if you’re already playing this kind of set (as a wedding or mobile DJ, for instance), you’ll be able to improve the way you do it.
- Have an overall plan – Just because you’re going to play lots of genres, it doesn’t mean you are going to play a disorganised mess of a set. In fact, it’s more important than ever to have a plan. You might plan to DJ on energy level (slowly peaking, then dipping briefly at the end), or in cycles (building for half an hour, 20 minutes of peak, then 10 minutes for a breather, or in genres (half an hour of this, then that, then something else). It depends who’s there, when they come and go, how long they stay, what they’ve been drinking, why they’re there… Deciding on the “bigger picture” early on will give you confidence later on when you’re juggling your different styles
- Match major elements in your music – Just because you’re playing multi-genre, doesn’t mean there aren’t suitable links between your tunes. There are always links between tunes. Try matching tunes by BPM, by musical key, major musical element (two female vocals, big guitar riffs, similar lyrics, drumming styles…). You’ll only find this stuff out by practising, so practise mixing all types of stuff. When you find a mix that works, note it in the “comment” tag so you can repeat it
- Expand your repertoire of mixes – Rookie DJs often limit themselves by trying to beatmatch everything. Instead, try simplifying things by “cutting” (simply moving completely from one tune to another right on the beat), or mixing at the fade (again, try and do it on the beat). The theory is that if the tunes you’ve chosen are right, the mix just needs to be as unobtrusive as possible. In the other direction, you can learn advanced techniques like looping a suitable bit of the rhythm of the outgoing track to beatmix out of (however small it may be), or using “elastic beatgridding” (only in Serato ITCH and Ableton Live currently) to force difficult material into a format where you can beatmatch it, or even making your own (or finding) mix-friendly edits of tunes with intro and outro beats for mixing
Check out the further articles listed below for more detail on some of the above. As you can see, playing multi-genre sets properly takes a lot more skill than playing technically simple, beatmatched single-genre sets, but do it right and it can open all the doors we mentioned in the previous piece for you. It’s definitely something worth working on in parallel to you “normal” DJing.
Do you already play sets in this type of style? How do you go about planning them? Got any cross-genre mixing techniques you’d like to share with us? Please let us know in the comments…
Now go to:
7 Set Planning Secrets Of Professional DJs
Are You Stuck In The Tempo Trap?
Three Ways To Use Loops (Without Annoying Everyone)
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Tags: genres, mixing techniques, set planning
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Just FYI – Torq has beat warping built right in. It’s very similar to Ableton, and will let you mash up genres much more easily.
[ link ]LOL…you beat me to it!
[ link ]I stand corrected. Good to learn something new every day!
[ link ]First off, Torq has had elastique beatgridding for the longest time…even before Serato. Anchors and such can build it so one on sync can go over tempo changes. Not attacking, but simply pointing out more options.
I like the advice, and you are right on point, but I’ll add you should also do what is right by the crowd. I used to see DJs lament on other DJs just “slamming in” tunes, and even mixing rap music in a discombobulated manner. However, when I really observe the crowd, it’s the ADHD that sets in on them and thus they clearly show they don’t want nice clean blends. They just want instant gratification. Slam their favorite tune in, play a little, and then get out before they get bored.
I still agree having a plan in order is crucial. Have folders/crates set up of the tunes you know will save you if the crowd isn’t feeling it, and maybe new stuff you want to try. In my neck of the woods, the best solution many times in bars and trendy clubs is to play less like a rave/club DJ and more like a radio DJ. Announcements, bring in a new tune, mix here and there, but literally change it up every 15-30 minutes so the crowd never gets bored.
In the end, four DJs in a corner judging you won’t mean as much as 500 people screaming for you and loving your set. Guys like Larry Levan and even some I’ve seen in the “electro” (not electro-house) scene were more about moments, time, and place…as opposed to matched beats and tight blends.
Do what works for you.
[ link ]You raise a good point about falling into the trap of playing for other DJs. I’ve done that too – showing you can do long, smooth mixes just because so-and-so is in the room.
But just because you can drive a car smoothly, doesn’t mean you can’t slam the brakes on, head into a handbrake turn and pull off again at top speed, clipping the kerb as you do so every now and then! Pro drivers may not approve, but thrillseeking passengers will love it.
Likewise, mixing with broad strokes can be great fun
[ link ]Great analogy!
[ link ]I agree…even if a DJ wants to build a creative set. Some rooms will love the fluid set. Others I’ve noticed just like quick gratification.
Going from “good” to “great” is when you can do both.
Keep up the greatness Phil!
[ link ]Guilty. For both DJing and driving.
[ link ]Ah!!! so its not just in the uk where the crowd has a short attention span that is getting shorter by the year!!!
[ link ]LOL
[ link ]Try and find a couple of tracks from each genre with big intros that everyone’s knows. I use Gold Digger by Kanye West to go from House to Hip Hop because of how well known the intro is
[ link ]That’s a great point. The big intro or popular song from the next genre is always a great way to switch gear (to go back to Phil’s car analogy). Essential that’s what you need to do is switch from 1st to 3rd and back to 2nd ever so often. Big records always solves the problem.
[ link ]Don’t mean to sound like I don’t know what I am talking about but how do u “activate” elastic beatgridding on Itch 2.0 cos I have some tracks I have tried to beatgrid that end up out of grid further down the track cos of uneven tempos. I’m a novice here so would appreciate any input. Thanks
[ link ]You drop manual beat markers on the beat as often as needed in the track to keep everything in time – you may end up doing it scores of times in a really challenging track.
[ link ]Another tool to help mix it up is transition tracks.
There are a few (although a minority I admit) good tracks out there that’ll transition up and down the tempo traps for you.
Polygon by Dirtyphonics goes from 175 – 130 – 175
Raise your weapon by Deadmau5 goes from 130 – 140
Both great tracks in the right setting and you’ll find a lot more on soundcloud and some dj pools.
Another technique I’ve found works a treat is remixes.
[ link ]Theres plenty of house tunes that’ve been remixed into dubstep and sound pretty good! A stright cut at the breakdown and they wont know the difference
“Theres plenty of house tunes that’ve been remixed into dubstep and sound pretty good! A stright cut at the breakdown and they wont know the difference
” – great tip!
[ link ]A veritable point there! And from dub step to hip-hop maybe…? Oh the joys!
[ link ]You can also use low or quiet(no drum or bass line) points in tracks to mix in a new genre. No need to even beat match!
[ link ]I do it with bridges that have only vocals(quite flares are fine too), start the tune with the bridge slowly taking the mid up, and come in at the end of the bridge with a bit elevated delay, and take the fx out, it is a hard thing to switch between genres, not impossible though,
[ link ]Hey guys,
As a commercial DJ for the past 4 years I wouldn’t have been able to get by without being able to mix’n'match genres well. The gear I use is a set of CDJ-2000′s and and DJM-800 so not as “Digital DJ” as the rest of you but I do manage my music in rekordbox and play everything of a 64GB USB Flash Drive. I’ve found some great songs that work well with each other and also some that will enable me to go from one genre to the next really quickly.
Most of my sets now are predominantly House but the crowd often wants some Hip Hop and R’n'B thrown in there for good measure. If I’m wanting to switch it up to some Hip Hop and R’n'B from house I’ll use something like Gold Digger that Sean suggested, Jump Around is always a good one or even Single Ladies because it has a really great strong intro. The way that I usually mix Jump Around is to let the song fade out to nothing to get the crowd hyped and then drop it. Crowd goes wild and I’ve switched it up
.
If I’m going to opposite way I’ll either use something like Infinity – Guru Josh Project or Show Me Love – Mobin Master because they both have a noise generated fade at the start. Other times I’ll use tracks that change BPM during the track like Imma Be (92 – 121 I think) or one of my favourites to play is Usher’s Yeah and when it gets towards the end, I’ll loop the 8 beat “Yeah” bit, and speed it up to 130 over 8 bars and then drop in Chris Brown’s Yeah 3x which brings the energy right up.
Obviously this is all specific to me here in Australia but the same principles can be used anywhere
James
[ link ]Another good point here: looping the last 8 and ramping up/down the BPM to suit!
[ link ]Mixing Usher’s Yeah and Chris Brown’s Yeah was a good idea.
[ link ]For allround sets where lots of genres are thrown onto a pile you cannot plan that much. You do not know upfront if the crowd will react on massive rock themes or if they prefer general chart stuff.
So preparation is more of a daily work in trying to archieve your tracks correctly so you find them easy …
A lot of different genres can be beatmixed or you could use the breaks to change genres and big BPM shifts and still keep a flow.
Other possibilities is the use of a delay effect to “fade out” a track and start the other.
But what I personally love is throwing in tracks with killer starts/intro’s everybody knows to lift the atmosphere even higher and provoque style changes.
Tracks like killing in the name – song2 – sad but true – temple of love … bring a lot of energy even on a clubbing crowd.
Biggest pit for allround dj’s … falling into routine. Some classix do work together if you have a different crowd in front of you every week you could reuse the same “minimixes” over and over again without looking to new exiting combinations.
[ link ]I really agree with you here especially about not being able to plan. I don’t think I’ve ever planned a set but what I do do is go into a gig knowing a brief overview of what I think the night will be. I have my “minimixes” which I throw in every so too which are great because you know them intimately.
I also don’t think I would ever plan a set because then I would be too static and not react to the crowd as much. I love it when people come up to request a song for my to point to my decks and say “you mean this one?”. Maybe it’s because I know my venues so well but I much prefer reading the crowd on the night rather than planning ahead
[ link ]Well advised regarding the use of breaks. I personally use breaks in deck 3/4 on Traktor to accent or move between tracks and it’s never crossed my mind to use them to transition BPM! Hello! Doh!
[ link ]You touched on it but it’s a point worth stressing and even Judge Jules has mentioned it:
Making edits.
Many DJs make edits of every tune they get to suit their style of mixing (even those predominately mixing one genre). It also allows them to know each track more intimately which is always a plus.
[ link ]Give the Ableton free trial a go (if you haven’t already), it lasts a month and you’d be surprised how much you can get done in a month if you set your mind to it!
I love multi-bpm songs (or morphs as I call them) and this one is probably my favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IQ_B3XAl3c it goes from house to hip hop to dnb.
[ link ]I put on a monthly worldbeat night with another DJ, and the sets include everything from salsa/merengue/cumbia to Afrobeat and from Balkan gypsy to bhangra. Some are originals, while others are electronica remixes and fusions. Some beatmatching; plenty of cutting because many tracks stop on a dime.
[ link ]Eclecticism rules the day, yet it’s surprising how often there’s a connective thread between tracks. On paper, it probably doesn’t sound like it would work, but we’ve been filling the venue for years.
Planning is a tough one, as the crowd varies considerably from month to month — maybe 15 percent regulars. Sometimes the crowd is older and they’re out for salsa. Other times we can get much more experimental. So reading the room is crucial.
Usually, I mix different genres by notes. Sometimes, I’ll introduce a new genre by opening it with a few notes of the Dragnet scene.
[ link ]My musical taste is vast and eclectic, as a true Gen Xer I a have grown to love all the music I have been exposed to since the 70′s. In the 70′s we had the Philly sound, Disco, Bombastic Rock Anthems, 50′s revivals (American Grafitti), Punk, Early New Wave and some very cheesy Pop. In the 80′s is were my love for EDM started with New Order, Yaz, Erasure plus all the bubble poppy New Romantic Stuff and who could for get all the Bands from MTV and the 60′s revivial. The 90′s gave me my first Tab and it opened my mind to all the EDM Greats Like 808 State, Orbital ,Crystal Method but also brought Britney, Christina, and a 70′s revival. My heart is still in the 2000′s though, I still love trance and electro. Add all these influences to growing up in Texas (outlaw and Nu-country)and later developing a respect and apprication for Baroque, Renesannce and Classical music. The hard part is not finding great music to move a crowd, but how to make flow seamlessly. I find it easier to blend styles and genres when doing corporates or resturants, but I would love to learn how to use my music knowledge to get people on the floor to dance (in an artistic way). Anyway, great article
[ link ]I make use of acapellas, loops and/or instrumentals to change genres. For example. I may be playing Single Ladies by Beyonce (as if no one knew lol). I would beatmatch the acapella version. Then, at a chorus break of my choosing, I would drop the original vocal version, leaving Beyonce singing. Then I would bring in an instrumental, maybe a reggae one or a more hip hop one or maybe an old school one, under the acapella. If you pick the right instrumental, the crowd will go nuts with the live remix you just did. I then drop the acapella at the appropriate spot, then bring it the vocal version of the song, or maybe even use another acapella over the instrumental (which may have to be looped) and let it ride and go from there. Oh…and sorry for the length.
[ link ]Hey!
I found this article through your newsletter. So, just a heads up: that’s working!
As for mixing multiple genres, I totally feel like it’s very important to. I find peoples attention spans and energy are quite short winded in the best of situations.
I use a Macbook Pro 15“ and Ableton as my DAW to produce/dj with. I use an Apc40 as my controller and a FastTrack Pro as my audio interface. Plugging that lil guy into the open channel in a mixer is easy as pie
and I have a combo laptop tray that I put both my mixer and computer on that latches to the lip of tables so I don’t have to put my gear on top of someone elses (feels rude).
I get myself ready for a set by basically picking a whole bunch of great high energy tracks that sort of encompass what I feel is great danceable music. Then I colour code them depending on their BPM, ie. light blue for 90bpm > bright red-orange for 180bpm.
With Ableton I can see all of my tracks on screen at all times. That rules. I can pick whatever track I know will make people dance at that moment.
Before my set, I just make sure I set a loop point at the start of every track so I can introduce a new mood while the previous track is playing out. I find this infinitely comforting. By doing that I don’t feel like I need to plan out a set list, I can just pick a few fav tracks to start my set out with and then wing it.
For instance, I was djing a really packed house party at Halloween and played myself in with a few tracks that I LOVED and just got everyone comfortable with the vibe that I guess I represented and then literally asked the people who were mashed up against the dj booth up front what they wanted to hear next:
“I’ve got some more house, some glitch-hop, some crazy dubstep and shwack of drumstep, what do ya want?!”
They picked dubstep and lead the crowd behind them in the freak-out dance mash that they were looking for!
Probably my favourite DJ experience to date! I love house parties so much more than clubs…
Anyway, does all that make sense?
[ link ]Nice narrative, good to see Ableton being used in this way. Thanks for sharing!
[ link ]Good tip. I use this one all the time!
[ link ]Love this piece. Strikes a real chord with me – no pun intended. I was a guest at an old-school reunion last weekend where I also DJ’d.
Let’s leave aside the dodgy cable that made my Creative soundcard ‘see’ no cable and make my software freeze. My set had everything from Bootsy, to The Beat, to Blue Oyster Cult because it was a reunion of folks at school in the 70′s. Even at my fledgling stage in my DJ career, I felt happy to chuck these in the melting pot and see what came out…
I’d do it again tomorrow.
[ link ]Although I haven’t actually tried it with MP3′s, I am guessing you could load a track into ProTools (and I think the feature is in Cubase as well) and use it’s elastic audio feature. It allows you to take the entire track and or part of it and work the tempo.
I would think that you could take the last x seconds of a song, grid it, let the software snap it to the grid, giving you an outro of exact beatgridded music. If you then export the song to a new wav (or mp3 for that matter) you should have something you could use for a good beatmatched mix.
I’ll go give it a try and let ya’ll know if it works. I understand most of you won’t have PT(10) and/or Cubase at their disposal (I do studio work occassionally so I am lucky to have access to it), but there might be someone in your network that does have it and will help you work through a batch of songs that need tweaking. After that they will forever be ready for you to use in your sets.
Greetinx,
[ link ]Chuck “DJ Vintage” van Eekelen
You can do it right there in Serato and MixVibes
[ link ]Interesting article and ideas. I love this forum! Just an addition, if someone had not said it already that is, if you are switching genres and cannot find a song with a good long intro, just slam in the next tune on the first beat. Try this with 50 Cent’s in da club and you’ll get the idea.
[ link ]