Forum: Mix lessons - Topic: BPM & MIXING GUIDE [manual BPM edit and more] - Page: 1

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BPM & MIXING GUIDE
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As there are many new users to VirtualDJ, I think this guide is needed.
Most info here have been posted before, but collected the info for one easy-to-use guide for
new users.

VDJ get the BPM right for most songs, and specially songs that are in a regular beat, such as
house, disco, dance etc. But as many other programs, finding the right BPM for hiphop, r'n'b,
and some pop/rock music can be tricky.

Having the right BPM for all files are essential for VDJ to work right, for example when it
comes to looping, beatmixing etc.

It's some work to do this, but definitively worth it :)

It's easy to check if a file have right BPM or not. Try playing a song, and try loop with 4 or 8
beats. If it sounds like a perfect loop, the bpm is right.

There are several ways to find the right BPM, and here are 3 good ways :
-manual tapping the beat
-using autobpm and enter value into VDJ
-using Mixmeisters bpm-program and enter the value into VDJ

There are two values to keep in mind when adjusting songs in VDJ:
(1) finding the right BPM, secondly , (2) aligning Computer Beat Grid to fit under the beats.

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INTRO: ALL MUSIC CAN BE BEATMIXED
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First a little theory
(thanx jukesy from the atomixmp3 forum):

"All music is made up of repetitive loops and patterns. For example most sequencers and
music tools for music creation such as Acid Pro, Fruityloops etc.. use loops to create a
final song. These patterns, the majority of the time, stay the same length for the whole
tune, i.e the tempo of the tune does not change. (unless you are trying to mix with
Aphex Twin or other artists that bend the rules of music making)

The basis of mixing two tunes together is matching these pattern lengths. Every song
has a tempo, beats and bars. All you have to do is work out (by listening to the tune) the
length of the pattern. Once you have the length of one pattern for one tune you need to
match the second tune's pattern to the same length.

A pattern is basically when some part of the music repeats itself."

So, all music can be beatmixed, all music can be made to a prefect loop.. you can even
beatmix a hiphop song with a pop song, or even rock song, its all about finding the right
bpm / cbg, and it works like a charm :)

So, music is repeated patterns – usually 4 beat pr pattern
Also, keep in mind that hiphop/r'n'n/drum&bass will remove or change one of those
beats, but it's still 4 beats pr bar – it's just that you can't "hear" it often, but it feels like
its there..

(from jukesy)
"By removing the bass drum every other beat and by adding in some extra
snares/symbols etc... you end up with a drum and bass beat.
…by removing more beats .. you end up with a hip -hop beat etc"


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FINDING RIGHT BPM & ALIGNING CBG
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there are some tools that can help you finding the right bpm.

(1) AUTOBPM gets the right bpm for almost any song. Choose a range (50-100 for
slowers songs or 75-100 for hiphop etc)…
When u see the pattern (grapics) in autobpm move in a steady manner, the bpm is right.

(2) use Mixmesters bpm program, for many files and even directories. (WARNING – use
this program only for new ripped files, and not for files that are already scanned/used by
VDJ, because sometimes this program can change the size of the file, and you must
rescan the file in VDJ, loosing comments, cue-points etc)

(3) Or you can manually tap the beat by right-clicking the song in VDJ, choosing "edit
bpm" for the song you are playing.


Now, enter the value from autobpm/mixmeister bpm into the song in VDJ. It will not be
always perfect, but close. (if manually tapping, the value is already there)

Next is to adjust for perfect values. Right-click song and adjust bpm with arrows so that
beat-bars have the same pattern as cbg dots, and are aligned (one dot under each beat
bar) CBG are those dots you see under the waveform (computer beat grid) and are very
important to be aligned for VDJ's beatmix engine, loops, samples etc.

If the cbg dots and beat bars are not aligned but stay in a pattern, use the cbg arrow to
move the cbg dots too (you will find these arrows in a pro skin, for example Fruit's
Pioneer 700 skin)

Look towards the middle and end of song. If beat-bars and cbg stay aligned together,
everything is perfect. If they start to move a part, play the song, and slowly adjust bpm
with arrows to make it fit cbg.

A great guide for this is here:
http://www.virtualdj.com/forum/display.html?topic=2509
(thanx Fruit)


Also, for a perfect mix, cbg should be aligned to first beat of measure (the big cbg dot).
"..By ensuring that the first beats of your patterns are matched and continue to be
matched every four bars/repetition of pattern then your mix will sound in time and
match.."

ALWAYS MATCH THE START OF A PATTERN OF ONE TUNE TO THE START OF A PATTERN
OF ANOTHER otherwise you will end up with breaks/vocals/melodies/tones all in the
wrong place and the mix wil sound terrible.

The first beat of the measure/pattern is almost always the first beat of the song. Make
sure the big cbg dot is aligned to the first beat. Not always in hiphop / r'n'b songs,
because they have a cool intro or something. So, the first beat is almost always where a
new verse starts, see if the big dot is repeated at every verse start, if not move the big
dot to that place…


That's all folks :) happy mixing

autobpm link
www.pyramidedata.dk

mixmeister bpm link:
http://www.mixmeister.com/bpmdownload.htm

if anyone fint this guide useful, please know that the credit goes to Fruit for excellent explaination on bpm/cbg adjust...

and jukesy (atomixmp3 forum) for his insight on music


thank u both, and spesially Fruit for all his wisdom and helpfullnes!!

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update on bpm analyse
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INSTRUCTIONS ON USE VDJ DATABASE UPDATER:

This part of the thread gone out of date Removed, by DJ in Norway

thx

Why can’t the VDJ Dev Team write its own version of the DATABASE UPDATER and incorporate it into the software so this is done automatically?

Thanks for providing the info.

OO

b.t.w. This thread has been very helpful!

Mr in Norway,you sir are a true dj!
Ive been djiing for 27 years and
this is the first time ive read a text on mixing
that is so clear for the beginner who wants
to kick butt.
I would like to add to all dj's :Golden Rules (DJ Andre Landry)
1;Always please the crowd
2;All songs are structured to be mixed in this order:intro,verse,
bridge,chorus,break MIX or repeat the 2nd verse..etc
3;Always, if possible of course look for a break beat without
a melody ,this is often overlooked ,djs frequently mix melodies
or syth riffs that dont musically go together.Thats the feeling you get when you know you are" ON BEAT "but it doesnt sound right.This the reason.This also applies with bass lines but you dont hear it as much.You can loop a drum break live
and then just mix in the perfect intro for the next song,you
end up with two drum beats every into and break...etc see
rule 2
4;You have to realize that your cant change the world. People
like old music so take out those old tunes and remix the krap
out of them the possibillities are endless
5;Never work for free
6;Associate faces with music if you know what she wants
play it!You will be able to keep your dance floor busy.
7;You must always take in consideration the sound of your
mixing 2 songs=2kick drums and 2snare drums...etc so you
must always reduce your bass as your crossover.You will
not hear the next song coming in.The transition will be a lot smoother.
8;"Punch ins" are not a crime.On a crowded dance floor if you
punch in a song at the break make sure your next song is pitched up.This raises the intensity of the crowd.
9;Never leave any personal equipment or music behind always
lock it up!
10;Stay away from drugs and alcohol!you will be able to dj a
lot longer!!!!

Its the greatest job in the world,Makin people dance Man

:)(:

thanx... and great tips from u :)

Hey guys
I most tell you I just suitch to Virtual DJ. Just by reading this instruction and the results are alsom. We where using TRAKTOR it's a great software but the suport it's tereble, is like you don't exist. You only have the loops and filter to play with, now whith Virtual DJ and all the FX, samples,loops etc...
the creations are endless.
I most confest we try Virtual DJ before and we heated it, we where having lots of problems with it. Now after the last update we try againg and it is perfect :-)
Thak you guys.

Good to hear ;) and welcome here ...

VDJ seem to improve and develop in a fast speed, and as a full user you will get upgrades and updates for free...

Both things that other dj software dont seem to do :) And one big reason for me getting VirtualDJ as my dj software

hi froma luca dj

I have just got virtual DJ and am using some MP3 i had downloaded, i had the right deck playing a drum N bass track at 140bpm and selected beatlock on both decks.
The problem i have is the second track i am trying to mix plays really fast and even at 140pm the beat lock makes it sound double that speed.
This only occurs on deck 2 but deck 1 is going at the right speed.
Any ideas why this happens, sorry if it is confusing not to sure how to explain it.

many thanks

Rob

beatlock MATCHES the 2 songs...
Therefore one of the songs (or even both, depending on settings) are pitched (tempo change) to fit the beat of the other song = speeds up one song

turn off beatlock and try

Hey guys
Im a newbie DJ (i have my first pary in 3 days) i am in dire need of tip and tricks to be a good DJ coz i wanna be good at this. if possible please can you make it shoart and simple since i have a major case of ADD =P.
Peace

Hey Guys, excellent instructions. Even an old fart like me can understand and follow. I've been a DJ for 20 years, but never really beat mixed. It's alot of fun to learn something new. What would be cool though if someone with skillz were ambitious, would be a short video using VDJ showing how the above theory is put to practical use. The instructions are clear and concise, but some people are more visual learners. Just an idea. Great job y'all keep it up!

I'm new to Virtual Dj. I'm thinging of buying the software but I need clarification on whether you can listen to songs you are cueing up while the other song is playing when playing through a mixer.

Thanks DJ RAB

Hi DJ Rab and welcome to VDJ...:o)

You can indeed listen to your next song while the first one is playing, but i'm led to believe this function is not available in the demo version.

When you buy the full version, you have different soundcard settings that let you choose how you want to play your music...and cueing is one of them with an external mixer.

Looking forward to you joining us soon...

Keep spinnin'

P

can you please try to explain illustrate the the using of the vdj by animations or something. it makes it much easier, i am only a dj,u know!

Help me album DJ York

01. Intro
02. Terror Squad - Lean Back
03. Snoop Dogg feat. Pharell - Drop It Like It's Hot (DJ York Remix)
04. Destiny's Child - Soldier (Remix)
05. Jamelia - DJ
06. Mariah Carrey feat. JD & Fatman Scoop - It's Like That
07. 50 cent - Disco Inferno
08. Ja Rule - New York
09. Ja Rule - Wonderful
10. Mario - Let Me Love You
11. 2Pac - Baby Don't Cry (DJ York Remix)
12. Party Break
13. DMX - X Gonna Give It To Ya (Reggae Remix)
14. Sean Paul & Ziggy Marley - Three Little Birds
15. Gwen Stefani feat. Eve - Rich Girl
16. Jenifer Lopes / Usher- Get Right / Ride
17. Brandy - Afrodisiac
18. 50 Cent feat MH - Candy Shop
19. Wyclef Jean - Labamba
20. Party Break - Pump The Jam
21. D&G & Fatman Scoop - Get Up & Dance
22. Ciara - Goodies (DJ York & DJ Light Remix)
23. Linkin' Park & Jay-Z - Numb
24. Party Break
25. Ciara - 1,2 Step
26. Snoop Dogg - Signs
27. Eminem - Just Lose It
28. Dj Rectangel - Old School Break
29. Destiny's Child - Loose My Breath (Remix)
30. Kelis - Milkshake (Remix)
i need album of him . help me :((

?????