will i ever find that smooth transition

[dolecekj]

I mix Trance and Deep House. I did a great mix once, but I have tried to mix after that and i just can't make that perfect mix where you can't even tell when one tracks is another and you can't tell when it changed. I did this once. I have heard people it's bout track selection which brings millions of possibilities. What goes together other than tracks in he same key....what are you looking for when deciding if 2 tracks go together....I have mixed drums in the past, but if you are going to mix say synth or a bassline, im just trying to learn to mix this stuff. I have also use the slam technique.....as far as mixing synths how do you mix this smoothly?

[ImNoDJNo]

The answer is always the same:

Phrasing.

Learn it. Practice it.

Key is largely irrelevant compared to phrasing.

[KLH]

It takes a lot of practice to get phrasing down, but it really is the key to great mixes.

[dolecekj]

It takes a lot of practice to get phrasing down, but it really is the key to great mixes.

Phrasing is that where you count beats 4,8,12, 16,32?....which brings me another question. has does mixing work when there is a long fade, when it can sometimes run a full minute how do you get it on time. As you can see I'm just learning. So far I have learned 2 way to mix....#1 there is a fade and #2 instandly slam the next track instantly. ......trying to get a grasp and understand how a true fde works.

[Achmiel]

... So far I have learned 2 way to mix....#1 there is a fade and #2 instandly slam the next track instantly. ......trying to get a grasp and understand how a true fde works.

You really need to learn to use your EQs

[mitchiemasha]

ALSO!!! once you get good, you will notice tiny differences others don't. That seamless transition will be lost forever.

[Puregroove]

ALSO!!! once you get good, you will notice tiny differences others don't. That seamless transition will be lost forever.

^^^ This.

[ImNoDJNo]

..............

[DJ_Ade]

Phrasing is essentially maintaining structure of tracks and keeping key parts of the incoming/outgoing tracks together (without clashing) The beats will count into bars, and the bars will count into phrases,
Start a mix on the first beat of the final chorus, or outro, and fade it in gradually (depending on the next track) and see where that brings ya. Try to avoid crashing lyrics, it won't sound good.
With a basic understanding of structure of the music you play, it should come pretty naturally, nothing wrong with long transitions either, sometimes they can be great, again, this is going to be dependent on the tunes you mix.
On mobile gigs, sometimes, I use longer transitions as an opportunity to get on the mic, so I'm not crashing lyrics.

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[pete]

yeah you have the right idea.
there is no perfectly correct way to mix and searching for the "perfect mix" is a futile endeavour really.

you can lay the tracks out in a DAW and mix them "perfectly": very similar tracks, at the right moment, with a perfectly linear fade - but it will still be a mix.
[in fact with the two mixes in my signature, this is what i have experimented with].

It is often the case to listen to other DJs mix and compare yourself critically against this.
These DJs are often playing club tracks that are very minimal and percussive - simple to mix and very similar in style.
also they have spent days listening to the tracks and pre-preparing their mixes so they are lined up perfectly.

Having said all that, learning mixing is a journey with no end, with endless variations. The more you practice, the more you enjoy, the more you learn and develop your own techniques.

I remember a few years ago the D&B scene was all over Andy C because he lined up tracks so they dropped into their main verses at the same moment, declaring him a genius for inventing the "double drop" and the best mixer in the world.
Little did they know that Djs had been doing this for years, with cutting in and out elements of tracks and even beat-juggling, sometimes on 3 decks.

Remember back in the day there was no internet and limited info on any DJing techniques, anywhere.
I basically had to lock myself in a room for 6 months and practice day-in day-out on the world's most cheap and terrible equipment to work everything out from 0.
However, now I can mix on anything with completely unknown tracks and pull off a half-decent mix.
These days you can find loads of info given away for free [like on these forums], you just now have to practice a bit to get the skills.
Don't sweat it too much, and remember perfection is impossible.

This guy's youtube channel has loads of tutorials.


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