Intermediate DJ Mixing Lesson on Chopping and Cutting

0:00 We've got a basic cutting tutorial here

Alright guys, we've got a basic cutting tutorial here. We've got two tunes from CDPool Urban 2014 July, track 1, disc 1, Amiri, a track entitled What I Want. We've got a tune over here by Dylan Francis and DJ Sneak, a track entitled Get Low. Two tunes as well at different BPMs. This one here is nearly 117 BPM in the centre point, this one here is 101.4. Now of course we could match them up but using this technique you don't even have to do that. You don't even have to beatmatch, you can just chop them straight in. Also what you've got to do, a lot of things to consider here is make sure they work together. They've got the same vibe, same kind of feel, the music flow will blend naturally and also you need, again very important, you need to make sure that you bring the track in to the track that's playing at the right point in a bar. There's no point just chucking it in anyway. In fact what we'll do, we'll do a demonstration of that.

Of the wrong way and the right way to bring it in. So again, this is What I Want. Taking the beat here by the way is taken from Apache, the old school tune.

OK we'll cue that up, let's have a listen here.

What I'm going to do now, I'm going to just try and find a couple of cue points or hot cues where I think it would be a good idea to bring the track in.

Let's go there.

There. Go to record, press. OK, let's have a listen to that hot cue and see where it is in time. In 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. So we've got it in time with a bar. Let's just find a random one now.

2:07 In on the count of 1

OK, that's not on the count of 1 so let's have a listen to Amiri again and bring the second one in on the count of 1 and see how it sounds. Probably awful.

1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. OK, I don't know if you can hear that but it just... It just didn't sound right. It wasn't in the correct time signature. Let's do the first hot cue, press the first hot cue.

OK, much better. Now I don't know if you noticed as well, if I'm going to be really critical, the get low track was a lot higher in volume. Of course we can rectify that by bringing the trim down on the get low tune. Alternatively, we could turn the trim up on the what I want tune. Alright, let's... Let's have a little bit of fun here now. Let's find another hot cue. I'm just going to pause the Amiri track.

3:22 Chop it straight in like that

So we've got... Oops, volume up.

Chop it straight in like that. Now this is a tiny drop in the ocean compared to what you could do with a tutorial or sort of... Tutorial, sorry. A mix like this. We could do a bit of a spin back. We could just stop the track, give it a second and bring the other one in. But of course if you did stop the track, you'd have to stop the track prior to the count of 1. Give yourself a small tiny... Fraction of the bar and then bring the next one in. So, let's do a spin back.

Let's just go back a bit.

Something like that. Again with all the demonstrations, tutorials, what you need to do is take a bit of this on board and use it in your mix, in your set. Practice and enjoy, thank you. And also just take little tips, thank you.

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