Intro and foundation of mixing

Mixing 101 

Not much needed to start but skills.

Now is the time

With the explosion of mixing software in the past few years anybody with a laptop, controller, and headphones can theoretically be a DJ at any event, provided that you have the right connections and skills. Technology has come a long way since the old days of carrying boxes of vinyl disks and heavy equipment to parties, but the foundation of doing a great job remains the same. No matter what program you decide to use, there are fundamental factors in mixing music all disc jockeys must know aside from knowing their audience and what music they want to hear. 

Beats Per Minute (BPM)

One of the most important basics of music mixing is BPMs. All genre's of music have BPMs that range any from the double to triple digits. Electronic music like progressive house can range from 120-130, and Hip Hop can go from 90-110 most of the time. Knowing these tempos and the music that come with it can help when mixing even when genres are not the same. Audiences can intuitively tell when changes in tempos occur especially if it is not done gradually, and knowing this one can plan playlists better, raising or lowering the tempo slider on the controller little by little. Although it can get more advanced with beat matching, just knowing this exists can help tremendously with your setlist. 

Software helps with your beat matching.

Chord or Key

Another important aspect of mixing is the chord or key in which the songs are playing at. Of course when two songs that are being mixed have the same key, and are similar BPMs they sound great and can be crossfaded more easily. Again technology helps us with software analyzing the music libraries and assigning them a chord or key depending on the settings. Learning how different chords play together and when songs should be pitched down or up manually to make them sound better with the other song being mixed is essential in making a great mix. 

This is only the beginning. As with everything things get more complicated and advanced, but knowing these basics and taking them with you through the next steps will help you in advancing your skills and becoming a better DJ.