You can also highlight which phrase you feel is best as a point to start mixing into the track.Īll of this “marking” can be achieved with setting ‘Cue Points’ and ‘Memory Cues’ in Rekordbox or Serato DJ, most DJ software allows you to do this.Īs you can see in the image of Rekordbox above, I’ve used HOT CUES to help put in markers to represent the sections or phrases that I know I can either use as a Cue point or a marker of when to start mixing in a new track. If you use DJ software for example, you can go through a track and pin point each section of a track. The other method you can use is more visual than purely listening. This is a great way for you to get to grips with listening to music in a different way and become a better DJ. Having the silence signifies that there’s a change coming the music track and also shows that it’s the end of the second phrase. The second being silence of the drum pattern, allow for the synth sound to pop through. The first being a reverse cymbal into a crash cymbal. Let’s visually map out and look at how two phrases would match together in this scenario. Usually the Verse, I find, has less elements to the music track playing and therefore is a good section of a song to mix in the intro of a new track. Usually a chorus is the cream of the crop and most melodic part of a track that people like, dance and sing a long to, especially if there are vocals in the track.Ĭan you see why it’s so important to know about song structure? Imagine mixing over the chorus of a really popular song? You be the flavour of the month as a DJ would you now!Ī good way to think about mixing phrases together is by letting the Chorus end and flow into the verse. My golden rule is generally not to mix in a track when a chorus is playing. Your next skill is to understand how you can pick which phrase on each song to start mixing together. chorus or intro) are the building blocks of both 8 beat bars and phrases. Essentially micro pieces of a song structure. In a close up of the beginning of the music track you can see the intro is made up of four phrases whereas the verse is only technically two phrase.Īs you can see DJing is a skill that requires you to understand music as building blocks. Note that in different genres of music phrases may be slightly different in length, maybe even 8 or 16. Notice the yellow and orange bars are consistent throughout the track, each made up of 32 beats per phrase. Phrases are at the top, music track is in the middle (pink) and below are different sections of the music track (multi-colours). Such as in the ‘Battle for Middle You’ by Julio Bashmore track, the chorus after the second drop is double the amount versus before the drop. Some song structures are made up of similar song structures or might have longer sections. Remember though that not all song structures will be the same across all tracks in your scene or music genre. The build up of an electronic music track is usually built up of:īelow I’ve taken ‘ Battle for Middle You‘ by Julio Bashmore.Īs you can see the song structure is very similar to the structure that I’ve stated above. Almost as if you’ve got auto-pilot switched on.Īll song structures are different but some genres have similarities so it does help if you’re a DJ sticking to one genre or even sub-genre. I knowing song structure allows you to better navigate and plan your way through where to best match and phrase match throughout your DJ set.Īt first this might seem a lot to take in, trust me when I say this, once you’ve got to grips with song structure and phrase matching, after a while it will seem second nature to you. It’s important to understand the structure of a song to help you DJ. I remember it as if it was yesterday when I learnt about phrasing and song structure, the penny dropped and I become much more of a confident DJ.
Learning when to mix in songs is a very valuable skill to have and acquire when in the process of becoming a DJ learning how to mix. These techniques help DJs to start mixing in a new track. Cue points can be set to indicate the end of a phrase or section in DJ software. DJs can count beats within a phrase, or listen out for drum fills or crash cymbals indicating the end of a phrase.
A section is built up of 32 beat phrases. Knowing when to mix in DJ songs is an essential skill that all DJs, great or small, will come across in the DJing learning process.