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hey,
how much do you adjust the bpm throughout the length of a set?
e.g. start 130BPM end 138BPM?
also for an 80min set do you build up the energy the whole time? or do you slow it down half way through etc.
thanks.
If the set is less then 1hr 20mins i'll start slow, lets say 132 then go up to 142.
2.5hr + set i' like to go up and down.
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There are no strict rules about how to change bpm during the set.
From my experience, it's better to start from 130 - 132 and then increase gradually. Peak set values are 140 - 142.
After 2/3 of the set have passed you should go down and end with no less then 134.
Right now I'm listening to ASOT (from DI fm) . I've just installed a winamp BPM counter and I mentioned that Armin started in about 134. Now (after 80 mins ) the bpm is at 138....
But don't forget: the above are not "RULES". You can do what you want...
Depends what im mixing. Softer i'll start maybe 138 and end at about 143. Harder i'll start maybe 142 and end around 147 or 149. I always keep pushing the bpm up during the set as i find it gives the set alot more energy. I have never dropped it back down anywhere in a set. If i want to mellow the set at any stage i'll just drop a more minimal tune.
"You are only limited by your imagination"
i try to keep it at around 124-128 the whole time. for trance though, usually i'll start a few tracks off at 132 ish but then take it to about 140ish the whole time
about every 4 songs i'll increase 1% to 1.5%. Works good for me.
Ive heard sets go extreme from 90 bpm up to 180.
it helps if you do pitch shifts in quiter parts of your track break downs, fader cuts, etc
also try not to move it to much to quickly, unless its for fx or in a quiter part of a track, try to move it as slowly as possibly if there is a beat
but anyway
Go crazy, as long as it sounds ok to you ( provided your not to smashed :-P ).
trance sets i usually start at 135 and finish around 141. But during that set, one thing i love doing at breakdowns is suddenly drop the pitch basically as far as it will go and as the song builds il bring the pitch up with it, adds so much more to the build and if i really wanna leave a mark do a building loop right at the end and kick up the gains a notch when it dropsfun times indeed
Hi there, i am new to djing and i just wanted to ask a few questions. I understand the idea of gradually increasing the bpm and building a set, i just wondered if this should be done with or without master tempo? Also do u find songs that are naturally in say a bpm of 130 would probably not sound that great with something that has a bpm of 134+? The reason im asking is i have read somewhere that the master tempo takes away the quality of songs if you move it more than 2/3 bpms. Also i am a big fan of armin van buuren what i like the most about his set at armin only 2008 is how every song he bought in over the other seemed to add renewed energy to the place, is there a special way of doing this ? Advice would be much appreciated! Thanks! Kez
Start low and leave master tempo off! I have found that on CDJs it doesn't sound as crisp when transitioning. Something with digital cd players just makes it sound off when mixing. You'll go off beat and then back on.Originally Posted by kezmen
Armin mixes in key which is why everything sounds so damn good and consistent. look up mixedinkey software. There's a nice tutorial on energy mixing and key jumping....
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good points here. definitely never use master tempo, it destroys the sound, not only during the transitions, but you can hear it during the track itself too. mixing in-key does help a lot, but since you don't use master tempo now, keep those pitch changes in mind. going up or down about 6-7% changes the pitch by a full semitone, so a track that's in C minor originally will be C# minor when you play it at +6%. note that the absolute pitch doesn't matter, what matters is the pitch difference between the two tracks you're mixing into each other (in other words, if one is playing at -6% and the next one is at +6%, you'll actually be off by TWO semitones - this is very extreme example though. however if both tracks are playing at +6%, you don't have to worry about key changes at all).
personally i like to pitch everything up by a bit, i hardly ever play anything at the original speed (usually i play at 142-143 bpm, with the tracks being around 138-140 bpm originally). but it depends on the individual tracks, some of them sound kinda weird when being pitched up by 2% already, while others that are 133 bpm originally sound perfectly fine when being played at 143 (again a very extreme example, but it does happen, in which case knowing how the key changes helps a lot).
timing is also important when mixing, you may already know this, but you must align the phrases of both tracks with each other and do the mixing accordingly, there's only so many points within each track where you can do that. when you got the timing right, do the fading and EQing at the right moments and have the tracks in-key as well, the transitions will sound totally perfect! (don't take some of those mixedinkey tutorials too literally though, some of them are quite ridiculous. however, you definitely want your transitions to be in-key.)
Starting low at about 128-132 BPM and then going up and down.. Finishing with a 130ish vocal track
That was INTENSE! Well, not really intense. But pretty intense.
I wouldnt say there's a right way to do it. It's all down to the style of music you're playing. Personally i start around 130-132. It lets me play a lot more progressive trance without having to play it too far out of its original key. As people above have said, definitely do not use master tempo. With trance especially it sounds utterly horrific. It makes transitioning difficult, it also affects the sound quality of the rest of the track. So where possible, mix in key. If you cant avoid a key change or have to move into a key that is not compatible then do the transition a little later in the track than you would normally when key mixing. I usually end up with my set around the 135-136 mark. I occasionally get as high as 140, but it all depends on what i'm playing and how long i'm playing for.
In a 1-2 hour set for me normally around 130 at start then end up around 135-6
Id go from 140 - about 160 depending what tracks ive picked! Some older hard house was made at seriously high tempo's! Almost Hardcore standards..
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