Beat Matching Tutorial 101

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Music today comes in many forms which add to the creativity and beauty of it. Beat matching refers to two musical compositions that go together smoothly and seamlessly. To achieve this, one of the songs needs to slow down or speed up in order to align the rhythms and achieve synchronicity. This skill basically needs a good pair of ears because you need to adjust the music yet keep the rhythm and the tempo of the two songs in sync.

Beat matching is a technique that is often used by DJs. It is also referred to as beat maxing. One track’s tempo is changed via time stretching or pitch shifting. There are a lot of factors that should be considered when using this music methodology. This includes attention to phrasing, equalization and track selection.

Beat Matching Tutorial

Here are some basic beat matching tutorials to get you started:

– Listen to one track by using your headphones. Use a main sound system (a turntable or CDJ) to listen to the other track.

– Pick a certain song or track that you will play through the main sound system.

– Pick another track in your headphones that you want to beat match with your chosen song. You may use a DJ mixer and cue for the track that you intend to use.

– Find the first beat of the track you want to mix and pause it there.

– Listen intently to the beat playing out from the main sound system. Allow the music to play until the first beat of a cycle. Remember that music played in 4/4 timing is built in cycles of 8 and 4 counts. When you think that the beat hits the first beat, this is the time that you play the beat that you want to mix in via the track in your headphones.

– When the two tracks are playing simultaneously, listen carefully with your headphones to know whether the beat you are mixing is going faster or slower than the main music. You can adjust the pitch slide accordingly if it is slower. If it is faster, turn down the pitch slider using the turntable or a CDJ until both of the tracks are of the same speed.

– When you successfully aligned both of the tracks smoothly using a DJ mixer, move the cross fader to its center. The bass should be cut on the beat that you are currently mixing in. Remember, it is no good if you have both basses of the track playing at the same time. Get a little timing and hit the switch basses slower or faster and then switch it over the next first beat of the first cycle on the next track.

Equipment

There are certain software and equipment that you need to successfully be skilled in beat matching. You may need the following (although, not all these are required for basic beat matching):

– direct-drive turntable
– minutoli
– headphones
– pitch control
– DJ Mixer
– slipmat
– mixing console
– a phono unit
– two turntables and a mic
– vinyl emulation software