Where to Connect Tracks

So far, you've learned about

• beats and bars
• phrases
• track structure
• BPM
• the basic controls of the DJ Simulator

and now you know all of them.

From here, we'll use them to think about how to actually mix two tracks.

The first theme is

"Where do you bring in the next track?"

That is the question.

In this lesson, we assume the speeds of the two tracks are already matched.

How to match tracks with different BPMs is covered on the next page.

You can't bring a track in from just anywhere

Even if you start track B from a random moment while track A is playing, you can still match the beats of the two tracks.

However, even if the beats match,

if the moment track A builds up and
the moment track B builds up are out of step,

the development of the tracks won't mesh.

So a DJ thinks about

where to overlap the two tracks, while looking at the structure of track A and track B.

That is what they consider.

The "mixing point" is not just one place

When you hear "where do you mix the tracks?", it may sound like you're choosing a single spot.

In reality, there are at least two places.

The place where you start bringing in track B

and

the place where you take out track A and finish moving over to track B

Those are the two places.

In between, there is

the time when track A and track B are playing at the same time

That stretch is the overlap.

In other words,

A only
→ bring in B
→ A + B
→ take out A
→ B only

That is the flow.

First, where does track B start?

When bringing in the next track, first look at the structure of track B.

For example, suppose track B has a structure like this:

the first 8 bars have few sounds, and then it builds up big

Assume that is the structure.

If you overlap these first 8 bars with track A,

you can create time to blend the two tracks before track B really builds up.

As you learned before, this quiet opening part is sometimes called the intro.

Next, where in track A do you overlap it?

Now look at track A.

For example, suppose track A has a structure like this:

the building part ends in 8 more bars, and then the sounds drop away

Assume that is the structure.

So, you bring in track B 8 bars before that.

Then,

Track A: sounds drop in 8 more bars
Track B: sounds increase in 8 more bars

is the state you get.

When 8 bars have passed,

A pulls back.
B comes forward.

You can make those changes happen at the same time.

Looking at the actual lesson tracks

Let's look at the two tracks used in "Connecting Two Tracks for the First Time."

Track A has thin top-layer sounds for the first 8 bars and builds up from bar 9.

Track B has only the kick for the first 8 bars, and the vocal comes in from bar 9.

So,

at bar 9 of track A

you bring in

the start of track B

and overlap it.

To picture it,

A: plays alone for 8 bars ──→ B overlaps from bar 9
B: 8 bars of only kick ──→ vocal

That is the picture.

For the first 8 bars, only track A plays. The overlap is bars 9-16 of track A.

The vocal of track B starts at bar 17 of track A.

That is why you need to bring track A all the way down by then.

If you don't bring it down, the two tracks keep playing overlapped.

If you bring in track B and advance 8 bars,

the moment A is fully lowered and the moment B's vocal starts

line up.

This is one of the reasons it sounded natural in "Connecting Two Tracks for the First Time."

Think from the start of a phrase

So when should you play track B?

The first candidate is the start of a phrase, which you learned about earlier.

When you match the phrase start of track A with the phrase start of track B,

the big developments of the two tracks are more likely to move along at the same timing.

For example, with a group of 8 bars,

A: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
B: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

it goes like this.

After 8 bars, both enter the next group at the same time.

What happens if you shift it by 4 bars?

Conversely, if you start track B 4 bars late,

A: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 → next
B: (offset) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 → next

it looks like this.

When track A changes to its next development, track B is still in the middle of its phrase.

Even if the beats themselves match,

the larger divisions of the tracks are out of alignment

in this state.

If you actually compare them by ear, it becomes easier to understand why we pay attention to phrases.

It's not only about "connecting an intro and an outro"

In explanations for beginners, it is sometimes put like this:

overlapping the intro of the next track on the outro of the previous track.

That is how it is sometimes explained.

This is one easy-to-understand method.

However, that is not the only place where you can mix tracks.

In this lesson's material, too,

the start of track B is overlapped while track A is still building up.

What matters is

not deciding by section names alone, but looking at how each track's development moves when the two are overlapped

That is what matters.

Where do you take out track A?

Once you've decided where to bring in track B, next think about how long to keep track A.

In this example,

8 bars after bringing in track B,

the sounds of track A drop away and track B builds up.

This is an easy-to-understand place to hand over the lead role from track A to track B.

However,

"always remove A after 8 bars"

is not a rule.

Depending on the tracks, you might

• overlap the two tracks for longer
• take A out earlier
• switch all at once

and so on.

For now,

between the place where you bring in B and the place where you take out A, there is a "section where the two tracks overlap."

Please understand this.

Just check the positions in the DJ Simulator

Here, you don't need to mix cleanly yet.

In the DJ Simulator,

1. look at the structure of track A
2. find the place where track A changes
3. look at the spot 8 bars before that
4. line up the start of track B there
5. see how the two tracks change 8 bars later

try checking all the way through these steps.

This time, it is practice in seeing where the two tracks overlap, not in which controls to use.

There isn't necessarily just one right answer

Even with the same two tracks, there is not necessarily just one place to mix.

Depending on where you bring in track B, how it sounds changes:

• overlapping the two tracks for a long time
• switching in a short time
• maintaining the energy
• letting things settle once

and so on.

From here on, the options increase depending on your goal.

At first, it's enough to start by

matching the start of the phrase

and

matching the place where A changes with the place where B changes.

That is enough to start with.