Mix Two Songs Together
Key Summary
DJing is significantly more technical than it looks from the outside.
Beatmatching, matching the beats per minute (BPM) of two tracks, is the foundation of any good mix.
The crossfader blends between two songs. Getting it smooth takes practice.
Knowing your music matters as much as knowing the equipment.
The real skill of a DJ is reading the room, not just the decks.
How It Started
This one started with a flatmate and a DJ set in his bedroom.
He used to DJ a lot, and I'd always been curious about what was actually involved. It seemed like a natural Project 50 skill, and having the equipment and someone to teach me right there made it hard to say no.
We spent an afternoon at the decks, and he walked me through the basics of how to blend two songs together.
The Experience
The first thing that struck me was how much was going on at once.
Two decks, one on the left and one on the right. A crossfader in the middle to blend between them. A set of EQ knobs to adjust the high, mid and low frequencies of each track. Jog wheels to nudge the timing forward or backwards. Headphones to listen to the incoming track before bringing it into the mix. And a lot of other dials and buttons I didn't fully get to grips with in a single afternoon.
The process of mixing two songs goes roughly like this. You have one song playing on the left deck. You load the next song onto the right deck and listen to it through the headphones to find the right moment to bring it in. You match the BPM, the tempo of both tracks, using the pitch fader so they're playing at the same speed. You align the beats using the jog wheels so they hit at the same time. Then you gradually move the crossfader from left to right, fading the first song out and bringing the second one in.
In theory, simple. In practice, everything needs to happen at once, and if the beats drift even slightly out of sync, you hear it immediately.
The part I found most satisfying was adjusting the tempo and feeling the two songs lock together. The part I found hardest was anticipating the right moment to make the transition and keeping everything in sync while it was happening.
What surprised me most was how much control you actually have. The EQ knobs alone let you completely change the character of a track, boosting the bass, pulling back the mids, softening the highs. It was far more nuanced than I'd expected.
What I Took Away
It's a genuinely fun skill to play around with, and I have a lot more respect for DJs after spending an afternoon trying it out.
What I didn't expect was how much streaming has changed things. Spotify and Apple Music blend tracks automatically now and do a pretty decent job of pairing music.
However, knowing your music, understanding what energy a room needs and having the instinct to read that in real time is the part that separates a great DJ from a good playlist. In short, curation.
Would I want to learn it properly? Probably not. I think I'd rather be on the dancefloor. But it was a brilliant afternoon and a skill I'd recommend anyone with access to a set of decks to try at least once.
Special Thanks
To my flatmate Dan, for letting me loose on his decks and not wincing too visibly at the results.
Mix Two Songs Together
Key Summary
DJing is significantly more technical than it looks from the outside.
Beatmatching, matching the beats per minute (BPM) of two tracks, is the foundation of any good mix.
The crossfader blends between two songs. Getting it smooth takes practice.
Knowing your music matters as much as knowing the equipment.
The real skill of a DJ is reading the room, not just the decks.
How It Started
This one started with a flatmate and a DJ set in his bedroom.
He used to DJ a lot, and I'd always been curious about what was actually involved. It seemed like a natural Project 50 skill, and having the equipment and someone to teach me right there made it hard to say no.
We spent an afternoon at the decks, and he walked me through the basics of how to blend two songs together.
The Experience
The first thing that struck me was how much was going on at once.
Two decks, one on the left and one on the right. A crossfader in the middle to blend between them. A set of EQ knobs to adjust the high, mid and low frequencies of each track. Jog wheels to nudge the timing forward or backwards. Headphones to listen to the incoming track before bringing it into the mix. And a lot of other dials and buttons I didn't fully get to grips with in a single afternoon.
The process of mixing two songs goes roughly like this. You have one song playing on the left deck. You load the next song onto the right deck and listen to it through the headphones to find the right moment to bring it in. You match the BPM, the tempo of both tracks, using the pitch fader so they're playing at the same speed. You align the beats using the jog wheels so they hit at the same time. Then you gradually move the crossfader from left to right, fading the first song out and bringing the second one in.
In theory, simple. In practice, everything needs to happen at once, and if the beats drift even slightly out of sync, you hear it immediately.
The part I found most satisfying was adjusting the tempo and feeling the two songs lock together. The part I found hardest was anticipating the right moment to make the transition and keeping everything in sync while it was happening.
What surprised me most was how much control you actually have. The EQ knobs alone let you completely change the character of a track, boosting the bass, pulling back the mids, softening the highs. It was far more nuanced than I'd expected.
What I Took Away
It's a genuinely fun skill to play around with, and I have a lot more respect for DJs after spending an afternoon trying it out.
What I didn't expect was how much streaming has changed things. Spotify and Apple Music blend tracks automatically now and do a pretty decent job of pairing music.
However, knowing your music, understanding what energy a room needs and having the instinct to read that in real time is the part that separates a great DJ from a good playlist. In short, curation.
Would I want to learn it properly? Probably not. I think I'd rather be on the dancefloor. But it was a brilliant afternoon and a skill I'd recommend anyone with access to a set of decks to try at least once.
Special Thanks
To my flatmate Dan, for letting me loose on his decks and not wincing too visibly at the results.