DJ Tutorial,How to structure your mix

www.djtutor.com/counting
Take your mix from a good mix to a pro mix.
in this tutorial we look at counting the bars /phrases in the toons.
By counting the b/ ph at the beginning and end of each toon can help you with the structure of your mix and take it to the next level.
right cdj, Andre Harris " is it music" vocal mix.
left cdj, junior Jack (stupidisco) " Dare me"

[@jasystems]

Dude, What a great and easy way to count bars. I always heard about counting 32/64 beats, but the term is actually bars. Then there's phrases... this makes all the sense in the world! Thanks again ! Jose A. Miami, Florida - USA

[@a3s3s3s]

i watched this video a couple of months ago, and i had no idea what he was talking about..but im watching it right now and i completly understand everything. Thats wat Practise n Njoy-ing gets you!

[@goonervillegonad3662]

I always brought it in after every 64 bars. Worked it out for myself as a kid. I understood structure of songs as a young child. If you have to be taught it, you don't feel it, and youll always mix like a robot regardless.

[@goonervillegonad3662]

Tilen P. You want some?

[@ElDaumo]

Goonerville Gonad bs

[@goonervillegonad3662]

karottenkoenig Keep practicing mate. You might get there.

[@goonervillegonad3662]

Oh ffs, please. Two decks are not a fucking musical instrument by any stretch of the imagination. Behave lad.Another bod with no rhythm chimes in!

[@heathgolden1035]

Goonerville Gonad

[@MrSneppe]

ellaskins, you sir are a hero, because i know some cocky dj's who think everyone's in there for himself, but you help beginning dj's by explaining all kinds of think from how to beatmatch, to how to scratch, ty so much

[@ellaskins]

to kakejelly, like a few people have said 99% of dance is quite well structured so just so long as you bring in the next toon in on time/ bar/phrase you will be fine , but this sort of mix is the kind of thing you would do for a pro cd.

[@G10R6Y0]

You are great DJ.. I think there are few DJs around who want to teach the beginners but they do not think that they too were once like us .... i respect you, you are great ....

[@philly8301]

Jonathan, you said in one of your videos that you do not consider yourself the best dj in the world, But i think that is the complete opposite, because the best dj would have all the creativity and knowledge that you put in your videos, and to top it off the skill to make any party overload with excitement, the knowledge that you gave me by watching your videos made me expand my creativity, knowledge and motivation to become professional,Thank you very much and keep up the good work

[@JuttMC]

This was absolutely amazing mate. Massive props.

[@leewalkerphotog]

first of all thanks for all the tutorials its down to you that i even know how to cue a track the way you explain things is just brilliant every dj should watch these videos because after a while every thing you teach becomes second nature and you dont even have to think about it and ultimatly we all become better djs cheeeers

[@gosuyun]

man just wonderful! love your way of explaining and your straight and clear way of thinking and speaking! thanks for the tipps

Started practising for a month when i've just bought my axis 4s and my vmx 200...you're the best teacher...thanks for inspiring me! ;) Cheers from Hungary!

[@energypy]

I'm trying to be a Dj.. and this guy is really my hero!!!! and the worst part is that I'm not a native english speaker... but I understand the vidio and try to do my best thank you so much!

[@dwilt4rville]

You are fabulous. You explain things so well. I will be following your videos for as long as you put them out. Thank you for being so thorough.

[@skv0ra]

I noticed that on my own, but through knowing my tracks and intuition. Awesome and clear tutorial on the concept, kudos!

[@BoxMonsters]

one of the best tutorials i've seen so far mate, keep up the good work :)

[@minimalist34]

i think this is a great tutorial for any dj starting out because understanindg the actual structure within in the beats makes a djs mix that much more smooth, took me awhile to get the hang of it, i could beat match perfectly fine but one day it just clicked ever since then its easy to see how tracks link up to a certain point and a nasty drop is imminet!

[@sterlingrollins5498]

youre the best teacher for anything dj perhaps in the world. thank you for youre thousands of videos

[@JRowland14]

your the definition of passion bro, love your stuff

[@spindel2268]

yo bro good work! your post is prob. the most helpful and thought out tutorial I've seen. thanks for all your help trying to make others become a better dj. hopefully we all thank you for your hard work and dedication to the music and teaching others become better Dj's.

[@DjCapnWolf]

Man, that sounds so sweet! Awesome! Thanks so much for the tips. Your advice on structure is very sound, and right on. I'll keep on practicing and... enjoying! Cheers, mate!

[@triacam]

I'm new to beatmixing. This is the best tutorial i've seen yet. thank-you :)

[@SMDesignNZ]

You are an absolute inspiration to get into this. Thank you very much.

[@TheMattBourbon]

Great video and great advice thanks man. I going to go work on my pro mix now!

[@neelzo]

i reckon this is the best way to learn, structure your mixes when your practicing... song selection is where your style fits in... EQing, lil bit of effects at the right time, diff creative ways to tranisition your mix, loops, samples thats what makes a good DJ... but that takes PRACTICE :) anyone can be a Dj, just takes alot of commitment, its how much your willing to keep at it, you can only get better everytime

[@schmatzkeks]

You're doing a great job at creating tutorial-videos! :D And I like how the place you're filming at just looks like your house is FULL of instruments and stuff :D each time another place and other stuff. Great!

[@th3juic3isloos3]

Awesome vid, all your videos are good but this is by far the most important one. Every dj no matter what skill level must understand these principals.

[@cmsstacker123]

this is what a medium dj should do if he wants to be a dj...a pro dj will do many more than this like a bit of delay and a change of key....But it is really a good and useful tutorial...

[@rfcbarry88]

this makes perfect sense :D this is what mixing is all about i loved it when i tried to mix 2 tunes together without structuring it and it was just messy this guy has great knowledge and i respect him cheers john ;)

[@audiodust01]

Great Tutorials man and quite entertaining to watch. Thumbs up!

[@riddmkidd]

Thank you for posting this! paying attention to phrase lengths is something that few djs seem to focus on. too many times i've been grooving to a track and feeling the phrases and the next song cuts in halfway through a phrase killing the climax of a buildup. keep posting videos!

[@dev2down]

Omg you are one off the best Technical Advisor ever, and your trick its simple, go back to the roots off the logic of music and practice and enjoy till your fullfill your own satisfaction great work almost finish to see all your vids and its to much !!!

[@connorxduddy]

great skills man, seriously. every video is great!

[@24NeoLeo]

That is one of the best tutorials ever! Every sentence you said was just spot on and gave me all the facts! Are you a teacher?

[@GCH1993]

mate your videos are brilliant!

[@DVIOUSD1]

jonathan you tell it how it is ...love ya vids man.....helped me loads dude safe bro

[@digby3573]

You are on the ball dude, thanks.

[@mastermayday]

Thanks for the vid! I gave it a shot and came up with a decent mix. Cheers man!

[@traxonwax]

This is the part of being self tought that I ever got. But I'm learning. Great Video!

[@vratnakishore]

I continued it like that till the next DJ arrived at the club playing around 10-12 tracks. and my friend came to me and said he will teach me in 2 weeks to play completely on my own with out looking for help from other DJ... I provide my friend with music as he is a french one and I'm from India and we favor listening Indian music in the club.. He is a busy scheduled DJ and he can take rest while I learn as the club owners and manager are our friends, they let me play when the club is not full..

[@Tubbergen]

Thanks for the tutorial. It helped me a lot. I´ll practice!

[@momeio]

absolute legened. cheers mate.

[@slamdownwarfare]

it seems to be pretty easy! ^^ love all your videos mate

[@DKF22]

OMFG AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! I always tried doing this but could never figure it out how to line them properly

[@twrea]

Outstanding, totally on point!!

[@Johnmad86]

very articulate! I like it said simple and understandable like you tell it. Nice work!

[@bcd303]

i think this is the best vid you have done!.

[@digital-alchemist]

Great advice. Well done tut

[@IOWPCV]

Great video j. !

[@FectoReviews]

That's how I do it also. I'll throw my tracks into Virtual DJ and keep watch on the breaks and such, then I'll take note on where to bring in the track. After that I'll fine tune it all on the actual decks and then I'll jot down the position of the pitch after I get it beat matched, so at the show, I'm all set and can focus on the crowd more. :P

[@Biggithor1]

Dude thank you for the tutorial videos!

[@rob8302]

hi thanks for all your videos they are a big help

[@philly8301]

@Archon349 it is all about the music, it doesnt matter what format it comes in, its the way you bring it to life.

[@brettland]

very good stuff J. thanks.

[@tigreoo7]

AWESOMEEEEEEEEE MAN .. YOU R THE BEST..

[@Ulyssestnt]

Man this is actually very good advice,where were you when I abandoned DJ'ing to go join the military?

[@djdamage514]

i don't need help with my mixes.. but you're entertaining to watch nonetheless.. i appreciate the passion you put into what you do.. keep it up

[@Edo87]

Great teaching, best tutorial i have found

[@Dani1165]

its tough, but after all the fucking up you become a master. This feels like a math class. Though he's essentially teaching what most djs eventually come to learn through practice, I think if someone started off using a tutorial like this they might get stressed out and give up!

[@TonicKemestry]

@ComatoseElf I feel you on THAT man, most people can't afford a new DJ set when they start out, SO VDJ or software is the way to go, But people become a slave to the Sync button and never learn to really beat match by ear, more people mix with a computer because it takes the skill out of it.

[@sasmihaly]

i know it's an old video but, great help for the beginners! Thank You!!

[@bigBthejambo]

what a legend, cheers

[@Yamakoto120]

Incredible !

[@woolensheep192]

@mihranerniasyan actually if you carry a laptop with traktor or serato then you can take all of your songs with you anywhere and still play on cdjs or a vinyl turntable

[@richardp1233]

Great Tutorial! subscribed :D

[@FiPoSan]

fantastic ellaskins thanks for all your vdos

[@masaharu10k]

fantastic fantastic!!

[@PineappleCrusher21]

Does anyone have a link to ellas' live set? Be it audio or video (extra points for a soundcloud), I would love to listen to him do a full set as I'm sure it's amazing. These tutorials are amazing. Keep em coming!

[@this1900]

We're on the next level :)

[@ruimana81]

Very Importante this video,

[@corruptInt3nt]

Ellaskins is so helpful, he's helped me become a better DJ

[@TheJohncom]

man you are a genius!!

[@g000we]

Very good. :). It sounded professional to me!

[@djfrostbyte7389]

Thank you so much!!!

[@serjjturcan]

This is all about, practice practice practice and enjoy.

[@jn45672]

Usually on any house,electro,progressive, track, the phrase begins at 1.00 or 1.30, (what i mean by this is either a new beat comes in or vocals at this stage) and usually ends (looses a beat or vocal) at 1.00 or 1.30/35 at the remainder of the track, so as soon as 1.30 - 1.35 sec remains at the end of one track cue the other track in and vise/versa. As elaskins said you should find the end & start of a track first and see where the phrase ends/starts as i said usually at 1.00 or 1.30/35.

[@VaporRize08]

i love you. thank you 4 the vid

[@mihranerniasyan]

@mihranerniasyan DJ MIKE you right for that but still i am an old skool guy and for me the laptop is a extra tool for the new dj's i've been learning on a tapes and is realy hard to get yoused to it , also the beatlock on (TRACTOR , VIRTUAL DJ and many athers)is the first think you cklick when you add a track on, so basicly the program is making half of the mix the beatmaching is not an eazy job however thats the way i think ;) thanks to all you you for reading this !

[@gosuyun]

really clear And understandable talking!

[@fleewithin]

I just feel the bars instead of counting them. And I have come to realise that structuring your mixes so perfectly down to a tee can be problematic, one little hiccup and you've thrown yourself off. For me it's all about the feel, and harmonic mixing :)

[@HapticOFFICIAL]

You're gonna make me rich which your info dude :D thanks so much i appreciate it

[@ccjones1975]

For electro house mixing....when you are playing a tune is it typically smoother to drop the first beat of 4 bars on another tune after or before the break in the song. So like beat on beat? 1rst beat on one tune and first beat on another, after the vocals have gone by on the first track. Im noticing that my mixes are smoother if I wait till all the vocals or breaks have passed by and drop the beat in when not much is going on in the song...Sorry if the question seems confusing.

[@djajnky]

thnx a lot for this this will deffintly help in plyng.....thnx

[@daphunkphenomenoable]

you are the man thumbs up

[@MrSteel801]

excellent video

[@TheLow008]

Mad vids!!! Just curious, I wanna start mixin and need to now what its gunna set me back for a beginners kit kinda thing. Can someone help me out on what I need without breaking the budget?

[@AltaRepublic]

@Archon349 hence... "vinyl is used as a midi controler..."

[@Chrispipa]

Good video. Thank you. x

[@XDsylwek]

hey man I got my self a dj kit n i was just wondering if you could revire the pmx140 mixer just want do get your point of view on it thanx

[@oggmonster175]

You're a cool guy. keep it up :)

[@sinetwo]

3) When it kicks off with that beat, you've already had cueued up the intro to your other song, beat match it, and bring it in accordingly. If you're good, you'll get a nice 1:30 mix (approx). If you take too long to beatmatch, it'll give you maybe 1 minute (or less, so beware) - but at most times, it will sound soooo sweet! My $0.02 SineTwo

[@StaffRecordPlayer]

Ill do a breakbeat mix now and structure it for 1-2 days, then Ill mix it hopefully the best way I can.

[@swazigoddess9658]

I like this guy!

[@AltaRepublic]

@Archon349 Ummm... Actually vinyl is coming back with the development of programs/hardware such as Serato Scratch Live and Traktor, etc... With this technology the vinyl is used as a midi controller while still having the full control of vinyl... So... Yeah...

[@yexey]

@redsox1024 You can't totally remove the drums but you can reduce how much they stand out by messing with the eq

[@inosdelaquaia]

I'm a drummer and i love the math aproach of music, you told well. Where can i find a "pro" mix from you?

[@JetboyOZ]

@somedude4321 It's definitely possible, but (in my opinion), you won't have nearly as much fun looking into a laptop screen while you are playing. If you can, practise with virtual dj, and save up to get something else. If you also work Traktor/Torq/Serato into it, as well as a nice midi controller, you will have the best of both worlds, and be able to do some pretty amazing stuff.

[@yilzii]

Yes, for example you can use Traktor Dj Studio 3.

[@dharmaboy75]

Wow, just realized this is my exact setup he is using.

[@only1clover]

Please Please get back to me on this. I did my first Gig for this girls 18th birthday. Now I had her giving me a list of songs she wanted to be played. Now I did not play all the songs she wanted. Some of the songs I did have and some I didn't have. Now I wanted to play a lot more of the songs she had wrote down just I was so into my mix getting the crowd going I ran out of time. Should I more so focus on her choice of songs? or more so on the crowd and fit some of her songs in?

[@vratnakishore]

as soon as I messed it up he gave me a serious look, I continued playing the second song, again I messed it up while changing between two songs (train wrecking this time) he came to me and said use the cue technique. as all the people left in the club are my friends I had no problem from the dance floor, I tried the cue technique for the next time and messed it a lot but not for too long. 4th time I played it a lot easier but beats are not matched