Pitch Riding: Throwback Thursday DJ Tutorial

Old school awesome DJ technique: riding the pitch on turntables for a super-clean, professional mix. Check out more great DJ tutorials at www.djtechtools.com and tune in next Thursday for the next Throwback technique!
Music used: left deck = Aril Brikha - Groove La' Chord (Shuffle Mix)

[@godzillalikespie]

I love that grin after "You'll find it's not hard... After you've practiced... Maybe for a month or so"

[@LatinoShakasula]

haha :D thought im may the only one who noticed

[@skenterprises4556]

lol, me too

[@peterstanley9964]

@@skenterprises4556 hahahaah a month or so

That is normal for musicianship. People have to practice skills for years until they can do it reliably and in an artistic way.

[@shouldknowbetteruk]

20 years in on this technique, and still perfecting it....

[@FlyFlicks]

This is the most addictive way to mix.

[@Old299dfk]

Groove 'La Chord is such an under rated track - for a track that's coming up 25 years old, it really is timeless, and sounds so amazing today. It was way ahead of it's time when it came out!

[@Disco-Global]

Aril brika has some nice tracks 👌

[@RickyGTH]

I figured out this technique on my own, just out of instinct, over 10 years ago. I didn't even realize it was "a thing" until I saw this video just now. Thanks for the validation!

[@marcinloroch8668]

Me too lol

[@Ejshoe]

Same same 😀

[@wagmidaddy8766]

I was even a step further I was just spinning the records on my needledick I didnt know record players existed LOL

[@AdnanAlsannaa]

This is an amazing video. I learned so much from you. From not knowing how to dj to being able to ride the pitch. Really wish you guys do more of these

[@djdeejdjay8669]

Been mixing like this for over 20 years...the D&B boys did this the most back in the dayz....

[@johnw540]

It was this video a couple of years ago that suddenly made it all make sense. Used that technique since. Class!

[@djdrwatson]

What, no laptop?!! Ean Golden goes old skool. Nice to see this. I learnt how to this about 25 years ago. I bought my Technics turntables in 1989.

[@cryptout]

Got my fist 1200's in 92!

[@cameronseibold5453]

This ended up being the technique that made the entire practice start to click for me. Thank you!

[@philippweiss9991]

I rarely comment on KZbin but this just has to be said: Ean, thank you so much for this tutorial. Pitch riding, once you can do it, is an invaluable tool for mixing quickly. This is awesome!

[@Fabitalism]

More of these Videos - Vinyl Tutorials would be great !!!

[@andrewwowk9385]

I am so glad I took the time to learn how to do this on my first set of decks - I play a lot of music with melodies in it, so touching the platter mid transition is just a no-go if I want to avoid that horrible speed up/slow down sound on the track. And like Ean said, it's useful not just for turntables/vinyl mixing, it works great on CDJs and controllers as well (especially because it allows you to avoid using "Master Tempo" on CDJs as a solution to the speed up/slow down effect of touching the platter, which is great because MT introduces awful artifacts into the tracks).

[@dadoe]

I check this channel frequently to watch contemporary techniques. Watching someone dj without a usb cable or screen is very soothing.

[@scratchgonzo]

I've never previously used this technique at all. Had turntables for 25 years and didn't understand why people would do this when to me it felt so comfortable to push the record. Something about the way you explained this made me want to give it a go and can't believe how much I like it haha

[@laxinmars]

Great video looking forward to next weeks edition!

[@BillyBatsonMarvel]

YEAH BUDDY!!! That's how you get it in, riding the pitch. Now that's spinning...

[@ohnoitsfraa]

Man this takes me back, I still have all my vinyls in the basement, just no turntables to put them on anymore... 😂

[@Dbulkss]

Vinyl Dj all day!! Thanks for this

[@2CelebrateMusic]

Great Tutorial... Thank you 4 sharing! 👌🎶❤🎶

[@zedster911]

It still amazes me how you do this

[@Kevin-im1gj]

Excellent choice of track

[@nomadepaoki]

I got a American Audio DCD PRO310 dual cdj equipement and the jog wheel was so bad, so I mastered this technique. I was quite ready for vinyl straight after. But now some 11 odd years later, I'm back in beatmatching to practice DnB :)

[@waltergarber6432]

finally good music in a tutorial

[@bushflyn]

Is that Avril Brika? Damn, takes me back. Great video, experimented with this, yes, it can be fun! Thanks for this!

[@oldirtyjosh]

Hell yes brother. Thank you for the tutorial. Great technique

[@edgarayala945]

Great simple tutorial!

[@shemmy7302]

Love mixing like this, once you start, you can't stop

[@TYRAcore]

agree

[@irinadumitru9088]

I bet😉 !

[@venetia.musicc]

Never gets old.

[@StaceyARobinson]

Looking forward to trying this.

[@HTerraHRyzinH]

Great video bro!!! Cheers!

[@JohnRSippy]

Thumbs Up to the "Controller Guy" for having some mad vinyl skills!

[@mitchiemasha]

+John R. Sippy What a lot of haters don't realise is, a lot of controller guys do have mad vinyl skills. People always too quick to judge.

[@JohnRSippy]

+mitchiemasha you are absolutely right! I've been the victim of that, first-hand. Some people see a laptop in the booth and immediately dismiss the performer / DJ before they even give them a chance. I'm glad companies like NI are releasing hardware with inconspicuous, built-in screens (like the S8) that lets us hide the laptop yet still take advantage of their advanced features.

[@JohnRSippy]

+DJ BROWNIE This is where you are dead wrong. My passion for the music and the craft of DJing has not changed, and I am definitely NOT lazy. What has changed are the tools that we use in the DJ booth. Times have changed and if an artist wants to stay relevant they too must change. I love spinning on my 1200 M3d's and thanks to breakthroughs in technology like Traktor Scratch or Serato, I still do, but the additional things I can do with controllers (ie. performing with effects or and loops and samples) are far more creative than what can be done with 2 turntables and a mixer alone. The art and soul of DJing is NOT about beat matching, any monkey can learn that and machines can do it far faster than humans can. The real measure of a DJ is how well they craft their sound, choosing their tracks, flowing them together and entertaining their crowd. In the end it is only your performance that matters to your dance floor.

[@mitchiemasha]

DJ BROWNIE Un-passionate and lazy by not moving with the times or getting excited by new advancements in technology. Some of us got into this because we love sound and equipment. I learned vinyl about 20 years ago. Unpassionate is to become stale. It's the music that matters, not the medium that carries it. And, just in case you didn't know... www.prosoundweb.com/article/its_all_about_the_bass/

[@dacko2007]

Excellent !!

[@Lumpus_]

Pitch riding may be the smooth alternative but occasionally I prefer the wonky sound when a turntable is slowed by hand

[@severinkleesattel9656]

Loved the Video, it was a fresh to see Ian on some Turntables. More of that would be great. I actually learned "Pitch Riding" by playing old worn of records with bad needles, which would jump if I would speed up the record by touching it. So there was no other way around it, and now I can't imagine beatmatching in a different way haha. It's a lot faster as well. Just my opinion of course. :D

[@MECHO09]

Well done.

[@nigelwhybrow9257]

As a controller iPad djay I’ve come to look at what I’m missing out on as a vinyl djay,,picking up on this and practising on my Reloop controller just makes me a better djay and I don’t have to feel so put down by the hordes of upset vinyl djays for not using vinyl,,,I won’t change what I do as records just won’t ever be part of my world ,down to where and how, I live.but I’m happy to learn these skills from the old skool crew

[@KaynisMajoris]

So great

[@llgatomorenoll]

Groove de la chord 👏🏽

[@user-cu8sj8gf1s]

OldSchool - Best School)))

[@reissjohnson]

A great way to correct when in the mix however its best to do the gradual increase and then decrease to just above/below where you were initially. This way you don't have to rely on your eyes and use your ears. Imagine turning up to a super dark club and having to look at where your placing your pitch fader...

[@DJChrisArgueta]

I don’t use those big jumps, maybe in the beginning, once I got dialed in, the corrections are minimal.

[@rollandvarga5953]

Perfect 👍 I also mix like that ❤️

[@Redman_player]

real school man

[@saulramirez1861]

Looks like Dj TLM's studio.. Great video btw

[@KaMui_AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs]

Thanks man, that was quite helpful!

[@macboogieland2897]

omg omg omg!!!! dont know if you saw my comment when i kindly asked for something like this... but THANK YOU!!!

[@TheTrueAmaghedon]

nice one. thanks!

[@sivisvitamparamortem]

Great and unpretentious tutorial... Kelley polar quartet :)

[@brianuhm]

Watching videos like this make miss playing vinyl. I learned this method from playing on belt driven turntables before getting my Technics. Just goes to show you can use this method across the board. Oh how I

[@speciesunknown8279]

My computer is running like crap, so I dug out all my vinyl in the meantime! Its been a blast to play em!! All the memories they bring back is half the fun as well.... Lol belt driven... I remember those too! Cheers..

[@klimmersimon]

Saw someone do this a while ago and tried it myself. I found it very intuitive and much more soothing for the ears. However when I play tracks where it doesn't matter I like the nudging better still...

[@C4P_10]

awesome

[@xgiizsul8429]

i’ve been looking for what this is called for ages - thankyou

[@MrLordofcoffee]

Great tutorial man. Now can you show the same thing with two old funk songs with fluctuating tempos?

[@pawelisecki6054]

First time seen this techniqe, thanks a lot take a sub sir

[@johndoe-px4dm]

perfect 👌

[@SWAREDNB]

Best way to beatmatch on Technics' as they have their own type of quartz

[@Motel-Music]

3:52 that smile says it all.

[@djsonvinylcollection]

Thnk you bro......❤❤❤❤❤

[@justinhughes4119]

So flawless i had to watch it several times just to figure out whats going on lol

[@ibuprofen303]

This is excellent, however it doesn't fully explain pitch riding. There's an Ellaskins tutorial on here that explains it further, in regards to gradually narrowing the pitch down the the exact spot while pitchriding. Sort of in the ball park of you go up 3cm, down 2cm, up 1cm, down 0.5cm, etc. etc. gradually narrowing it down in combination with the nudge techniques shown in this video. Both techniques used together can get a very accurate mix although they are difficult to master.

[@padshance]

can u provide the link please?

[@OGGalleryCrew92]

Ellaskins And Tech Toolz Are The Best Videos Been Watching Ellaskins 4 years ,

[@raliviacamillo9896]

For newbies who really want to be savvy in vinyl mixing, try this technique on 70's Disco music recorded with manual drum beats. 😊

[@MikeyAnalog]

Yes you really learn how much the tempo changes with real drummers!

[@Paidonthedaily]

If you own m3d or mk5s you can use the quartz button, also if you mix 33rpm u can use 45 to speed up, or 33 to slowdown on 45rpm. But mk5 just make it all so much easier. If u own mk2s, definitely get at least 1 new mk5 it will help a lot!

[@djm955]

This Rane TTM 57MK2 sounds amazing with records, even here where the audio has been compressed by KZbin.

[@Unknown_Artist2.7182]

You can also use the reset button on Mk3s and 5s or the 33/45 buttons on all

[@jhaysacrificetv564]

I'm watching keep safe tamsak done napo

[@chazwalker7156]

Chunky beats 👌

[@MrSamdog97]

I do this while beat matching :D So is this basicaly beat matching while already mixing the new track in?

[@litobakzcozykc7616]

what is the best mode to do this? listening the whole mix or just one track in one ear and the other monitoring?

[@toucah007]

Im using a traktor DVS with technics 1210 mk2 and disabeled the bpm view on the laptop so i could practice with only my ears. the thing is i found it very limiting for the music i can select to mix comparing it to when im mixing with a controller. ive notice i have to be more careful on the track selection and finding music with bpm not more than -3 or +3. note that all my music is basically deep house. Is this normal? for example ( since traktor tells you the bpm of the track ) lets say im playing a 120bpm track but i want to mix it with a 124bpm one. if i move up the 120bpm and down the 124bpm to get them in a middle 122bpm point, the adjustments regarding pitch are almost imposible for me to maintain for a minute transition. this is a big problem for me and its not even enjoyable. any help would be great, thanks!

[@HUNdjkay]

i only push or brake the plates side to correct and uding ofcourse the pitch :)

[@noreaction1]

More basics like this would guarantee more views from me at least. Keep em coming

[@attilaszabo7727]

Thanks for this! I have such a big problem identifying which track is faster and which one is slower, especially if they're just slightly off. I always end up guessing which way to adjust and messing it up even more.

[@HaaDaxx]

practice and go for pitch riding tehcnique only when you identify very quickly which track is slower/faster than the other. It is just question of time :))

[@PatrickSwayzeOnDbol]

Set your pitch all the way to +8, that way you know the new track is faster.

[@sivisvitamparamortem]

This is harder on the left handed turntable if the mixer touches it. On the right hand side you can rest your hand much easier on the corner of the tt.

[@ninetyfreak2202]

i want to try this...

[@gianlucavanelli5055]

Its the technique used by infamous dj from italy Francesco Farfa. Check out its video from HOR in Berlin some years ago

[@marlonkeintjem]

You are doing this with analog pitch fader. Will it work with the digital pitch fader?

[@ilikethispost7826]

Have you got the ortofon scratch cartridge on?. If so why have you got different stylus and what have you got?.

[@ausencia63]

Hi are you still taking queries on the Throwback Thursday tutorials?

[@Maxi3242]

Hello Ean, quick question: Did you remove the "click" at the 0 position? If yes, could you make a tutorial on how to do it? Thanks, Max

[@lyingcat9022]

Most people do that don’t they? Have you removed the “click” from your pitch fader in the last 6 years?

[@Hardbody94]

What cartridge are you using on the technics? Are they good for listening?

[@tonyclarke9269]

A good technique to use when playing 7” records

[@aaronre29]

My issue is that when DJing a party where mixing in phrase is the goal, riding a pitch can take a really long time. Maybe its just me but I almost panic when the lyrics are about to cross and its do or die time. I like to just drop the beats in.

[@getliquified]

this is how i mix

[@Wheel333]

The fingers on the side of the deck are the key to this.

[@ayox]

this guy goes to burning man

[@Djanthonybailie01]

well iv being djing from i was 16 and now im 30 iv never seen this dun be for and iv dj in clubs and on the radio i will be tryin this i personally think this is cool some times my pitch would be off not muc but i can notice it just a wee quick fix up are down iv just got a new set off plx 1000s a few weeks ago and il try it on the cdjs has well,pitch riding =awesome :) thanks Dj Tech Tools

[@ohnoitsfraa]

+anthony bailie Say what now? Pitch riding is a well known technique for a quick beatmatch, back in the day everybody was doing it :p

[@Djanthonybailie01]

+Frankie Claessens well iv never heard off it when i started djing and there was no youtube either for tell you how to mix ,all i dun is use my ears

[@ohnoitsfraa]

+anthony bailie I guess it also depends what style of music you're playing I guess. I'm 31 now, I also started when I was around 15-16 years old. I started playing techno back in those days and this technique was quite common :)

[@Djanthonybailie01]

+Frankie Claessens il play techno now ,dose this technique work with that style?,im on twitter @anthonybailie1

[@ohnoitsfraa]

+anthony bailie Of course, pitch riding is a technique that works well for all styles. It's a smoother way of ramping your pitch up/down, for example with more melodic genres you won't get that jump in pitch when you nudge the platter, this is a way to prevent that. But with techno or other repetitive genres it also works great :)

[@irinadumitru9088]

I was shown this technique 17 years ago when I got my certification as a dj.I learnt on cds!I want to start mixing on vynils using this technique!To me it seems pretty precisely!I m grateful for this video!thank you

[@fysk87]

Jeff Mills still uses this technic

[@spark4683]

Duff well, not exactly. He is still touching the platter....

[@SaucyBegger25]

I started out holding the platter to slow with a finger then speeding up with spindle. As I got better I taught myself to just use the pitch to get the beats matched. To be fair using technics 1210s the finger and spindle trick is pretty useless. I find you have to use the pitch only as it’s a much more accurate way to mix on them.

[@Kwipper]

The problem I am having with this is the training ears part. I still have a hard time telling if the track is behind, or is ahead. Therefore I usually end up making the wrong decision and making the mix worse and further trainwrecking the mix.

[@SLIC3R2]

practice! are you rushing or are you dragging?

[@k1ngN0rk]

+Kwipper Ursus Behind or ahead slightly produces a different sound... Don't worry everyone struggles with that in the beginning, practice a lot everyday and before you know it you'll master it.

[@timmesaje5507]

+Kwipper Ursus try to practice work with mix without headphones. Well, perhaps using them only to find the start cue. Also as an alternative try to use lollipop headphone (monophone as correct) :)

[@lsdave]

+Kwipper Ursus Just practice practice practice. It will come.. Beatmatching and mixing like this is a skill..... not a talent... i am sure almost anyone can be taught this, you just need to practice.

[@mitchiemasha]

+Kwipper Ursus well do you first nudge very slight but act quickly. If it goes more out do it the the opposite way, straight after, by the same amount plus a lil bit more. kind of like testing the water. your first few beats should always be spot on... if you get your cue wrong you need to practice perfect cueing. Just recue over and over.

[@cylonik]

What if you want to start the 2nd track later on to avoid long intro. Any tips on quickly finding the beginning of a phrase boundary on the incoming track?

[@sivisvitamparamortem]

Use a post it sticker to mark where you want to start - battle djs do this.

[@RowanJCC]

How did you film the top down view out of interest?

[@TheJerzyslugga]

I have a a beginner controller with a small pitch fade it doesnt really allow me to match the beat up perfect i can get close but end up having to use sync i feel like that is crippling my growth as far as learning the craft what might you all suggest

[@user-hu9ms8sq2r]

how's the progress so far?

[@austinimbastari2760]

Where do you get house vinyls like this?

[@paulleepoy8039]

Can you cross fade that mix

[@Djanthonybailie01]

does this DJ technique: riding the pitch on turntables ruin your turntable pitch meaning that will i have to replace the pitch sooner rather then later???? its a awesome DJ technique :)

[@legervoile]

At some point, yes.

[@Djanthonybailie01]

@@legervoile that was 4 years ago it bit late on the reply ..but thanks anyway

[@toasterboy708]

He’s been testing it for you. It’s taken 4 years for his pitch fade to die.

[@Djanthonybailie01]

@@toasterboy708 lol ..bit late on the reply yet again technology has move on bit from 4 years ago lol .

[@OgDj2024]

👍🏾

[@fredbissnette3104]

every dj should learn this shit

[@siti0377]

What is the Name of your set up things?

[@marcinloroch8668]

True story. 😂 😂 😂

[@DanielleKingdjdinosaur]

if i do pitch adjustments they are usually quite small and when i touch the platter i usually do it on the outer edge and quite light.A lot of modern music from late eighties on wards needs only slight adjustments .I have Rane 12mk2s and once you get used to the feel of them its similar to this except with key lock there is even less to worry about .There is also sync but i dont use that much when djing.Either way i try most of the time to keep adjustments on the pitch small and any touch on the platter both on the top of the disc and the outer rim reasonably light