The million dollar question! I have been getting several emails from current students saying something like this:
I’ve been practicing flat out for a month now and I still can’t beatmatch yet?
The best way to answer this question is by getting you to understand that everyone has different learning capabilities, there is no quick fix and there is no secret system that I can guarantee.
Beatmatching – The Facts
Essentially what you are trying to re-pattern your brain to hear sound in a way that it is not used to, so common sense would say no tricks or wiz bang system could have you beatmatching seamlessly in a certain amount of time no matter how short or long. What you need is a clear understanding of exactly what you are suppose to be doing, an exercise that entails that and a lot of discipline, patience and repetition!
The harder you practice, the better you will get. The more you practice the faster you will get there.
I‘ve said before that I find DJing very easy, I’ve also said before the reason for that is because I’ve put so much time into practicing – when I started my DJing journey all those years ago I made it my mission to never go to bed at night unless I put at least one mix together, but for the most part I would spend hours every night for several years practicing relentlessly until I truly felt I had mastered it. Reality though, you can never actually master or be too good at beatmatching.
Even when I thought I had mastered it you couldn’t get me off the decks, I was addicted, so in saying that it really shouldn’t be too hard for you to find the time to not only listen to the tunes you love but start mixing them up!
Mastering Beatmatching
The good news is, that once you master beatmatching the world is you oyster, it gives you option’s. Poker is another one of my passions, so to use a bit of a poker analogy think about it like this:
If in poker you have the most chips, you are rewarded with a host of options; you can afford to bluff, play cards out of position, raise or basically make whatever moves you like, and all because of the discipline, patience and hard work you did along the way to get those chips in the bank.
Learning how to beatmatch is exactly the same, you need to put in the hard work practicing relentlessly with patience and discipline to get the chips in the bank and give you the options you need moving forward.
What options you say?
Once you’ve master beatmatching you can then begin to explore the never ending and exciting options that come with it from cutting, scratching, sampling whatever your poison. But you need the chips in the bank with your beatmatching first.
The better you get at beatmatching the more time you will have to forge your own style through creativity, at which point you can start to demand the kind of respect that you need to make it to the top!
Learning How to Beatmatch Should Take How Long?
There is no length of time that you should expect to master beatmatching, again everyone has different learning capabilities, but the sooner you get the right information and begin practicing in a discipline way the sooner you will be on your way.
You shouldn’t worry about how long it’s taking you, you should want to take your time and try and become the best at beatmatching that you possibly can – it is the number one fundamental skill of becoming a DJ so don’t underestimate it. If it were easy, then everyone would be doing it.
If I was you – and remember I have been you, I would set myself the challenge to practice with discipline relentlessly and passionately every night for at least 6 months then re- evaluate where I was at.
There is going to be times over that period when you seriously don’t think you are progressing but I can tell you from one DJ to another that you are so stay RELENTLESS!
Think about it like this: If you hit a hurdle it’s because you are going somewhere, fair enough you may get frustrated, but if you weren’t going anywhere you wouldn’t be frustrated, so when you hit hurdles and you will hit loads over your journey if you are serious about becoming a DJ, DON’T get scared get EXCITED and smash though it!
If all else fails drop me a line and we can get through it together! ben@djmastercourse.com
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Tis is a great article, and has some very valid points.
Personally I am amazed that even after one month someone might complain they cant mix. I’ve been at it for 2 years and even tho I get it, I still feel I have something to learn.
Anyway point is… screw everyone else. you’ll think you’ve got it, then 3 months later you’ll have a bunch of new skills and be amazed at hw far you’ve come.
“Reality though, you can never actually master or be too good at beatmatching.”
Er, what? Of course you can master beat matching, and these days it’s one of the lowest DJ skills of them all. With programs like Ableton Live becoming more and more prominent amongst DJs the skills are moving away from beat matching and towards creating live sets.
I’ve been mixing for about 8 years now and im still learning everyday
@magnetik – thanks for sharing your thoughts! Although I disagree, learning how to beat match is always going to be the number 1 fundamental skill of all DJ’s.
Most beginner DJ’s have no idea what Ableton live is, in most cases Ableton is a progression from traditional DJing in which beat matching is essential.
Understanding song structure and learning how to match two beats is always going to be king when it comes to DJing – its the launching skill and platform for other creative moves such as lives sets as you mentioned!
When it comes to mastering beat matching:
An amateur practices until they get it right
A professional practices until they can’t get it wrong!
wow im a New dJ just starting out and some of the things i have read like about beat matching and all that stuff .. it really helps me i really appriciate it very much i want to be a amazing dj like u one day .
thank u
this is awsome thankz…..it really helps me when doing beat matching thankz a lot bro
The most important thing to divide the bass rhythms and to listen to music for long periods of time is a large Hi FI and good headphones. This way you can split up the rhythm in your brain easily.
A lot of practice like Benny already said and one day you’ll just feel that you have to slow it down or speed it up.
After a couple of years you’ll even hear it in advance before somebody(not real dj)else hears it. When you reach that level you know your on your game.
But watch out never think their matched perfectly there’s no such thing as perfect. The day you get complacent(is this correct language)you are fucked(or just buy yourselve some Pioneers like so many fake dj’s).
stay true to vinyl and your ears
bro,i love what u got going here.i dont have a credit card lol,only debit card and i wanna buy this dj master course so bad.
Guys, I’ve been djing for a nearly 2 decades now and honestly, there’s always something new and hi-tec to aquire as for knowledge goes. Dudes, keep the dream alive and keep practicing.
Oh yeah, just one other thing. If you are a real dj, then you must use the real hardware. But if you’re just a “POSER” dj and you rock up to the club with just laptop and midi console then you’re just as fake as a queer 2 dollar bill. LOL!
Some great points and tips here mate nice!!Just one thing I will say as far as beat matching goes i started with vinyl and continue to play vinyl as i found it the best way to get a full grasp on the mixing situation by learning to use my ears before i read it on a screen. it is the true way to play.(only true dj’s play vinyl!! LOL)
I took a dj course this spring ‘coz I really love electronic music. It was my 1st meeting with equipment and with everything for that matter. All the kids around me were doing it for like 2 years and longer and I had no idea what CUE is, never heard of beatmatching…. I beatmatched 2 songs on my 3rd try and I thought that was bad. now I read someone can’t do it in a month? I kinda get to thinking that maybe I’m not that bad after all
. I’m saving my money to buy some equipment just so I can practice whenever I want and I will definitely try to make something out of my self – practice makes perfect!!
Calls upon the exercise of many because of the application and the distinction between the rhythms and patterns
That young Syrians missing this feature that he heard the music to jump and shout
Like animals
i been mixing for about for five months i picked up the basics really quick i learned on my brothers cdj’s which where 900′s now i have my own set of cdjs 800mk2′s and its like stepping back in time however my brother said once you master the 800′s you will shred on a much newer setup, i have all the basics down i just need to work on beatmatching i cant figure out which one to speed up or slow down, my brother just said it takes time and a lot of practice i wanted to get a gig in three months and he said it takes anywhere from a year to two years, and now i see why, if you have advice please share…
oh and i don’t use ableton or serato
Sinista-b, the truth is that learning beatmatching just takes time, practice and lots of patience. The good part is that anyone can master it.