From the weekend night craze Disco Fever in the 1970s to rock music and soul blues in Motown in the 1980s, as well as House whirlwind in the late 1980s, Hip-Hop Kuroshio in the United States and rave culture in the early 1990s, until the end of the century, various electronic dance music emerged one after another, and DJ's works and skills were constantly innovating. After such a generation change, DJ culture has not declined, but has been more and more respected and favored by the world, so more and more people have devoted themselves to the DJ industry. In view of this, this teaching gives friends who want to join the music ranks a preliminary concept of DJ's work and skills. Although professional CD players now have the function of receiving songs, it is better to learn DJ skills from traditional record players. Without it, the traditional record player can make a scratch effect, which is not easy to type. How many squares are left to play clearly, and it is impossible for the CD player to repeat or type a sentence in the lyrics all the time (two record players must play the same song). Anyone who has seen the tape of the World DJ Competition will know that some players even jumped on the record player and used "that place" instead of their hands to play DJ skills. Of course, CD players are not without advantages, such as setting the sound quality unchanged when speeding up (the voice of traditional record players will become sharper when speeding up, and sometimes even the male voice will become a female voice). When playing a CD, you can immediately know the BPM of songs. The biggest advantage is that a CD can accommodate more than ten songs without changing discs frequently.
One: Hardware understanding:
Turntable 12 inch LP record player with pitch (speed correction). The CD-specific turntable of CD player needs a space. The mixer mixer should have the following basic equipment: output/input of more than two channels, and master volume adjustment; Headphone output, and can control the headset monitoring terminal (cue) and its volume; A set of microphone inputs. PGM level (output rail volume decibel indicator). Of course, there is also a set of crossfader R. It is better to have an independent equalizer (EQ) and a built-in effector and sampler. The monitor monitors the speakers. Put it on both sides of the DJ table to avoid the time difference caused by the echo limit exceeding 17 meters, and let the DJ go astray when shooting. The bass should be strong enough and the sound level should be clear, so as to avoid the time difference when monitoring due to the turbidity of bass and treble. Headphones, monitor headphones. The bass should be strong enough and the sound level should be clear, so as to avoid the time difference when monitoring due to the turbidity of bass and treble. The earphone cover should be as big as the palm of your hand, which is convenient to take and wear. At present, some DJ-specific headphones have to be tilted to one side to be clamped (there is only one wire and one earphone). Cassette head and stylus. Special stylus for DJ is preferred. Anti-static slide rail for Slipmate turntable; Otherwise, it will be difficult to catch it.
Two: hardware assembly:
1. Put the equipment on a rectangular desktop with a length of about 120 cm, a width of 50 cm and a waist height, so as to facilitate your future practice and use. Also, it must be noted that the erection of DJ platform needs special shock absorption to avoid needle jumping. 2. Connect the volume output end of the turntable to the "Phono" input end behind the mixer of the mixer; The turntable on the left is connected to the phonograph of channel 1 behind the mixer, and the turntable on the right is connected to the phonograph of channel 2. The red connector is connected to the red jack and the white connector is connected to the white jack. 3. Connect the U-shaped grounding wires of the turntables on both sides to a GND rod-shaped spiral input end behind the mixer, and the two grounding wires are connected to the same input end. Note: This step is very important. If you ignore it, you will hear the noise of alternating current. ※! 4. Connect the volume outputs of the two CD players to the line input terminal behind the mixer in the same way as in step 2. 5. Connect the main output terminal behind the mixer to the power amplifier. Then connect the power amplifier to the monitor speaker. The connection method and required wires vary from device to device. 6. Connect the monitor headphones to the headphone input in front of the mixer. 7. Connect the power supply. Because the turntable, mixer, power amplifier and monitoring speaker all need independent power supply, the extension line needs voltage stabilizing function. In addition, we should pay attention to the problems of 1 10V and 220V. 8. Then pay attention to the sequence of startup and shutdown: Since the mixer belongs to the front-stage equipment and the power amplifier belongs to the back-stage, it should be started in the order of "mixer, power amplifier and monitoring speaker"; Turn off the machine in the reverse order of "Monitor Speaker, Power Amplifier and Mixer" to avoid damaging the hardware.
Three. basic concept
1. The basic structure of electronic dance music-the concept of cycle. Almost all electronic dance music has a certain structure and rules, no matter how complicated and changeable, there is a certain structure to follow. If it is electronic dance music with drums, you can learn about the operation of the basic structure of electronic dance music with drums. Just like writing, a tune is an article, and an article is composed of words, sentences and paragraphs; The same is true of electronic dance music: one beat equals one word, eight characters (beat) is one sentence, and four sentences are one paragraph (that is, 4×8=32 beats). This kind of paragraph is called "cycle". And then there's the cycle. Well, now the basic structure of electronic dance music will not be too difficult to explore. It is easy to recognize every time you beat the drum; But if it's a T like Breakbea or an interlude without drums, it's not so easy to identify, but it's still carried out according to the basic mode of every four eight beats. With a basic understanding, it won't be so difficult to be a DJ. 2.BPM BPM is the abbreviation of "beats per minute" and is the unit of beats per minute. The simplest concept is that the drum always * * * rings several times between one-minute periods, and the unit of this number is BPM. For example, a dance music by House is drummed 124 times in one minute, so the music is 124 BPM. As for the calculation method of BPM, you can use a watch or stopwatch to calculate and count the drums slowly by hand; You can also use some machines or synthesizers to calculate BPM. For example, the mixer of Pioneer DJM-500 has built-in BPM metronome, and Casio also has G\'mix series watches with BPM calculation function. 3. The cue point is called "cue point" (or cue point) at the first beat at the beginning of each cycle, that is, the first moment when it bulges out. Finding drums is the basis of DJ skills. There is no DJ who doesn't look for drums before mixing, unless it is the wrong DJ, that is another matter. 4.Pitch DJ's special record player only has this function, perhaps it should be said that DJ can use the record player with this function. Pitch literally means pitch control, but in fact the change of pitch is caused by the change of the speed of the record player. DJ needs to control the speed of the track when shooting, and the music from the left and right tracks is exactly the same in the beat speed BPM, so the two songs can be seamlessly mixed together. Pitch is a device that controls the speed of the record player on the record player, thus adjusting the BPM of songs. 5. The fader/cross fader sound attenuation control slider on the mixer; That is, a sliding button that can move up and down or left and right according to the trajectory. There is a scale display next to this slide button, indicating the volume played at the mobile position. The DJ controls the volume of the left or right channel through the volume controller. As for crossfader, it controls the volume of all channels at once, as shown in the figure below. 6.EQ EQ is the abbreviation of equalizer. On the more advanced mixing stage, there is always an equalizer adjustment button. Generally speaking, EQ adjusts the audio changes of treble, alto and bass when the audio track is played. The application of emotional intelligence needs to be trained after the DJ foundation is laid.
Fourth: Start.
Now we will officially enter the description of DJ skills. In this part, we will explain it from the perspective of a DJ's thinking when mixing, so that everyone can understand the method of DJ mixing more clearly. 1. Count the beats: At the beginning of duet practice, take an electronic dance music record that is not too difficult and not paradoxical as the first track and put it on one of the two record players, assuming it is the one on the left. After putting it away, press the start button of the record player to start rotating, and carefully put the stylus on the record, as shown in the figure. When playing, count the periods of the left channel in your mind: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ~ 22345678 ~ 32345678 ~ 42345678 ...12345678 ..." Then continue riding. Remember: if you can't hear this cycle, you can't be a DJ. Memorizing 1234 while listening to music can train the recognition of cycles. After all, every DJ walks so slowly. 2, song selection: Next, we have to work hard on the second song. Choose a dance music record whose BPM is not more than 8% different from the first one within the control range of Pitch, but it is actually better to play it at 4 BPM, and there are two kinds of music that cannot be too different. It's best to pick the same music, for example, Techno is connected to Techno, and you want to connect Breakbeat to Techno unless you are completely proficient. 3. Find a clue: Now monitor headphones will come in handy. When wearing headphones, you can only wear one ear, and the other ear is responsible for monitoring the currently playing audio track; So at present, both ears hear completely different tones. As for wearing the left ear or the right ear, it depends on your preference. The next step is to grasp the hint point. For convenience, the track currently played by the sound system is called CH 1 (assuming that the phonograph is on the left), and the track appearing in monitor headphones is called CH2 (assuming that the phonograph is on the right). First, switch the monitor cue on the mixer to CH2, which means that the music in the earphone is the song selected in the second step. Press the start button of the record player to start rotating, and carefully put the stylus on the record. Listen with headphones at this time. If there is a drum sound as soon as the stylus touches the record, it is necessary to lift the stylus and reposition it outside the contact point of the previous stylus, that is, to find the first drum sound at the beginning of a song, and find the prompt point according to this principle (there are also DJ grabbing the fourth beat or the third beat; If I were you, I would take the second beat, because if I am not familiar with the dance music being played, waiting for the dance music to be taken out, it will be difficult to catch the first beat as long as I miss the mixing point. Usually, in most cases, House's music has drums at the beginning. In this case, the cue point is the point at the beginning of the music. Other electronic dance music with strong musicality may be preceded by an empty melody, and it is difficult to find the cue point. One of the characteristics of records is that some tracks with drums are sparse, and some tracks with empty beats are dense. If you master this feature, it is easy to find the first drum. Once you find the prompt, don't let it run away. At this point, put your hand on CH2' s record player and push and pull the record back and forth as shown in the figure, so that the first drum beat appears repeatedly. After catching the cue point, it is best to push and pull the cue point of CH2 with the beat of CH 1, so that the drums on both sides can overlap (when pushing the record, the drums are normal; When playing a record, the drums are just the opposite. 4. Pitch adjustment: Count the cycles of CH 1 in your mind. At this point, the cue point of CH2 is pushed back and forth with the beat of CH 1. Pay attention to the cycle of CH 1 at any time. The first beat of each cycle is the only chance to deduce the first beat of CH2. In other words, if you miss the first beat of this cycle, you have to wait for the first beat of the next cycle. If the cue points of CH 1 and CH2 appear at the same time, the beat difference between the two songs will be obvious, so it is time to adjust the pitch. First of all, we should judge whether the speed of CH2 is faster or slower than CH 1, which depends on the accumulation of experience. If CH2 is slow, push the record on the record by hand, as shown on the right; If it is faster, gently apply a lateral force component to the edge of the turntable of the record player with your fingers to slow down the rotation speed of the record player, as shown in the left picture. Change the speed of the record player with one finger and adjust the pitch with the other hand according to the speed. Follow this principle: if the speed is slow, push with your finger and adjust it faster; If the speed is faster, pull with your fingers and slow down the pitch. By repeating this exercise, the shooting can be more accurate and the shooting time will be shorter and shorter, so that the playing skills and fading time can be won in CH2. It's done, and it needs fine-tuning to confirm. 5. Fine-tune. Sometimes you just listen to one or two cycles and ignore them. It is easy to have some slight beats as time goes by. At this time, you need to turn on the monitor on the mixer, so that the sounds of CH 1 and CH2 can appear in the monitor headphones at the same time. When you hear both tracks at the same time, it is particularly easy to hear whether you are running or not; At this point, fine-tune CH2 and listen to a few more cycles before proceeding to the next step. Speaking of good beat (we call it on beat), you will only hear on beat in monitor headphones. If there is a running beat, you will hear drums that are not a point. You may not be able to hear it when you start practicing, but you will be particularly keen after proficiency, and you can detect it after running a little. 6. Cut in/out. (fade in╱fade): When CH 1 and CH2 both travel in the same BPM, that is, on the beat, the next job is to perform actions on the mixer. As mentioned earlier, DJ-specific mixers include fader (independent silencing control slider) and crossfader (transverse silencing control slider). When the fader position of CH 1 is not ∞, and the fader position of CH2 is in the middle, the sound output to the speaker is CH 1. On the contrary, it is the sound of CH2; When CH 1 and CH2 are missing at the same time, both channels can hear the sound from the outside, and the higher the fader position, the greater the volume (note that all the above cases are when the crossfader position is in the middle). So if you want to cut into CH2, first cut the crossfader to the middle, and then slowly push up the fader of CH2, and the sound of CH2 will become more and more obvious. When the volume is cut to the same as CH 1, the fade-in action is completed. Then you need to slowly pull down the fader of CH 1, so that the sound of CH 1 will slowly disappear until only the sound of CH2 remains, and then the mixing action will be successfully completed. Another method can complete the fade-in and fade-out actions at the same time, that is, cut the crossfader to the left first, that is, CH 1 can play dance music, at this time, the fader of CH2 will be invalid, so that the fader of CH2 can be adjusted to the ideal volume in advance, and then slowly push the crossfader from the left to the right after the ideal volume is adjusted. At this time, the volume of CH2 will appear slowly and then increase. When it reaches the central position, it is the most obvious time when the two channels speak at the same time. Push it to the right, and the sound of CH 1 will become smaller and smaller. When it reaches the extreme right, the sound of CH 1 will disappear completely. At this point, the fade-in and fade-out actions are completed at the same time. Picture 7 related to this topic. Adjust the equalizer. Advanced mixers have equalizer knobs. EQ adjustment is a powerful assistant when mixing (in mixing) such as fading out in/fade. If used properly, it can be used without leaving a trace. The use of EQ, in theory, is to turn down the bass and treble of CH 1, and also turn down the bass of CH2, so as to avoid the resonance caused by the overlapping drums on both sides and make the mixed sound abrupt. When CH 1 fades out, bring back the low tone of CH2. The above are the major principles for trimming EQ, and success is not far away if you master the principles.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) Other preventive measures
1. Selection of contact points: Usually, a piece of music has high tide and low tide stages. In the climax stage, there is usually a melody or a particularly obvious timbre, and sometimes there is a voice. This time is not suitable for bringing in the next Song Fade; On the other hand, there is usually no main theme wandering at low tide, only drums, hi hats or bass lines, and there are only one or two timbres at most. At this time, it is excellent contact. Most of these contacts will appear at the end of music or in the middle of a song. 2.DJ's studio trip: A party, a DJ's studio is about two hours, so how to highlight the characteristics of a DJ through the overall trip of two hours is a very troublesome job. In two hours, about 30 tracks can be played, so the pursuit of the journey must be based on the principle of playing the same dance music for a considerable period of time. If you want to play all the music in one set or in a short time, it is easy to be confused.
Six, postscript
DJ's job is not only to connect songs in series on the surface, but a truly powerful DJ should have a deeper understanding of music, that is, playing music is actually like creating your own music and putting your emotions into it, so that no matter what music you play, you will have vitality, and such songs will have soul. It is only a matter of time before dancers reach a high level!