How to Mix in Headphones

As a DJ, it's important to provide your listeners a continuous set with smooth transitions. You use your mixer to blend songs, but you also use the monitor feature to hear what you want to play before you play it. When you mix in the headphones, you can be sure your transitions sound good before you play them through the speakers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Make sure your mixer and audio inputs are hooked up and working properly. Also, check to see that your headphones are plugged in to the monitor jack of your mixer.

2. Assign channels to your monitor channel. Usually you can do this by pressing monitor selection buttons under the channels you would like to hear. Sometimes, you can do this by simply pressing a "Cue" button for the channel you wish to cue up.

3. Use the monitor fader or cue knob to listen to either song in the headphones. You can then blend them slowly, like you would blend songs using the crossfader.

4. Listen to the music in the headphones before playing the music through the speakers. This way you can beat match, or adjust the tempo of the song before you play it. By mixing in your headphones, you can take your time matching the songs without letting the audience hear your process of trial and error.

Tips & Warnings

• You might also choose to assign your monitor to the channel you wish to cue, and listen to that with one ear of the headphone. Meanwhile, you uncover your other ear to hear the music coming from the speakers.