How to Do Hip-Hop Beat Matching

One of the most important techniques used by DJs is matching the beat in hip-hop music. It is one of the most challenging concepts to comprehend, and only practice can perfect it. Use the tips below when trying to match the tempos of more than one song.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Play the first song that is being mixed into.

2. Cue up the other song that is being mixed into the first. Get it ready to spin, holding only with your fingers in place. Count to the beat of the song playing in 8 counts such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

3. Drop the second record, or let it play, on the first count. This is to coordinate the beats in the songs. The sounds coordinate very briefly even if they are at different tempos.

4. Determine quickly which song is fast. This can only be done by ear, and this is what takes a lot of practice. After time, your ear is trained to pick out the fast song.

5. Tap the record that is fast very gently to slow it down. At the same time as tapping it to let the other song catch up, adjust the speed using the pitch control knob. Once you are good at this, the process is not even audible to the audience.

6. Know how long the intros to songs are. You do not want to cross voices of songs, which simply confuses things. Know how many 8 counts are in the intros of the songs so that you can fade out the first song in time.

[prologistix1]

on 4/28/2008 pretty good article.