Sweet Headache

5 Ways to Mix Tracks With Different Tempos

I recently had a discussion with a couple of other DJs in a forum: We were talking about how to mix tracks with different tempos. Of course, almost never do two tracks have exactly the same tempo, but a lot of DJs are hesitant to mix tracks that are more than just a few BPM apart.

I think that mixing tracks with different BPMs is not only possible, but also a lot of fun – both for the DJ and the audience. It can make DJ sets much more dynamic and interesting.

I decided to make a little video to explain how to do this: Here are 5 ways to mix tracks with different tempos:

These are the methods that I explain in the video:

• Wide Pitch
  Use the pitch fader a lot wider than you usually would. In the video, I pitch up one track by +12%, and it still sounds good. However, Pitching down that far usually doesn’t work that well.
• Cut
  Simple play one track until the very end and then start the next one. This works best with tracks that have a clear beginning and end – doesn’t work so well with most club versions.
• Double/Half
  Make a transition to a track that has half or double the tempo of the track you are currently playing. This works great with Drum&Bass-tracks (around 180 BPM) and many HipHop-tracks (around 90 BPM).
• Loop & Pitch
  Create a short loop, change the tempo, make the transition.  The example in the video is from my Speedbumps mix.
• Special tracks
  Use a special production to change the tempo. The example I used in the video is from Seiji DJ Tools.