DJ Phrase Mixing Help How to Work out Where the Next Phrase Is

0:00 You're going for a long journey

Right guys, this isn't an exact analogy on what I'm about to show you but sort of. Let's say you're going for a journey. You're going for a long journey. You're going from place A to place B. In between place A and B are towns and villages and cities but they're all sort of placed in between A and B at the same distance. So for example, in between A and B is 100 miles and you've got towns and villages at 10 mile intervals in between where you start and where you finish. Now think about that first. Maybe even pause the camera and think about it. You have the start of the journey and the finish. The start, finish. Finish is 100 miles and in between that start and finish. You've got places of interest. But every single place of interest is 10 miles, exactly 10 miles apart.

6:10 Definite change, listen definite, chorus verse

Now let's take that analogy with phrase mixing. I'm going to play you a tune here. It's Lenny Fontana featuring D-Train, Raise Your Hands. This is only the, it's actually, the radio version is about 3 minutes and 20 seconds. The club version is about 5 to 6 minutes. This is 4 minutes and 30 seconds. So it's like nearly there. But what we're going to find, what we're listening for. In other words, if we were on our journey, let's imagine you've started off. You started off on your journey and now you're ready to find the first place in between point B. So what you're looking for is you're looking for something different. You're looking, you know, you're driving along a country lane. And of course, all of a sudden you're looking for a town or a city.

As soon as you pass that city and you're on a country lane again, you're looking for the next town or city. But the town or city or that you will be looking for in between point A and B, they will be at exactly the same intervals. So take that analogy. Think about that. And let's put that in place with a tune. Now what you're listening for really is a change in the track. Now, it may not be a defined kind of change. It could be very subtle. It could be the beginning of something. It could be the end of something. For example, it could be the beginning of the vocals. It could be the end of the vocals. Now, not only that, it could be a slight change in drum pattern. So for example, let's go back to our analogy.

2:59 In between that 10 miles, we've got 5 miles

We start off on our journey and we know after 10 miles we'll come to a town. In between that 10 miles, we've got 5 miles. So we may have a signpost saying town in 5 miles. Now that is exactly what can happen and does happen in extended versions because you could have a dum-dum 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 There could be a slight kind of change in the drum pattern. Now sometimes that's all you need. All you need to listen for and start counting from that point. Now I will do this. If I get a whole bunch of new tracks and I just throw on a tune, wang it halfway through and start listening to it, what I'm going to be doing is listening for a change in that track and if there is a defined change then I'm going to think

OK, that is my signpost for the next village or that is the next village which is the beginning of the new phrase. Let's have a listen and see if we can find a village. OK, we had vocals there. Let's start it again. Let's count how many bars we've got before those vocals start. 1 1 sorry 1 1 2 3 2 3 5 6 7 9 OK, right. Now this is where it does confuse some people. The vocals started on the 9th bar but it actually didn't because where music's involved it actually starts on the beginning of a new bar because we counted 8 and then we're on the 9th but because the vocals started on the 9th we can then start counting 1 again because for the new DJ, if you're a brand new DJ and you're watching something like this for the very first time

I do apologise it's all in 8s, 16s, 24s and 32s that is how dance music modern day dance music is made up. Of course if you look at the radio versions it's more likely going to be possibly 2s and 4s but it's 8s, 16s, sometimes 24s and 32s Let's just spin the record, the track forward so I'm going to bring the volume down I'm going to close my eyes I'm going to search forward listen like that and you tell me when to stop there well done now let's listen for another change let's listen for the signpost or the next village

Listen there there was a definite change we went from a chorus sorry, a verse a chorus to a verse sorry, I'm getting confused myself right, let's have a listen

Yeah, chorus verse so that is a definite change that's my new town, new village let's start counting from there 1, 1, 2, 3 2 3 5 6 7 another change ok, so what I'm getting here is this track could be in phrases of 8 so I hope does this help I hope it does listen to your songs and just listen for a definite change when you hear that change start counting again and do you get an 8 do you get a 16 do you get a 24 sometimes do you get a 32 if from the change that you have found you get an 8 then you've got the right place if you get a 7 a 5 a 3 a 9 an 11 a 13 then it's the wrong place alright it's about practice and enjoy thank you

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