To become a great DJ, you will need to be able to mix two pieces of music perfectly, without making mistakes or jerks. To perform a correct mix, and obtain an excellent result, you must be sure that only the final and initial part of the two mixed songs have the same BPM. As you may have already understood, much of the work consists in calculating the BPM (beats per minute) of each song, to know exactly which of the two songs to speed up, or slow down, with the aim of performing a perfect mix.
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Calculate BPM
Step 1. Listen to the song and pay close attention to the rhythm
Do this by closing your eyes, relaxing, and listening to the beat of the music. Help yourself to keep the rhythm by moving a foot, your toes, or nodding your head.
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If you find it difficult, try to concentrate on the drums, forgetting about the other instruments and the voice. In case this is your first approach to this world, get the instrumental version of the song you are analyzing, so that it is easier to isolate the various audio tracks.
Calculate the Beats Per Minute (BPM) of a Song Step 1
Step 2. Get an analog watch with second hands
Alternatively, use a stopwatch (most cell phones have one). When you're sure you've found the beat of the song, start counting how many beats there are in 15 seconds. Always help yourself with a movement of your body, such as by moving your foot, snapping your fingers, or moving your head.
- Multiply this number by 4 to get the total number of beats per minute.
- For example, if you count 24 beats in 15 seconds, you will get 24x4 = 96 BPM. The multiplication factor 4 comes from the presence of 4 intervals of 15 seconds in 1 minute.
- If you want to increase the accuracy of this system, try counting the beats for longer time intervals. Try using the same song all the time, for example you might notice the presence of 50 beats in a 30 second time frame, thus realizing that the speed of the song is slightly higher than the previously calculated value. Multiplying 50 by 2 would in fact get 100 BPM. (Multiply by 2 because 1 minute consists of 2 intervals of 30 seconds each)
Advice
- There are mechanical tools that can calculate the BPM automatically and very precisely. In addition, some mixers can be equipped with these devices.
- Do not try to mix two songs that differ from each other by more than 5 BPM and never switch between the faster and the slower. The only exceptions to this rule are applicable in case you need to switch to a new group of tracks to mix, or have reached the 'peak' of the current group and want to lower the BPM level.
- Remember that mixing two songs isn't the only way you can connect them, you may even decide to switch between them with a clean cut, so the BPMs don't have to match.
- If you are mixing pre-80s music, you will find that the BPMs are not constant for the whole song, they rise and fall, just like percussion, when played live.
- The number of BPMs, in most hip hop songs, is between 88 and 112. The BPM value for most house songs, on the other hand, is around 120 on average.
- There are many applications for smartphones and tablets that can automatically calculate the BPM of a song.
- If you play a musical instrument, you will already have a metronome. In all likelihood it is a tool with a button that is useful for calculating the BPM, based on the speed with which you press it. Press it while you are listening to the song whose BPM you want to calculate and, in a few seconds, you will get a result, with an error of 1-2 BPM caused by the human factor.
- For novice DJs, it can be of great help to transcribe the BPM of the songs onto the disc covers, and then sort them according to this criterion, from slowest to fastest. In this way it will be possible to mix different songs more easily.
