NADAL

FULL DISCLOSURE: I do not work for native instruments

KJAGLA, hm… dude, what are you doing on vdj?
I was on that, for a couple years
then I just spent a little (very little) hard-earned cash on traktor.
big improvement.
it’s not that expensive
but traktor really is superior to vdj

just my 2

NADALSCORE: 5/10

SpaceMan, thanks for posting the mix. OK, first of all, I really really dig the track selection.
When posting for feedback please include the gear you’ve used.
Yes, the start is too slow. You don’t necessarily need samples, just start with the music, full volume.
Waited slightly too long to mix in the Kaskade. In general, you should really work on staying in the mix longer; being “in the mix” is the highlight of DJing, it’s where the fun is, both for the Dj and for the crowd. Besides, your mix is harmonic so it will sound great!

when you’re in the mix make sure volume on both channels is all the way up (cut the bass down on the first track, however so that it’s not too crazy bassy).

One thing I noticed when mixing a record into another, you lower the volume on the outgoing track much too soon. Here’s the process:

TRACK A is playing
slowly fade in Track B
When you’re almost at full blast in TB cut the bass 1/2 on TA
Pay attention. Do the two records playing together sound good together? Keep it up a while, hang in there for 10-15 seconds, have fun!, then
start fading out Track A, slooowly, while
Keeping eyes on TB level… is there a drop in the beat coming up? TA needs to be out of there totally before that happens otherwise it sounds sloppy.

NADAL

NADALSCORE: 3/10

Please post what gear you are using so we can refer to it.

Nice selection of records.

DJ mixes ought to be at least 60 minutes long. Yours is too short.

You cut track # 2 in too soon (when there’s a lull in the music you don’t want to fade the other record in, it doesn’t sound good); wait for the beat to start again and then start cutting in the next track gradually.

Something to try later on when you get better: Instead of fading in a record, cue it up to where the bass begins and slam it in sync with when the bass starts up again hard on the other record (check that they’re in sync, dropping the next track 😉

This technique helps keep your mix moving and keep people dancing.

You cut # 3 in too soon, too, because you waited too long to cut in the Calvin Harris track. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled to your time elapsed and/or your progress bar to avoid this. As a rule of thumb you should be starting to mix in the next track within 90 seconds of the end of the current track.

After this, the mixing is just too sloppy, unfortunately. That said, progressive house can be very hard to mix together, due to all the melodies which need to be synced as well (it’s not just about the beats, it’s also about the track’s key—A minor, B-Flat Minor, etc). Are you aware of what your tracks’ keys are?

It might be a good time to consider harmonic mixing, what the pros do. Harmonic mixing is a style of Djing, very commonly used by most, if not all, top DJs—it ensures your mixes are pretty much perfect because you’ll always be on key.

Get yourself Mixed In Key 5 software (about $40): this will tell you which key your track is in, which allows you to make near-perfect DJ mixes. Once installed on your computer, slide your entire music library on the Mixed In Key deck, wait for it to process all your tracks, and then move your tunes back to your DJ software; you will notice each track is now embedded with key and BPM information. After that, you can just sort by key and/or BPM.

One thing you could do now is, you could practice doing an entire set in C minor, for example. That way your tracks are all harmonically matched, and you can focus on becoming a better beat-matcher.

Keep up the work

NADAL
paris