In today’s article, DJ PC3 breaks down how to beat grid Hip Hop tracks in Traktor. He explores two great techniques for making sure the grids are perfect when Traktor’s internal beat grid engine fails to do the job. Keep reading after the break for more videos on beat gridding electronic music, beat grids on acapellass and how to mix in and out of rock tracks.
Amazing! Great tutorial thank you
and – a german tutorial how to beatgrid hiphop tracks in english!
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125724
and – a german tutorial how to beatgrid hiphop tracks in english!
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125724
how to hiphop warp tracks in tr@ktor 4 germans:)
http://www.exyi.com/ODc80qjfGOO__how-to-beat-grid-hip-hop-in-traktor
how to hiphop warp tracks in tr@ktor 4 germans:)
http://www.exyi.com/ODc80qjfGOO__how-to-beat-grid-hip-hop-in-traktor
I was innocently watching these vids alone in my apartment, curious about Ian’s Led Zeppelin mix. While watching the first part of the mix and musing on the artful elevation of the fingertapper/dashboard piano player, along came the chromatic vocal beat juggle. What at first seemed a bit simple and cheesy(though I’m really not one to judge) became not just awesome but HYSTERICAL! Suddenly, alone in my apartment, I was laughing out loud as the song ended and I reminded myself that this was Led Zeppelin…
I was innocently watching these vids alone in my apartment, curious about Ian’s Led Zeppelin mix. While watching the first part of the mix and musing on the artful elevation of the fingertapper/dashboard piano player, along came the chromatic vocal beat juggle. What at first seemed a bit simple and cheesy(though I’m really not one to judge) became not just awesome but HYSTERICAL! Suddenly, alone in my apartment, I was laughing out loud as the song ended and I reminded myself that this was Led Zeppelin…
seriously one of the best videos on the net. Perfect for beginner and anyone who is trying to improve their sound..
seriously one of the best videos on the net. Perfect for beginner and anyone who is trying to improve their sound..
You tube is blocking How to beat grid Hip Hop tracks in Traktor.Can you post an alt link
You tube is blocking How to beat grid Hip Hop tracks in Traktor.Can you post an alt link
So essentially, these are tips and tricks for people who don’t have beat matching skills and are unable to mix acapellas on the fly and have them be on beat? I think less features is more and practice makes better.
the hiphop vid is not available in germany because itz a sony vid?
ughh..is it a trick!
Awesome videos!! Thank you so much for these guys, they are greatly appreciated!!
can saw this vid. in germany!!!!
This tutorial is GREAT!!!! Thanks to all the guys who had an input!! this is exactly what i’ve longed for, for a while now!
Great JOB guys!!
All I have to say is THANK YOU… I think it is always better to know as much as possible if you are going to use anything effectively. Whether you can beat match by ear or you have to cheat. The more you know about the capability of your equipment the more you can experiment and play. Hence the better and more unique your sound and overall performance. This is great, thanks again guys…
An absolutely critical step in setting a proper beat grid is to make sure the tempo is correct. There's a slight hint of doing this in the Hip Hop video on deck A (tapping the tempo) but it really deserves mention, especially for a beginner tutorial. I couldn't count how many DJs I've worked with that are new to Traktor (or similar) that set the start of their grids correctly, but never the tempo.
Comparatively, tempo is discussed very well in Ean's video on un-quantized music…
I’m in South Africa and not only can I not watch the videos, I can’t even SEE them. Am I just a fool who is missing something vital? Someone please help.
why did my previous post received thumbs down….
wtf,i just told some people how they could watch the videos using an online proxy.next time google hidemyass.com and then give thumbs down/up
by the way,this comment thing,the thumbs up/down is really lame!trolls are very happy and nice people receives bad credit for some stuff.
this whole youtube-styled like/dislike system is already starting to get annoying.
who’s to say what is a good comment or what’s a bad comment
and then the troll comes in and thumbs-downs all the comments.
i wonder how many thumbs-downs this comment will get…
Great to see some Hiphop articles coming in the TechTools site. Along with the follow up from Qbert too. Any chance we can get some technique tutorials for the DVS users out there Serato/Traktor scratch? I have my own tricks, just would like to see what else I can learn!
I would really appreciate this as well. Prior to picking up Traktor Scratch Pro 2 and an S4, I was strictly a vinyl DJ for about 10 years. So although I have that experience, I am sure there are things using DVS that I would not think of.
I would really appreciate this as well. Prior to picking up Traktor Scratch Pro 2 and an S4, I was strictly a vinyl DJ for about 10 years. So although I have that experience, I am sure there are things using DVS that I would not think of.
guys that cannot watch should hide there asses!
google hidemyass …
The Video cannot be watched in Germany. 🙁
cant watch it. contains sony material, video cannot be watched in germany.
pls upload on vimeo,
Hej there, could you up the first video on vimeo or dailymotion or even zipped on a hoster. would be great, cause youtube wont show it at all..
The video doesn’t play over here in Germany due to copyright restrictions from sony (blabla)… just wanted to point that out 🙂
I know that but only You tube does that if you post it on another site like vimo it will work.
I know that but only You tube does that if you post it on another site like vimo it will work.
Man i really loved this video, I would love to see more on transitions and mixing techniques for the Hip-Hop genre
On a similar type of thing – would love tutorials on mixing different genre’s / bpm’s please!! Any good tips n’ tricks to make this easier – cause I still haven’t nailed it.
Like what FX can be used to go from 170bpm to 120bpm seamlessly? And then back up to 170bpm again. Surely DJTT has the goods for me here!! C’mon!! (I’m getting excited…).
How to Beat Grid Hip Hop in Traktor
“This video contains content from Sony Music Entertainment. It is not available in your country.”
since Sony put rootkits on their CDs several years ago and they never got punished properly for _HACKING_ people’s computers, i have had personal moratorium on buying their stuff. if i can’t find a non-Sony alternative, i just decided to do without.
this kind of “you can’t see this video” garbage is just one more reason why i just don’t like them as a company. i’d like to get others to join me in my boycott. seriously, the fact that their song was used as an example in a learning video isn’t a real performance. it isn’t like someone is going to copy what bits played in that video and play it on their MP3 player or, heavens forfend, on their DJ rigs over the house PA!
i wish Sony and all the other copyright maximalists would just grow up and realize that some uses of their OMGITSCOPYRIGHTEDYOUTHEIVINGPUNKS content is actually legitimate “fair use” under existing copyright law.
for all of those who are disadvantaged by Sony’s lack of thinking power, i feel your pain. we still can’t get spotify here in the States…
******
the preceding content reflects the opinions of DJ Dennis and nobody else, especially not DJ Tech Tools, DJTT employees, business associates, friends, lovers or relatives. the opinions are mine alone.
Hey,
I had no idea that Sony Music had that kind of strangle hold over their music (otherwise I wouldn’t have used those songs). I originally did the videos, on the first two songs used in the intro, but decided not to (for various reasons).
If I would have known there would be a region issue, I wouldn’t have used different songs.
***********
But to be honest I am really surprised that the YouTube detected the song; its only play unmixed for about 20 secs.
What a shame. Thanks anyways.
look up sony on wiki see controversy
or google
“Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
interesting stuff..
[quote comment=”45190″]i fkn hate sme and all the lables that forbid to watch videos using their music![/quote]
http://hidemyass.com/ will fix this =D
Remember to lock your beat grids kiddies. After your beat grid is perfected click the lock button. This will both protect the grid from unwanted mishaps and remind you that the beat grid was edited by placing a lock icon on the track in your browser window.
Ohh yea, this one I have learned the hard way 😉
And Traktor IS awesome to also spin Hip Hop.
I would how ever like to se a tutorial on how to scratch using CDJ Traktor and time code or HID interface
HAve a good one and keep the articles comming
I’ll def consider doing some scratch-beginner videos. But Scratch is such an individual thing (no two people scratch the same, or for the same effect), I think it may not be taken as well, but I’ll def consider it.
nice tutorials!
ps:do not keep your master volume like dj pc3 XD
The beat gridding vids from DJTT have been awesome…
Therefore, it’s unfortunate that the latest vid doesn’t play here in Germany.
“This video contains content from Sony Music Entertainment. It is not available in your country.”
Sweet some hip hop related posts. Cool stuff man PC3, I’ll check this out tonight. Someone mentioned the advantage of colored waveforms. It makes a signficant different. Based on Traktor’s waves you are placing a VISUAL marker based on what sound you hear? Doesn’t make sense. With colored waveforms you have the visual feed back.
Keep’em coming PC3, will be interesting to see if the new Traktor versions are a bit more user friendly.
These videos showcase one of the things about traktor that really differentiate it from the other digital vinyl systems out there. It’s got a lot of stuff (and maybe fluff) but if you can leverage all the features in Traktor, you can really do some crazy things that Serato and other DVS systems cannot do easily. Although the interface isn’t as nice and clean as Serato.
Which mixer is that in the A-Cappella video? It’s hard to tell.
Sorry, I meant in the HOW TO MIX UN-QUANTIZED MUSIC tutorial. 3rd one. 🙂 Great stuff, btw.
Maybe it’s just me, but that the white line is not on the beat
I was referring to the hip hop one btw
this comment rating thing is already kinda crazy i feel like someone is going through n hitting thumbs down on comments there no reason to do so on.
+1. It’s like some guys intentionally want to s***w the system.
Hope it won’t continue to be like this
At the end of the mixing unquantized rock video Ean says there will be a video on doing personal edits in Ableton to achieve this as well. I kno this is an old video and I would really like to learn how to this. I cant find a video on how to do so anywhere tho any suggestions?
Traktor & hip hop…unheard of!
DJ PC3 where you get the versions with Intro? Do you get them through any specific pool?
mymp3pool is the best one imo well well worth the $20/month
How would you go about griding transition tracks that fluctuate heavily in BPM?
Now that TRAKTOR is bringing colored waveforms I am interested in finding out more about it and possibly making it my system of choice, hence the research and my question. Thanks again.
Ah yes! finally I’ve been waiting for the day (since I mainly spin hip hop) great videos DJTT
So that was it! Just change the bpm with the proper grids set. It’s tricky allright, but I think I got it.
Now, let’s try it
I wouldn’t call the tracks used Hip Hop, but still a good tutorial video.
agreed. those are pop/top40 tracks.
I agree Hip Hop is so popular now-a-days, its hard to draw the line of what truly is “Hip-Hop.” I basically went with songs that are my Hip Hop radio statin (WGCI – Chicago) and songs that would be good examples of two different types of hip hop songs (those heavy on bass like Fire Flame [which is actually accredited to Birdman] which is heavy on extended base and what I call, a “tick tock” beat like Another Planet).
But I think both those songs would be classified as hip hop by iTunes (for whats it worth)
Very easy tutorial, the tutorials Ean made in the past confused me.
Glad you like it and got something out of it, I plan on doing a lot more Hip-Hop (or Top 40/pop depending who you’re talking to lol) tutorials, to give an alternative for the readers that are interested.
I know this site does mainly EDM, but there’s no reason why DJTT can’t be inclusive and expand to be applicable to all genres types.
Just trying to give something for everyone.
Top40/Pop/Urban is my main genre i spin now…got to pay the bills somehow
“I plan on doing a lot more Hip-Hop (or Top 40/pop depending who you’re talking to lol) tutorials, to give an alternative for the readers that are interested.”
I, for one, would be. I just commented on another article here on how little focus hip-hop receives on this site (though a lot of hip-hop is mashed into other genres, which is great).
You have my vote – keep the knowledge coming.
@DJ PC3 –
1. This article is super. Learned a few things about beatgridding in Traktor. Gold!
2. Not everybody does EDM there young fella!! Putting Zepp over top of EDM, well, I’m still scraping bits of brain off the floor desperately trying to get them back into my head… Like the old disco track sang “more More MORE”.
@Ean –
As I scrape up the fragments of what little sanity I had, I come to some questions. I’ve had these questions rolling around since you did the S4 controllerist videos for NI. You explain these manipulations and I understand what you did from a _mechanical_ perspective but that is like trying to teach someone to paint by telling them where Botticelli put certain brushstrokes. What trips me up is thinking about why (other than you the BPM was solid) you chose the loops you chose or the songs you chose (Bangin’, Pendulum). Am I making this harder than it really is?
Then there is the whole bit where once chosen and playing, how did you decide to apply FX and actual playing of the loops and so on. Is that all just by “feel” on your part or is it planned out?
If you want to start something like Q-Bert’s scratch academy for controllerists, I’d enroll. That would be one thing worth paying some cash for.
So, what drives the decision processes behind that performance? I want to learn how but I don’t think I want to just copy the stuff you’ve shown and maybe I don’t trust my own judgement enough to just dive in…
DJ PC3 – Very well done my brother. Keep it coming man.
Great stuff Dj PC3 and Ean. Quality work as usual.
Daaaaaaaaang! Ean just shut up all the haters with that “How to mix Non-electro rock and roll woooooooo into electro music”!! THAT WAS SICK!! PENDULUM OVER ZEPPELIN? WHAAAAAT??? Sickness . And DJTT is back….
the zepplin was a good mix
as far as “shutting up the haters” with it
He posted good content. Usually the “haters” “hate” on bad articles who 9/10 times is NOT written by Ean, but some random douche douche like name drop McGee.
That and Bias that Exists toward NI, from being a dealer obviously… You could just start selling serato boxes or become an M-audio dealer and sell ANY rival products .. you’d truelly be neutral then. and shut us up at the same time.
This is not necessary if youve learned to beamatch properly. Lol
No shit clever clogs, but it is necessary if you want effects to run properly. Just like SSL, Traktors effects are timed by the bpm of the track.
Any self respecting Traktor based dj worth there salt will have to be able to beat match manually. Even with sync, traditional beat matching skills are still %100 required to do the job properly.
It’s pretty ignorant to think that Traktor dj’s struggle to beat match. Yes sync features do obviously make basic deck to deck mixing very very easy, but in the right hands so much more is possible as it helps to blur the line between dj’n and live production. Of course there are a few epic dj’s like J-Rocc from the beat junkies who can mix 4 tracks, add effects and manipulate loops while beat matching manually. But even he has to stick to rigid pre planned short sets while performing that style. With sync it’s then possible to be a lot more spontaneous with multi track dj’n/live production as you can then focus on clever fx automation, harmonics and loop controls. All of which are skills that take years to develop where as any one can learn how to beat match in a couple of weeks.
There’s always been fake dj’s long before Traktor and yes I expect we both agree sync is most probably adding to the shit pile, but it’s opening the door to new avenues of creation that are simply impossible with out it.
beatmatching is still pretty much a necessary evil. you can’t sync into the dj before you thats playing on cdj’s for example.
beat grids (or their serato counterpart) are necessary for any digital dj using traktor or serato as doubledutch has pointed out – fx wont work properly otherwise… but if you are mixing externally ie through a djm800 and are using the mixer fx exclusively, then yes beatgriding becomes redundant for that.
Although the PC3’s tutorial mixing hip-hop was insightful, I think he focussed a little too much on the technical aspect of setting up beat grids and not enough time pointing out how to simply recognise bars and count beats in your head. Instead of going straight into beat gridding and saying “hit auto-recognise this” and “sync-button that” he should have played the each song a little longer and pointed out how to count bars. It isn’t rocket science to count the beat: 1…2…3…4…1…2…3…4. After you’ve worked out what beat number 1 is, put your cue point and start your beat grid there too. Hey presto! You’ve successfully beat-gridded and setup a cue point for your song!
I’m advocating some sort of anti-syc-button elitism here, this BASIC time signature recognition which EVERY DJ HAS TO KNOW no matter what genre they play. If you can’t do this then LEARN IT before you do ANYTHING else. This is the exact reason djs which totally rely on auto syncing get such a bad wrap.
[quote post=”10813″]I’m advocating some sort of anti-syc-button elitism here, this BASIC time signature recognition which EVERY DJ HAS TO KNOW no matter what genre they play.[/quote]
I meant to say: I’m NOT advocating some sort of anti-syc-button elitism here.
I here what your saying, but to to be fair the article is labeled how to beat grid hip hop in Traktor, not beat matching basics.
“This is the exact reason djs which totally rely on auto syncing get such a bad wrap.”
Considering there is no way you could use sync to beat match with 100% accuracy for even 30 mins let alone an hour it’s a bit of myth that there’s a whole new breed of dj’s that totally rely on sync without having to manually adjust here and there. A myth that is fueled by dj’s who seem to get offended by alternative software with different features from there own software of choice, which is bit f%ck’n pathetic if you ask me.
@ RubixDigitales, I’m not having a pop at you mate.
“A myth that is fueled by dj’s who seem to get offended by alternative software with different features from there own software of choice, which is bit f%ck’n pathetic if you ask me.”
That was aimed at the narrow minded cry baby’s who get there self righteous knickers in a twist over such a tiny little button, but yet can’t get enough of those paralel waveforms which actually make beat matching even easier than using Traktors sync feature.
I hope with these tutorials it becomes more clear to people why colored waveforms might be a bit more helpful in Traktor than they previously thought. It simply relays more visual information to the user that helps when the software goes wrong. How can that not be a good thing?
The new S4 traktor interface uses colored waveforms doesn’t it? I user Serato and the color wave forms help when mixing in a pinch, or your monitors are terrible or lack of!
Best practice is to get out of looking at those waveforms for the majority of your mix. Playing a track and looking to cue it up is fine. But to train your ears, learn the count, and being able to separate and beat match without the use of the waveform will help you out. Get that down and its one less thing to think about and you can use that to expand your mixing creativity!
Damn you Ean! You make that stuff look so EASY (mixing unquantized rock w/ electro)!! Or am I just making it so hard? That was a pretty awesome video. It just *SEEMS* so simple when you do it…
ohh and the controllerism at the end of the video of “Mixing Non-Electro into a set” was fking sick!
hahahaha love it. I just said to myself…..self you need to see how to set beat grids on traktor. I open DJTECHTOOLS and boom. GET OUT OF MY HEAD TECHTOOLS!!! Awesome post!!
this is lke the 10th time I have been on this post today. Shit Ean! Class is now in session. More please
=] Thanks!
hello mr golden i was wondering if it is possible for u to sell some of your jog wheels on vestax 100 please let me know if its possible thank you.
i fkn hate sme and all the lables that forbid to watch videos using their music!
I know they don’t touch much on the subject. I’m suggesting they should thats all.
And just a note, try and use some proper english without the caps lock on. I can barely read your comment and that grammar just makes you sound like a child and can’t be taken seriously.
You’re a fuck head mate. We don’t need tossers like you ruining our community. DVS or not, it’s all digital djing and has a place here. Your negative shit is the reason they’ve put this stupid rating system in.
Leave your negative comments to yourself and keep wan king your tiny dick in your bedroom while hiding from your mom.
Fuck off dick head !
Ha ha ha ha ha, am I actually supposed to be offended, annoyed or something? Dude your about as funny as heart attack and your inability to come back with any sort of sensible argument for your narrow minded beliefs simply makes you look even more of a tool! Keep on digging that hole mate, heaven forbid you could try and raise your game, or is putting together clever words that form a meaningful sentence a little bit difficult for you?
++
Sorry for feeding captain funny here. I do agree that this vote up and down thing doesn’t work for Techtools.