DJ Terminology
Before we can even get to the interesting stuff, we all have
to be speaking the same language. Here are a few terms you should know to
communicate with other DJs effectively...
Pitch control
The ability of a device to change the tempo of a song. This is
very important if you are beatmixing.
Pitch lock
The ability of a device to change the tempo of a song, without
changing the pitch. This lets you drastically speed up songs
with vocals without a "chipmunk" effect.
Pitch bend
The temporary changing of pitch to get beats in phase. Vinyl
DJs typically use their fingers to speed up or slow down the
record by pushing/pulling the record by the label. Some twist
the spindle in the center to change the pitch momentarily. CD
players offer this as buttons. Once the DJ stops bending the
pitch, the decks will automatically snap back to the current
pitch control settings. This is necessary since its possible
for two songs to be playing at the exact same tempo yet have
their beats out of phase. By bending the pitch momentarily,
the beats come into phase and the DJ doesn't have to worry
about readjusting the pitch control.
Tempo
The speed of a song. Usually measured in Beats Per Minute
(BPM).
Mixers
The essence of a mixer is that it can combine two or more
audio signals into one output signal. It should be noted
though that most mixers can do much more than just combine
signals.
Turntables (alias: TT's)
The proper term for a "record player." Now -- if you ever hear
anyone say the "rec.. player" term again, you must take the
time to either severely hurt them or educate them. Whichever
you deem appropriate.
Beats Per Minute (BPM)
The number of beats during one minute of a song. An identifier
of a song's tempo.
Cueing
Using your headphones to find the spot you want to start the
next song.
Throwing
Giving a record a little push when it starts up so you don't
have any lag time while it gets up to speed. CD players do
this by featuring instant start. (normal CD players may take a
few tenths of a second before a song starts) Throwing a record
nulls the lag time while it accelerates from zero to 33ish
RPM. It sounds silly at first but it is actually very critical
for beatmixing. (see below)
Cross fader (alias: x-fader, fader)
A slider control which moves from one input channel to another
in a very smooth fashion. The volume on each channel is
inversely proportional to each other, so if the x-fader is
completely on the left side, you will only hear the input for
that channel. Once you start moving it to the right, you will
gradually hear the right channel becoming louder. When the
x-fader is in the middle, each channel will be of equal
volume. As the x-fader continues to the right, the right
channel will approach full volume, and the left channel will
diminish.
Beatmixing (alias: beat matching, beat synching, hot mixing, mixing)
The art of bringing the beats of two different songs into
phase with one another and fading across. For example, if the
song the crowd is hearing is 130 BPM, and the next song you
want to play is 132 -- you slow the second song down to 130
bpm using pitch control, and cue it up to the beat. When you
are ready to bring the second song into play, throw the record
so the beats stay aligned and listen to it on your headphones.
MAKE SURE THEY ARE IN SYNC!!! Once you are sure things are in
order, use your cross fader to let the new song blend into the
old one, and eventually go completely across so only the new
song is playing. This will give the illusion that the song
never ended.
Once you get the hang of getting beats into sync, you will
quickly find many more interesting ways to fade in and out of
songs.
Decks
A very generalized description of gear used by a DJ to play
music. Most often referred to turntables and CD players.
Vinyl (alias: records, wax, 12" (reference to LP), 7" (reference to single))
If you aren't clear on what a record is, then this probably isn't the sort of
thing you should be doing...
