I am looking for technical terms which can be used to describe DJing techniques and concepts, if necessary borrowing from the more general field of sound engineering.

What term refers to a song which is ahead of the currect song in the playist, i.e. a song which is yet to play in the current session? And specifically the next song, and last played song, if such a terms exists?

What is the term for a song which has already been played (other than a 'played' song?)

During a mix of two or more songs, while the two or more songs are playing together, are there functional / technicl terms for these individual songs whicch describe their role in the mix , or relation to each other etc. Eg 'incoming song' for the song which has been added to the mix on top of another, which might then be called the 'exit song' or similar? Are they referred to as sound 'layers', etc?

Is there a specific term to describe this process of superimposing songs on top of each other, rather than the multifaceted term 'mixing'?

I dont know if anyone here is familiar with the British 'Viz' comic, but imagine if you will, the kind of jargon a 'MR Logic' from Viz would use describing the art of DJing. Or, just , what kind of jargon would a sound engineer use to describe them? (Maybe theres some divergence between the two )

Hey there,

to try and answer some of your questions,

- no 'term exists'

- no 'term exists'

- no, not really. Although there is a trend to have your 'special' but this I mean having an intro which can be a recording of an mc you work with for example introducing you. a theme tune written specially for you if you will...

- nah, just called mixing, or 'in the mix'

- not a viz ready

that answer your questions?

charlie

If you're into DJing then all you need to learn is 'n'ahah meeyn' and 'we love you people, we never knew it would be anything like this, but we love you people'.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

From a sound engineers perspective there is little or no need for any technical terms for the DJ's play list. The output from the DJ mixer is generally known as 'program' which just distinguishes it as pre-recorded material (and as such already Mastered, with a reduced dynamic range) rather than the untamed raw output from microphones and DI boxes.

Otherwise, sound engineers only have one piece of universal technical jargon for DJing. Which is, 'Don't let that idiot DJ touch any of my equipment.'

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote Zukan:

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If you're into DJing then all you need to learn is 'n'ahah meeyn' and 'we love you people, we never knew it would be anything like this, but we love you people'.

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Probably safer than shouting 'Make some noise if you want another audio layer superimposition'

Thanks for the replies (Even though all I got was one measly word).

I imagined that at least in an academic setting some relative terms would be used to distinguish between the layers of sound that make up the mix, rather than just song 1, or the name of the song. Something which describes their function, or place in the mix? Something along the lines of 'forward' or 'back' in the mix, but for songs rather than tracks, that might be used by mix engineers when they mix or master mix albums, where the whole thing is just one long mix , or mashups?

Edited by Califauna (22/01/13 09:55 PM)

Quote zenguitar:

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Otherwise, sound engineers only have one piece of universal technical jargon for DJing. Which is, 'Don't let that idiot DJ touch any of my equipment.'

Andy

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I'd add to that but I would be in breach of forum rules

Quote Califauna:

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I imagined that at least in an academic setting some relative terms would be used to distinguish between the layers of sound that make up the mix, rather than just song 1, or the name of the song. Something which describes their function, or place in the mix? Something along the lines of 'forward' or 'back' in the mix, but for songs rather than tracks, that might be used by mix engineers when they mix or master mix albums, where the whole thing is just one long mix , or mashups?

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I'd imagine most Dj's would chuckle at the fact it was being analysed in an academic setting. Layers would be the only correct term that springs to my mind once you stick one track over the other. If I was working with 4 deck setup I would discuss the layers as deck/track/channel 1/2/3/4 but I can't think of anything that could be used to describe them or their function within that.

I'm going to be blunt here and I certainly don't mean offence, but it just sounds like academia trying to dress it up as something more than it is in order to justify charging money to study it.

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

This is all about beat matching and beat mixing in hip-hop. The part of the song that gives you the exit point to the next song, is the 'out' and the part that gives you a good entry point is the 'in'.

The DJ should not just mix from one song to the next, but give the dance floor a 'teaser', i.e. the 'hook' or 'indicative' of the next song. So if the DJ is going from 'Request Line' to 'What People do for Money' he/she will tease with the line "What people do for the man!" a few times, scratched in. If he/she is going to Beyonce's 'Let's Move!' it would the line 'Move your body!' and so on.

If the new song is one they are bursting to hear ( a so-called 'floor-filler') that teaser will fill the floor, but the DJ then does not go over to the new song on the hook, but on a beat-matched open beat or middle eight and then mix back to the beginning, using a second copy of the maxi on his/her 'wheels of steel'.

Quote The Red Bladder:

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...stuff...

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Which is why it's all so interminable.

Few summers back my wife and I were staying in Cannes, and on the Saturday they set up a huge stage/lightshow/sound system on the public beach next to the palais de congress and some big name DJ (I assume*) was performing**

We found one of the rather nice restaurants on the croisette with an open air terrace and enjoyed a typical lazy Southern French dinner - you know the courses come slowly, the wine flows freely and before you know it you've been sitting there 3 hours. All the while we could hear the bass beats from the beach party floating across the balmy Mediterranean summer air. At one point I turned to my wife and said: "blimy, that record must be about 3 feet across, I don't think the bass beat or tempo has changed at all since we sat down"***

Yes the whole beat matching thing... very clever... But come on, light and shade people, light and shade

* could have been anyone really
** playing some records
*** and not a 9/8 poly-rhythm bit with a hammond solo the whole night FFS

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New album 'Fantasy Bridge' available now!
Making of Fantasy Bridge Diary

I'm expecting a rabid response to above two posts from someone who plays tech house any moment now...

Cut mixing whilst I appreciate it and it has it's place in some generes doesn't necessary work all that well across the board, I couldn't imagine most dance music guys getting behind thatt point of view. I agree Mark a set should rise and fall & ebb and flow doesn't mean you can't do it whilst blending and layering smoothly... it just means whoever you were listening too was a boring Dj!

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

I think OP will have better luck researching turntablism as a genre as opposed to DJing. These guy have many terms and also use a form of notation to transcribe their sets... http://ttmethod.com/.

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I'm All Ears.

Quote ken long:

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I think OP will have better luck researching turntablism as a genre as opposed to DJing. These guy have many terms and also use a form of notation to transcribe their sets... http://ttmethod.com/.

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Cheers. Couldnt gleam anything re. terms for individual layers within a mix section from that site. Will look further into turntablism though.

Will have to settle for 'mix-in' track and 'mix-out' track for now. Any further direction welcome.

Quote Califauna:

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Will have to settle for 'mix-in' track and 'mix-out' track for now. Any further direction welcome.

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The next track in is called a "segue".

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I'm All Ears.

Agree with Ken; turntablists are the ones who have named the various scratching methods. For me as a DJ of over 15 years I've never used any technical terms other than "the right deck" or "left deck", cross fader, cut and scratch.

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What term refers to a song which is ahead of the currect song in the playist?

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The next track.

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What is the term for a song which has already been played

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The last track.

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Is there a specific term to describe this process of superimposing songs on top of each other, rather than the multifaceted term 'mixing'?

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In the mix.

Clearly these aren't technical terms, because none exist as already stated. Some might have their own terms for your questions, but in my experience the only technical terms relate to how to cut and scratch.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote ken long:

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Quote Califauna:

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Will have to settle for 'mix-in' track and 'mix-out' track for now. Any further direction welcome.

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The next track in is called a "segue".

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Ive always understood that 'segue' refers to the transition between songs in mixing and music in general rather than the next song itself.

Given this wider recognised meaning, using the term to refer specifically to the next track in could be confusing.

For those curious about my reasons for asking, I am writing a technical document (no , its not related with academia, and no Im not designing a DJing / Mixing course!) which discusses these concepts somewhat - so terms need to be as unambiguous as possible.

Quote Califauna:

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For those curious about my reasons for asking, I am writing a technical document (no , its not related with academia, and no Im not designing a DJing / Mixing course!) which discusses these concepts somewhat - so terms need to be as unambiguous as possible.

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Oh, right. I thought you were trying to write a Viz style spoof.

In that case, call the previous track "the previous track" and the next track "the next track". We've already proved that anything more complicated will NOT be generally understood. Are there any techniques for which you CAN'T think of a plain English description?

Thanks Exhalted wombat, but this isnt just about what track is next and what track was last.

Yes I am iterested in that, but it's also about formal terms which distinguish between layers within a mix and their functional role. Some layers in a 'getting louder' so to speak, some are 'getting further away'. Some are 'sample layers'.

Saying the 'next track' isnt going to work in some situations, eg,if youre not going to play the 'getting louder' track on its own at any point, but you may bring the focus on the track for a while, then do the same again in 5 minutes time.

Any kind of formal terms which help define or distinguish (in a non-ambiguous way) between the types of layers in a 'mix' or their roles, are what would be useful to me.

Just because they havent been suggested yet doesnt mean it's 'proven' that such terms dont exist.

In general Im not looking for specifically one term here though. Just useful terms related to the above, in addition to those posted already (cheers!).

OK. So give us a list of the things you want to describe, in plain English, and then we can...probably say "use those terms, they're fine" :-)

Quote Califauna:

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Saying the 'next track' isnt going to work in some situations, eg,if youre not going to play the 'getting louder' track on its own at any point, but you may bring the focus on the track for a while, then do the same again in 5 minutes time.

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I'm not sure if the terms your looking for even exist!

I think the only way your going to be able to make this sort of thing clear it so pretty much spell it out with identifiers:

*"Starting with track one playing, you cue up track two in your headphones and bring it in on top of the previous track ensuring that you keep the two in sync.

*Drop the vocal of track two over the top and hold it there until both tracks enter a breakdown before dropping out track two.

*During the breakdown cue up track three in your headphones and start mixing when the breakdown ends and the track one begins the outro phase.

*Complete the mix smoothly through EQ & fader adjustments until track three takes promience, take track one off the deck, place track two back on there cue up and drop the vocal back over top of the mix... rinse & repeat."

Yeah, I see what you mean... I'm now thinking maybe some kind of flow chart.