Turntable Lessons

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Press Start on deck A.
2. Watch the platter and the white line on the waveform.
3. Count to three, then press Stop.
4. Do it again. Notice how the record slows down.

Does the music stop at once, or does it slow down first?

Where on the waveform is the loudest part of your song?

Why does a real record keep turning for a moment after you press Stop?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

The platter is like…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Start deck A.
2. Slide the crossfader all the way to A. Listen.
3. Slide it to the middle. Then all the way to B.
4. Slide it back slowly while you listen.

What did you hear with the fader all the way on B and only A playing?

In the middle, was A quieter, louder, or the same?

Draw where the fader sits when you want to hear both decks the same.

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

The crossfader lets me…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Load a second song onto deck B.
2. Tap the waveform where the beat starts.
3. Press Set cue.
4. Hold CUE. Let go. The record jumps back to your mark.

Where did you put your cue point, and why there?

What happens the moment you let go of CUE?

Name two places in a song where a cue point would be useful.

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

A cue point helps a DJ because…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Start deck A. Find the BPM number on the right.
2. Start deck B. Find its BPM.
3. Tap TAP on the beat four times. Watch the number.
4. Write both numbers in the grid below.

Which song is faster? How can you tell without the number?

Clap along to A. Is it easy or hard to stay with it?

A song is 90 BPM. How many beats in one minute? In two?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

BPM means…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Start deck A.
2. Slide the gold Pitch fader up. Watch the BPM.
3. Slide it down. Watch the BPM again.
4. Put it back to 0%.

What changed in the sound when you pushed pitch up?

Did the voice change too? (Try KEY on and off.)

If A is 100 BPM and you push pitch to +5%, what is the new BPM?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

The pitch fader is for…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Start both decks. Make sure SYNC is off.
2. Listen to A. Listen to B. Which is faster?
3. Move B's pitch a little at a time.
4. Stop when the two BPM numbers are within 2 of each other.

Before you looked at the numbers, could you hear which one was faster?

What does it sound like when the beats drift apart?

What is one thing your ears can do that the SYNC button cannot?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

Beatmatching is hard because… / easy because…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Tap Full bench. Start both decks, fader in the middle.
2. Press KILL LOW on deck B. Listen.
3. On a downbeat, press KILL LOW on A and release it on B.
4. Press FLAT on both to reset.

With both basses on, what did the mix sound like?

What did the green curve do when you pressed KILL LOW?

Why do two basses at once sound muddy?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

I cut the bass on one deck so that…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Beatmatch B to A first (Lesson 7).
2. Set Fader to Blend. Put it all the way on A.
3. Count 8 bars, then slide to B over 4 slow seconds or more.
4. Stop A when the fader is all the way on B.

Was there a moment where both songs sounded like one? When?

What would make the blend smoother next time?

How many bars should a blend last? Why?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

A clean blend feels like…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Find beat one of a phrase on B. Press Set cue.
2. Hold CUE a few times to hear it. Let go.
3. Start A. Count the bars: 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4…
4. On the one of the next 8 bars, press Start on B.

Did B land on the one? How could you tell?

What helps you feel where the one is?

What does a DJ mean by 'the one'?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

Dropping on the one matters because…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Start B as your beat. Crossfader in the middle.
2. Find a loud sound on A. Set a cue there.
3. Hold the platter on A. Push forward, pull back.
4. Do it four times with B's beat: one and two and.

What sound did the pull back make?

Which was easier to keep in time: the push or the pull?

Who is said to have invented the scratch, and how? (Look it up below.)

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

Scratching feels like…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Set Fader to Cut. Start both decks.
2. Put the fader on A.
3. On a beat, flick it to B and straight back.
4. Try it every other beat for 8 bars.

How is Cut different from Blend when you move the fader?

What did a fast flick sound like? Slow?

When would a DJ choose a cut instead of a blend?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

I would use a cut when…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Start A. Count 4 beats to a bar: 1-2-3-4.
2. Count 8 bars. Did something change in the song?
3. Count to 16. Mark the change in the grid.
4. Press the 4-bar loop. Hear the bar lines on the waveform.

At bar 8 or 16, what came in or dropped out?

Does your song always change on the 8? Where didn't it?

Count the bars in the chorus of a song you like. How many?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

Counting bars helps me…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Full bench. Start A.
2. Slide the blue Filter left over 8 bars. The song goes muffled.
3. Slide Echo up for the last 2 bars.
4. On the one: filter back to the middle, echo to zero.

What did the filter take away first: the drums or the voice?

How did the drop feel when everything came back?

Name a song with a build and a drop. Where is the drop?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

A build makes people…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Tap Add songs under Up next. Pick three.
2. Read each BPM. Put the slowest first or the fastest first: your call.
3. Fill in the set list below: song, bars to play, BPM.
4. Send song 1 to A and song 2 to B.

Why did you choose this order?

Where will each blend happen? (Which bar?)

What should the last song of a set do for the room?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

The story my set tells is…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Song 1 on A, song 2 on B. Beatmatch them.
2. Press Record. Start A.
3. Blend to B where you planned. Load song 3 onto A.
4. Blend to A. Press Stop recording.

Which blend went best? What made it work?

Where did you lose the beat, if you did?

What did you do when something went wrong mid-set?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

Next time I perform I will…

Use two of them in a sentence.

Do these on the decks page. The lesson panel there checks each one off.

1. Find your take under the crossfader. Play it back.
2. Tap Save as .wav. Keep the file somewhere you can find it.
3. Write the name of the file in the grid below.
4. Type your name at the bottom and tap FINISHED.

Listen to your take. What do you hear that you did not notice while playing?

What is one thing a listener would like about your set?

Why does the site save your take as a .wav and not send it anywhere?

Set list, bars to play, BPM. Fill in what you used today.

My set, in one sentence: