Track Structure
"This is where you can start to leave fingerprints on the records."
All Club, techno, and trance music is comprised of 4/4 beats. This is obvious upon close inspection of the tempo of the music. You can count along with the music: "one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four." Trip hop, hip hop, ambient, acid jazz, electro, jungle, and drum'n'bass have varying beat structures and tempos that often deviate from the formulaic 4/4 time composition of club, techno, and trance.
All tracks have a number of different elements to their structure. Most tracks begin with an introduction, which leads into the body of the track, progresses to the break, and leads into the exit. It is possible to recognise these different stages of a track by the way they sound, and to differentiate between them by listening to the track carefully and paying attention to transition points, where particular sounds may change, or sounds may be added or removed. It is important to be able to recognise these separate parts of tracks, and also to recognise transitions between the parts.
The body contains every sound that makes up the main theme of the track. Typically, this includes the bass, a melody (or other mid-range "techno-noises"), and the treble line (symbols, a "clap", snare drums, or other high-frequency drum or synthesizer noises). The body typically has more energy and drive than the introduction, and within the body, the track will continually increase its momentum until it reaches the break.
The is the point of the most excitement and energy; the precise moment when the brake begins, typically, the bass terminates abruptly, and the momentum of the track temporarily slows down drastically. Generally, the break is the part of the track where MOST of the music stops, as the proverbial "silence before the storm", in order to build up the tension. The climax of the track is the precise moment when the momentum kicks in again. The bass begins as abruptly as it ceased. The main "theme" of the track begins in full swing, and the energy of the track rampantly fills the room once again. This is also the moment where -in case of a very good build up and climax- the crowd starts to yell... Chills down your spine and/or goose bumps are also indications that it is a brilliantly composed climax...Some DJs state that the build up is holy. Never Ever Ever "touch" a build up by mixing another record through it. This rule is not set in stone. It is possible to mix through a break effectively, but typically it is best to leave the break untouched, so as to preserve its drama.
In house, techno, and trance music, 4 Beats make up a bar, several bars make a loop, repeat the loop a few times and you have the theme (the characteristic melody of the track) and repeat the theme a few times and you have a stage. Loops are 4 or 8 bars, most of the time, themes are 16 to 32 bars (2 to 8 loops) and 2 to 8 times the theme makes the intro, body, break/build up/climax or exit. These are the basic elements of the track structure in these three genres of music. The ability to decipher the tempo, or time code, identify transitions between stages (eg. differentiate between the introduction and the body, for example, and be aware of when the introduction ends and the body begins), and recognise different stages are the key principals behind understanding how the music should be mixed so it will sound the best.
The most important thing to do at this point in time is to learn your records. You have to devote considerable time to just listening to the tracks you own and getting to know their structure. Once you are familiar with your records and you can rely more on your skills you will learn to line up the stage of the incoming record with the stage of the current one, so the exit of outgoing record will co-incide with the body of the incoming record.
This brings you to the stage of mixing.
The
intro is usually a lean version of the main theme. A lot of sounds which are
part of the main body can not be heard. Sometimes the intro starts with just
the bass drum. In other cases the bass is left out of it untill the 2nd stage