Beat Matching
Beat matching is making two tracks play at the same tempo with their beats landing together, so you can mix from one to the other without the kicks flamming. It is two jobs: match the tempo, then match the phase.
1. Match the tempo
Move the pitch fader on the incoming track until its BPM equals the playing track's. The move is a percentage of the incoming track's own tempo: new BPM divided by old BPM, minus one.
| Playing | Incoming | Fader move on incoming |
|---|---|---|
| 128 BPM | 124 BPM | +3.2% |
| 124 BPM | 128 BPM | -3.1% |
| 126 BPM | 120 BPM | +5.0% |
| 140 BPM | 70 BPM | +0.0% (lines up at double time) |
| 174 BPM | 87 BPM | +0.0% (lines up at double time) |
| 100 BPM | 95 BPM | +5.3% |
A track at half or double the tempo already shares the grid: 70 and 140 BPM line up beat for beat. How far the fader reaches depends on the range you set:
- ±6% from 124 BPM reaches 116.6 to 131.4 BPM
- ±8% from 124 BPM reaches 114.1 to 133.9 BPM
- ±10% from 124 BPM reaches 111.6 to 136.4 BPM
- ±16% from 124 BPM reaches 104.2 to 143.8 BPM
2. Match the phase
- Cue the incoming track on its first kick of a phrase, usually the first beat of a bar after an intro.
- Release it on the first beat of a bar in the playing track.
- Listen in your headphones. If the kicks gallop (two hits close together), nudge the jog wheel: push forward if the incoming track is behind, hold back if it is ahead.
- If they drift apart again after a few bars, the tempo is still slightly off. Move the fader a little and nudge again.
3. Check the keys too
Perfectly matched beats can still clash if the keys do not fit. The Camelot wheel shows which keys mix, and Compare Two Songs checks both tempo and key for any two tracks and works out the exact fader move.