Ableton Forum

Will anyone out there give me an overview on composing a dj-style mix in Live 8?
I used to spin vinyl all the time in my heyday so I am very familiar with concepts such as beat-matching and different ways of fading and blending tracks. However, I am relatively new to software and having a heck of a time composing a mix (it is taking too many hours to compose a mediocre mix of 7 or 8 songs). Let me clarify, I am not looking to record a mix into Live... I wish to compose the mix inside Live using mp3s, wavs etc. .
For example, to beat-match tracks, what is the best way to go about this? I have a feeling I am not making good use of warp markers. And using partial tracks, what if I only want to include 2 minutes of a song and discard the rest? And also, for this purpose, with what settings do I need to import the audio? Sometimes it seems like I can't "warp" a track and it is just playing straight out of itunes... and finally, I love all types of music from all eras but for these current mixes I am most inclined to play up-tempo, drum-centric tracks (dnb, drumfunk and similar styles with perhaps a Madlib hiphop beat squished in the middle!!)
Please advise. Thanks to any of you who will offer some positive feedback !!
JW

Play some shit, fuck about with it - record while fucking about with it - job done!

the better you know the basics of Live the easier it will be to compose a dj-mix in it.
i strongly advise you to learn how to warp all your audio files properly before getting started, warping correctly is the key.

for a non realtime recorded mix that you are talking about doing, i'd drag and drop audio files into 2 separate audio tracks
in session view (2 audio tracks = 2 decks). make sure to adress one of the audio tracks to A and the other one to B. (A/B = either side of the crossfader)

if you only need a two minute part of a song you can easily "cut" the audio file in session view, just grab the end and drag to the length you want it. remember, it will not destroy the audio, you can drag / extend the clip out again if you like.

once all your audio files that you want in your mix are placed out on the time line you can start drawing your fades (or record them and later edit them)

hope this helps a bit

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