Phrasing: Phrase Mixing Explained for New DJs

Phrase mixing is an essential skill for new DJs to learn in order to improve their craft a create professional sounding transitions.

The other day, I saw a redditor post a question about mixing. It was something along the lines of trying to understand how “big DJs” can mix songs so seamlessly. Of course there are several factors that go into creating a seamless, professional mix, but one element that he or she seemed to have trouble grasping was that of phrasing.

What is Phrasing?

Phrasing, in music, refers to the act of arranging notes and rests into phrases, or “musical sentences.” Music is often regarded as a language, with its own syntax, structuring, and vocabulary. So it makes sense to refer to a string of notes as a phrase.

In the DJ world, phrasing refers to the act of identifying these musical phrases in your tracks, and navigating your mixes accordingly. If you mess up your phrasing, your two tracks will end up clashing when you play them side by side. This is especially noticeable when there are vocals present in both tracks – use poor phrasing here and the voices will end up talking over each other. But if you use proper phrasing, your tracks will snap together like Legos. And they should – house and other forms of electronic music are built to fit together that way. Even traditional genres like rock, pop, and jazz can fit together really well when you employ proper phrasing.

How to Identify a Track’s Phrasing?

In many genres, identifying the phrasing isn’t difficult. You listen for a leading element (a guitar riff, a horn melody, a vocal line) and note when it begins, when it ends, and when the next phrase begins. 

That’s it.

In some genres, such as the sparse genre of minimal house, identifying the phrasing could be a little trickier. Minimal house, by definition, doesn’t have much overtly going on sometimes.

In the vast majority of cases, the phrase – made up by the musical line and the empty space (rests) that follow it – will consist of 1, 2, or 4 bars. It is important to also make note of the larger cycles too – 8 bars,16 bars, and 32 bars – because oftentimes they will contain sets of phrases that fit together into a larger musical expression.

Phrase Mixing: How to Use Phrasing to Build Better Mixes

Phrase mixing is when you build your mix around the natural phrasing of the tracks you are moving between.

Cue your incoming track to the beginning of a phrase. It could be looped, just make sure you loop the entire phrase. Time the moment you press “Play” on the incoming track with the beginning of one of the outgoing track’s phrases and beat sync them. Great – your tracks are now phrase synced! 

If you did this correctly, the bass lines will begin and end at roughly the same time. So will your lead elements. Also, in most cases, your dropouts, risers, and drops will line up as well. Your tracks will breathe together. This opens you up to play with EQ and effects, and sets the stage for some satisfying mixes.

Conclusion

Phrase mixing is extremely important when it comes to sounding professional, but it’s not all there is to it. There are many other factors that play into creating a great sounding transition – tasteful effects, judicious EQ use, entry / exit points, and more – but those are outside the scope of this particular article. 

Perhaps I’ll return to the topic of mixing and transitions in the future and cover those subtopics in-depth. Until then – practice, practice, practice!

-AudioMunk

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