iMashup App from Mixed In Key

iMashup App from Mixed In Key

iMashup app - make virtual remixes

iMashup app – make virtual remixes

The iMashup app from huge DJ software company Mixed In Key is available to download from the app store for iPhone, iPad and the latest iPod Touch.

iMashup App Mixes

The iMashup app, usually priced at $4.99, allows you to create your own mashups and remixes of any songs. Importing whatever tunes you have in your iTunes music library is easy and you can start discovering which music tracks are compatible in moments. Editing in iMashup is easy all you need to do is touch to lay down points, then move volume envelopes up and down on your device screen (similar to editing in Adobe Audition) and pinch to zoom in or out on your tracks.

Other features include the ability to copy and paste, loop segments of music, sync with iTunes and share with your friends using Facebook or email.

EQ Adjustment

Want to get those musical harmonies sounding just right? You can adjust drums and bass using the Low EQ filter, vocals and melodies using the mid range EQ control and high EQ allows you to reposition the hi-hats in your final mix.

It’s available here so don’t delay download it now and get mixing!

iMashup for iPad

iMashup for iPad

How to Make Jingles for DJs

How to Make Jingles for DJs

How to make jingles for DJs

How to make jingles for DJs

Here are 3 steps with details on how to make jingles for DJs.

Voice Selection

The first step is to select the right voice for the DJ in question.

Do they want a male or female voice? Soft and whispered or deep and powerful vocals?

In most cases, the DJs I work with will select a voice to use in their DJ drops and jingles from the Music Radio Creative website themselves but there are those DJs that are far too busy working on improving their craft to make those decisions and in this case I or the team are happy to select a voice that would match the DJ’s own style.

Many DJs will ask for a DJ jingle package that ‘sounds like’ the audio Armin Van Buuren, Tiësto or Ministry of Sound use. That’s fine, it gives something to work with and we’re always able to find a suitable voice in our bank of talent.

Voice artist selection is a critical first step as it defines the branding of a DJ. Get it right and you’re well on the way you creating great DJ jingles that will compliment any music genre!

Script Ideas

The next process in making a DJ jingle is to find out what you want the voice over to say?

This is one process that can stop a DJ that is otherwise very keen to have their own jingles from progressing. It’s often difficult to think of exactly what you want to convey to your avid listeners.

The best place to start is with the DJ name – that is simple enough – you could get the name of the DJ recorded in different vocal styles (whisper, soft, hard sell) and that can then be mixed with sound effects in the next step.

Think of what else you’d like to say? Many mix DJs will want to seamlessly ‘drop’ a vocal jingle in between their mixes and one of our most popular DJ drop requests at Music Radio Creative is ‘DJ name… in the mix’. Other DJ drops could include the style of music the DJ plays and where to find their website and social media presence.

Script Writing Tip: Remember to keep it simple! Don’t mention 3 websites in one jingle. Limit it to one website per cut. Drop the www and shorten forward slashes from web addresses to keep the flow so, for example, ‘facebook dot com slash dj name’ sounds much better than ‘w w w dot facebook dot com forward slash dj name’.

Producing The Jingles

Now you’ve chosen the voice and had the scripts voiced by the talent you’re ready to mix.

My favoured audio editing software package is Adobe Audition but you may also choose to use Cubase, Pro Tools, FL Studio and others to achieve the same effect.

Many DJs like to use DJ intros to open their set, live gig or mix podcast. This is yout chance to be really creative and use many different vocal effects and sound effects. I always like to begin a DJ intro with a long powerful sound effect like a crash, boom or long whoosh and build the tension (perhaps by using a countdown from 5 to 1) and then let that run into a piece of licensed production music from our library that matches the DJs own music style. The final part of the intro could contain the words ‘DJ name, now live… in the mix’ and I would usually end the music before this last line with a transition sweeping sound effect into a dry voice over (dry means voice without music or sfx backing) and an echo so that the DJ using the intro can start the first track in their set underneath the final dry voice part and it will all flow together well.

DJ drops I prefer to keep far simpler in terms of sound effects. This is because many DJs will slide them on top of the music they play. Any loud sound effects, crashes or pows could potentially collide with the beat of the music so I prefer to use vocal effects and subtle light sound effects. My top 3 vocal FX for any DJ jingle, created in Adobe Auditon, are aural flanger, chorus and turntable losing power – I made a video tutorial about them here.

DJs often want their jingles created to match a certain BPM (I like 120 beats per minute) as a default. They can then pitch them up and down to match the beats of their tracks. If I’m creating vocal audio to match a BPM I will often pull in a reference track at the specified BPM and start matching to those beats. Adobe Audition also has a metronome feature in the multitrack editor (multitrack is the place you mix different audio tracks like voice and sound effects together) to help you stay on time.

A final tip for producing voice over jingles for DJs is to ensure you add some EQ and compression so that the voice cuts across music and doesn’t get drowned out. There is a great filter in Adobe Auction and many other DAWs for doing this. It is called the FFT Filter. You should use the FFT Filter to reduce sound frequencies on the voice below around 250 Hz. This will ensure that your vocals will be heard with the music rather than fight with the music.

If you’re interested in learning more about creating jingles and producing voice overs for DJs then head to my YouTube channel and subscribe for regular updates.

A Year with Armin van Buuren

A Year with Armin van Buuren

A Year With Armin Van Buuren

A Year With Armin Van Buuren

Armin Van Buuren reveals that it was his streaming internet radio show on ID&T Radio that kick started his career as a trance DJ and propelled him to worldwide fame.

DJ documentary ‘A Year with Armin van Buuren’ has premiered on the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines YouTube channel and reveals a fascinating insight into the life of the world’s number 1 DJ for 4 years running.

The year in the life of a superstar DJ begins by showing Armin on the phone chatting to his wife on his way to a photo shoot. Showing the real, human, everyday life side of soon to be father Armin van Buuren.

Work Ethic of The World’s Number 1 DJ

The documentary soon reveals the work ethic that is required to become a successful DJ in the business. Armin spends up to 18 hours a day in his studio making trance music and is often on the road and in the air for long periods of time on his way to gigs around the world in places like London, Miami, Berlin, Dubai and (of course) Ibiza.

The charming aspect, revealed about Armin van Buuren, when the documentary films him at his parents’ house si that he started like many of us as a ‘bedroom DJ’ with his turntables, records, mixing desk and speakers all set up next to his bed. He even had a mirror put up on the wall in front of him as he couldn’t here his mother walking into the room when he was deep in a mixing session! This is the very place that he created his first dance sensation Blue Fear.

“Trance music has a special effect on people.
It unites them in a way I have never seen with other types of music.
It makes them ecstatic and has an almost religious effect.”
- Armin van Buuren

Armin van Buuren Headphones and Other Equipment

Armin Van Buuren's Studio

Armin Van Buuren’s Studio

You get to see the recording of Armin’s A State of Trance podcast during the film and, if you have sharp eyes, you’ll see some of the equipment Armin van Buuren uses to record his on demand music radio show. His headphones are a brand that I highly recommend and use myself at Music Radio Creative – Beyerdynamic DT250 headphones produce excellent sound quality, are closed around the ears and  provide the perfect means to enjoy big beat trance music. He uses an Apple iMac to record and edit his show and is seen later in the film using a MacBook Pro while on the move.

Other equipment shown in his old bedroom include 1990s vintage synth the Roland XP-30 and when he is seen collaborating on a track with Ferry Corsten they are banging out a tune on the popular, now discontinued, Roland JP-8000 synth.

The Power of Internet Radio

At the start of his career when he was an unheard of DJ from Leiden in the Netherlands trying to make a name for himself and his passion for trance music Armin was quick to realise the power of the internet (the whole world can listen) to spread his music, ideas and way off life to all corners of the globe. He became famous as a result of his late night mix radio show that would stream on the internet from Amsterdam on ID&T Radio. Armin continues to use the power of the internet to spread his music in a regular podcast and via his SoundCloud profile. He has also been interviewed as a guest on many radio stations including Dutch radio station Radio 538.

“Armin was good at recognising the power of the internet.
Especially in relation to his radio show.
The whole world was listening.”
-Maykel Piron, Manager

Watch the Armin van Buuren Documentary, in full, below with closed captions in Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian and Spanish (thanks to YouTube’s new feature that allows you to translate captions into multiple languages).

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