Tap along to any track and it tells you the BPM — then lock a metronome to it and train your timing. Every mix starts with knowing the tempo.
Listen to a song and tap the big pad like footsteps — 1, 2, 3, 4! It counts how fast the song is going. Then turn on the drum-tick and clap along to feel the beat.
BPM — beats per minute — is how fast a track's pulse is. Two tracks at the same BPM can be beatmatched and mixed together. Tapping the tempo trains the most important DJ muscle you have: hearing the beat. Do it on ten tracks and you'll start guessing BPMs within a couple.
Slow songs have a slow beat. Fast songs have a fast beat. The number you tapped is the song's speed. When two songs go the same speed, a DJ can join them together so it sounds like one long song. Cool, right?
Any song with a clear beat — house, hip-hop, pop.
Pick one with a big thumpy beat you can hear.
Tap on every kick drum. 4–8 taps and the BPM settles.
Tap the pad every time you hear the BIG drum — 1,2,3,4.
Send it to the metronome and play along — feel the "1" of every bar.
Start the tick and clap on the bright one. That's the start of the beat!
Count in bars, not beats. Music moves in 4-beat bars, and phrases in 4, 8 or 16 bars. The glowing "1" is the top of each bar — DJs bring the next track in on a "1" so the two grooves lock. Tap tempo to find the BPM; count bars to know when to mix.
The bright number is the boss beat. Count "1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4" with the ticks. The bright 1 is where a new bit of music usually starts — that's the magic moment DJs use to switch songs!
Ready to line two tracks up for real? Open the Mix Simulator →