Alright, so you’ve got a bunch of vocal samples and you want to figure out how to work them into your mashup but you don’t know where to start. Knowing how to mix acapellas is a crucial part of being a DJ and that’s why we’ve broken it up into 4 easy sections.
Always use an acapella in the right key
You would be surprised how many DJs make this mistake. It is very common amongst beginner DJ’s. If the acapella you’re trying to use in your mix is in a different key it is going to sound awful. It’s the same as when you try to mix tracks together that are in completely unrelated keys. The notes are going to clash and your whole mix will end up sounding off. Learn more about harmonic mixing here.
Mix acapellas over instrumental tracks
This sounds obvious but it’s crazy how many people overlook this simple fact. If you are sampling vocals from one track you don’t want to put them on top of the vocals from another. Conflicting vocals that are both fighting for hierarchy can make your mix sound busy and unfocused.
Be creative and original
As long as they are in the right key and sound great there is no reason not to be wildly creative with your acapella choices. The mix is your playground, you can do whatever you want. Mix genres, throw classic acapellas over some new school beats, rap vocals over rock instrumentals. There is no limit to what you can do. Change the pitch, speed up the tempo, do something original.
Use something relatable
If your listeners can recognize the vocals you are sampling it will add another dimension to your set. Crowds love it when they can pick out their favorite artists voice mixed in with some sick beats. Using popular acapellas is a sure fire way to get the audience pumped and signing along to the lyrics.
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