Making a mashup is one of the most fun things about being a DJ. It’s a creative outlet for you to experiment with instrumentals and acapellas. DJ’s at every level mash up songs and create remixes of popular tracks. We can teach you how to make a mashup in 3 easy steps.
1. Pick the songs you want to use
Without a doubt this is the easiest step on the list but it’s also incredibly important. The songs that you pick are going to determine pretty much every aspect of your mashup. What genres are you trying to mix? Are the songs from the same era? How are you changing the vibe of the original track.
When you are making a mashup you have the freedom to be as creative as you want. You can take Hip Hop vocals and throw them on top of some Heavy Metal. Maybe you want to mix an EDM track with an R&B sample. Whatever you want to do go ahead and do it, as long as it sounds good.
2. Find the track’s acapella and instrumental version
If you try to make a mashup by just layering two songs on top off each other, it’s going to sound awful. There will be conflicting instruments and vocals the entire time and this is not what you’re after. That’s why you have to do a little bit of web surfing to find the instrumental and acapella versions of the songs that you want to mashup.
A lot of the time artists and producers release official studio acapellas and instrumentals. Ideally, this is what you’re looking for. It’s the only way to ensure the highest quality of audio for your mix. If you can’t find official studio versions there are other resources online that can help you find what you need. It is crucial that you separate the vocals from the instruments because this is what will allow you to mashup the songs.
3. Make sure the songs are in the same tempo and related keys
The last step before you can create your mashup is to make sure that the two audio files that you are using have the same beats per minute. This might be a little tough because beatmatching software will not recognise the tempo of acapella tracks. You still need to beat match in order to make your mashup sound good. Another thing you have to keep in mind is the key of the songs. If they are in different keys you will have to shift the pitch so that they match.
After all that is done you can start having fun mixing and matching the songs however you want. This is where you get to truly unleash your creativity with solo tracks, EQ levels or even place some effects on the vocals. Be original! Once you’re done just export the final product and you have yourself a mashup.
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