Affect the Mood of the Crowd Through BPM/Tempo - DJ Tips

DJ Tips and Tricks: How to Affect a Crowd Through Music

3 Major Tips to Consider:

1. Anticipate the crowd's preference before building your playset (refer to this famous scene from the Blues Brothers)
2. Intentionally create lulls in the beat, as the audience members have to use the lavatories, buy refreshments (make the venue happy!), and take a rest from the action.
3. Step up or down the action in stages using BPM - too high or too low of a shift in BPM from one song to the next will feel unnatural and might break the mood of the crowd.

How Zulu DJ Mixer Can Help You With #3

DJs can go from the memory of what the tempo of songs is like to transition from song to song and stagger the mood up or down, but modern software advances make this job much easier by automatically calculating BPM for you.

If you have been making your playlists for parties or events through iTunes or some other music software, you'll have a hard time going back after trying DJ software designed for the purpose. Try Zulu, and see the difference.

What is Tempo?

Tempo is the pace of a song, the rate at which beats occur in the music. It is measured in Beats Per Minute, abbreviated as BPM.

How Music Affects the Brain

Music can affect us in surprising ways. One study showed that after hearing a short piece of music, participants were more likely to interpret a neutral expression as happy or sad, to match the tone and tempo of the music they heard.

Another aspect of how our emotions are affected by music is that there is two kinds of emotions related to music: perceived vs felt. This means that we can understand the emotions of a piece of music without actually feeling them, which explains why some of us find listening to sad music enjoyable, rather than depressing.

Type of Music vs Personality Types

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University undertook one of the largest studies of how music affects us by asking over 30,000 volunteers what types of music they preferred, then having them take a personality test to associate genres with personality types. Their results have been mapped in the picture below (click to enlarge):

Tempo and the Heart/Mood

The musical community has long held that the tempo of a piece of music affects the heartbeat associated with the corresponding physical state or emotion which the music suggests. From the link above:

The range 60-80 beats per minute is calm and relaxed, less than 60 is often very relaxed, introspective or even depressed. 80-100 is moderately alert and interested. 100 upwards is increasingly lively, excited or agitated and, since we crave some degree of excitement from our entertainment, 80-120 is quite a common tempo, and even 120-160 is common in some energetic situations. We're not saying that there is an absolute correspondence between heartbeat and music tempo, but there is a strong degree of suggestion between the two. 

To put that in perspective, here are the general BPMs of different genres - one can at least anecdotally see if this theory holds sway on an individual level:

• Ballad / Slow: 50 to 85 BPM
• Mid-Tempo: 90-105 BPM
• Up-Tempo: 110-125 BPM
• Fast: 130 BPM and up
• Blues: 50 BPM and up
• Ambient/Movie Score: 80 BPM
• Down-Tempo: 65-95 BPM
• Reggae: 60-90 BPM
• Hip-Hop: 85-110 BPM
• Rock: 90-100 BPM
• Alternative Rock: 120 BPM
• RnB/Motown: 75-100 BPM
• Dance/House: 110-130 BPM
• Trance: 120-140 BPM
• Techno: 130-150 BPM
• Dubstep: 130-145 BPM
• Drum n’ Bass: 150-170 BPM
• Punk Rock: 140-200 BPM
• Bluegrass: 120-240 BPM

How to Use This as a DJ:

Most DJs know that one of the core responsibilities of a DJ is to keep the crowd satisfied, but not all DJs know that responsibility must be taken on as a give-and-take relationship: the DJ determines the tone as much as the audience does.

Click on the link to download or purchase  

Zulu DJ Software by NCH

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival October 7, 2013

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Erik Matlock presents Another fine fiasco | The Art of the Soundcheck posted at The Art of the Soundcheck, saying, "War stories from the pro audio world. This time, we are running a show where the rig has been rented from several different vendors. What could go wrong?"

Tim presents Acoustic Guitar Recording posted at Deacon Tim’s Audio Blog, saying, "Recording a great-sounding acoustic guitar track used to be a real challenge, but with today’s highly affordable hardware and software, you can have the power of a pro studio right in your computer on your desk.

Jon Tidey presents Tips For Recording Great Electric Guitar Without Amps posted at Pro Sound Web, saying, "With direct guitar recording into virtual amps you can rock out through a great guitar chain without the neighbors calling the cops. This article outlines a few tips and best practices for getting great guitar tones without amps or mics."

Marie Tueje presents SFX Independence posted at Designing Sound, saying, "A list of new SFX libraries that came out in September and are available to purchase/sample now."

Casie lane presents Electronic Music Labels Using Pinterest posted at DJ Casie Lane.

Assap presents Isolated EVPs mystery posted at The ASSAP Blog, saying, "Why do the most convincing EVP recordings all seem to be single words or short phrases with little or no accompanying noise?"

Lilach presents How, What, Where and Why Guide to Podcasting posted at Socialable, saying, "Have you ever considered starting your own podcast? Anyone with a computer and Internet access can start their own podcast, so get your microphones ready and check out these tools to help you get started." John Lee Dumas presents 3 Unique Ways to Get Started With Business Podcasting posted at Social Media Examiner, saying, "There are many ways to approach business podcasting without interrupting your schedule, budget and skills."


You might also be interested in:

• New Music Practicing Software
• Zulu DJ Software Now An Android App
• Teaching Reading Fluency with Podcasts
• The Compact Audio Cassette Turns 50

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. If you have an audio story to share or advice, tips or tricks to share, we hope you will submit your audio posts and articles to the next edition.

Zulu DJ Mixer Now Available for Android

The newest program to join our growing list of Android applications this week is Zulu DJ Mixer. With Android tablets even more portable than your laptop it will be easier than ever to mix your favorite tunes and be the DJ at your next party fit all of the features you could want from adjusting the music pitch and tempo to adding popular effects like distortion and reverb plus looping and more, making it easy to make your own Party Rock. Download Zulu now from the Google Play app store and enjoy easy DJ mixing in the palm of your hand.

Saving Loops and Samples for DJs

Feedback from our customers is very important in helping improve our software product offerings. Some of the best features in our products have been suggested by people who have used our software and have ideas on how to make it better. One of the most recent updates to our Zulu DJ Software came about as a result of feedback from DJs.

Zulu now features an enhanced, easy-to-use sample bank that lets you load up to 32 loops and samples that you can easily access while tracks are playing on the main decks. The Loops and Samples tab is located in the lower pane along with the Playlist.



DJs can use the Loops and Samples bank for any kind of short recording that they want to drop in while a song is playing, or even use it in between songs for announcements. The recordings can be played once or can be set to loop mode to continue playing until paused or turned off. Each sample also features volume control and buttons for sync and pitch. The sync button allows you to sync the sample file beat to the beat of the currently loaded deck. Use the pitch button to prevent pitch changes while you sync the beat.

Whether you're DJing a wedding, adding life to a party, working as a club DJ, or just having fun at home, the enhanced Loops and Samples bank in Zulu DJ Software will help you sound your best.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival June 6, 2011

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:


Noble presents How Learning Music Theory Made Me A Better Musician posted at Publisher's Vault.

Francis Vhon presents Why You Need To Have DJ Software posted at Gizmos and Gadgets.

How To Choose Audio Recording Software For Your Mac or PC posted at Computer Tips And Tricks.

Musician Coaching presents Advice from a Producer/Mixer posted at Musician Coaching.

Hsiangni Wu presents Podcasting in Language Classroom posted at Alive and Kicking.


You might also be interested in:

• Convert your Favorite Movie Line to a Ringtone
  
• The Sound of Learning: Using WavePad in the Classroom
  
• Music Editing for Language Lessons
  
• Record DJ Mixes Live
  
• Give Your Music a Boost with the WavePad Equalizer
  

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. Be sure to Submit your audio articles for the next edition.

Record DJ Mixes Live

The ability to not only save a playlist but record a DJ mixing session to an audio files was a highly requested feature for Zulu DJ Software for a long time running. Now that this feature has been added, we want to give you a quick look at how you can put it to good use for recording your DJ mixes:

Between the two decks there is a Recording indicator, just above the cross-fader. If you click on this indicator with nothing queued in the deck it opens the Recording Options dialog where you can set the output format, destination folder and file name. With your options set once you are ready to start recording click the indicator again to start or stop recording. The recording indicator will blink while recording is in progress. Note if you don't use the date-time stamp to name your recordings you will need to specify a new format, folder, or file name to avoid overwriting your previous recordings.

That is all there is to it. For quick access to your recordings you can open the destination recording folder from the file menu. Then you will be all set to share, save or edit your recorded DJ mixes with WavePad.

Become a DJ: Learning the Software is Half the Battle

Zulu Virtual DJ Software is an easy-to-use dj software program for mixing track after track during live performances, or you can simply let Zulu be the DJ for you.

To make getting started even easier, we put together this introduction to Zulu DJ Software video tutorial to help aspiring DJs learn their way around the Zulu interface. The video covers the music list, auto play, using the deck, setting the beats per minute (BPM) and using auto-sync, the pitch slider and speed controls for smooth transitions between tracks. It also covers setting cue points, looping, applying effects, and using the headphone output.

Once you've learned some of the basics covered in this video, then all that's really left is picking out the songs to play and keep things moving at your next party.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival February 7, 2011

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Bobby Owsinski presents Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: 5 Steps To Prep For Mixing posted at Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog.

Katie Tellefson presents 40 Blogs for the Cajun Enthusiast posted at Accredited MBA, saying, "With Cajun culture and history comes amazing music and even more amazing food. It isn’t every day that you get to nosh on gumbo or dance to the sounds of a fast-paced accordion, but with these Cajun enthusiast blogs, you’ll gain a better understanding of the culture and appreciate its quirks."

Steve Guttenberg presents Does lossless audio guarantee good sound? posted at The Audiophiliac.

Nathan Madsen presents Tips for Creating Audio for the iPhone posted at The Sonic Spread.

You might also be interested in:

• Put a DJ in the house
  
• Solving A Musicians Tuning Stress
  
• Streaming Audio Recorder Saves Time for Radio Producers
  
• MIDI Support Coming to NCH Software
  

That concludes this edition of "Do more with audio." Be sure to Submit your audio article, story or success to the next edition.

Put a DJ in da House (Next to the Christmas Tree)

Do you know someone with tons of music, opinions on how it should be listened to, and with a desire to share their music with others? It might be time to give them the opportunity to become a disc jockey.

At first thought, it sounds expensive. Think of all the records, the turntables, the earth-moving speakers, the disco ball—then calm down. You don't need any of these to get started! All that you need is Zulu DJ software, and your existing music collection. Designed for beginners and professionals alike, Zulu gives any DJ-in-training the tools to start out with a basic setup and will grow with them as they begin to buy and use all that hefty equipment later on.

Beginners can practice transitioning between songs loaded on virtual decks, and with automatic beat detection, cross-fading, live effects, and synchronization between tracks, Zulu will make any DJ newbie sound like they know what they are doing. Soon, they'll be cueing up the next track and applying effects on the fly for a completely customized music experience.

Zulu also works great as an auto-DJ for those who want control over the music without the maintenance. Simply pre-load a playlist into the program, and Zulu will keep the music coming all night long, with seamless transitions between each track so you'll never hear a pause in the music at your holiday parties or upcoming New Year celebrations.

So if you're struggling with those last-minute gifts, consider Zulu for the music lover on your list. Then throw a party and put them in charge of the tunes!

Do More With Audio - Blog Carnival October 4, 2010

I recently saw a great example of someone doing something just a little bit off the cuff with music and audio in this wonderful video: Violin Hip-Hop. The video is of two guys, one playing the violin and another mixing it up as a DJ, and is well worth a watch. Not only is it entertaining, but it is an a fun example of combining different musical styles and playing with all kinds of audio by making a mashup of hip hop and violin, which is traditionally more classical. When it comes to audio, the sky is the limit, and traditions aren't written in stone so why not do something new and make it your own.

Here are this editions entries to Do More with Audio:


Steve presents Tutorials | NI Massive synth patches & tutorials posted at NI Massive synth patches & tutorials Synth patches and tutorials for Native Instruments Massive.

Mike Vogt presents Top 10 Wedding Songs of All-Time posted at Christian Colleges Online.

vic mori presents How to Convert Mono MP3 to Stereo posted at Multimedia Software Tips.

Naomi Seldin presents 10 Rock Stars Who Went to an Ivy League School posted at Online Colleges and Universities Education Database.

peterselby7 presents Purchase your Digital Audio Speakers, Plans and factory direct speaker posted at Home Speaker Blog, saying, "Home Theater and Speaker building information for the beginner, intermediate and advanced enthusiast. Learn more about how home audio works."

mmrz presents Are There Copyrights On Downloaded Music? posted at Free Ipod Songs, saying, "Copyrights for downloaded music."

Jordy Clements presents loom Weaves Omaha posted at Omaha Arts and Culture, saying, "Loom: a hand-operated or power-driven apparatus for weaving fabrics. Or loom: one of Omaha's most respected dance parties. With the recent White Party, and the upcoming loom Weaves the Joslyn Sculpture Garden, we talked with loom's DJ Brent Crampton."

Carol Vertz presents 10 Most Popular Bar Songs of All-Time posted at Liberal Arts Colleges.

Corrine Smith presents 10 Must-See Fall Music Festivals posted at General Studies Degree.

Tom,C. presents Turtle Beach Wireless Review - Rating the Ear Force X31 Wireless Headset Audio posted at Shopping-and-Product-Reviews:Electronics Articles from EzineArticles.com, saying, "A review of the Turtle Beach X31 Wireless Gaming Headset"

You might also be interested in:

• An Audio Swiss Army Knife
  
• A look at Software for Musicians
  
• What you need to know about copying or editing someone else’s music
  
• Be the DJ at Your Next Party
  
• Zulu DJ Software Gets the Gold
  

That concludes this edition. Be sure to Submit your audio article to the next edition.

Zulu DJ Mixing Software Gets the Gold

We are steadily collecting more Gold here at NCH—Michael Phelps might need to look out. The latest Gold is for the always fun Zulu DJ Mixing Software. The good people at TopTenReviews just gave it the number one spot in the DJ Mixing software category, going so far as to declare "You can't lose with Zulu DJ mixing software." And that is just the beginning of this very good review for Zulu. They went on to say:

"In an extremely competitive field of DJ mixing software, Zulu stands just a bit taller than all of the rest. The intuitive and advanced features of this program, including a user-friendly, simple and straightforward interface, help them rise to the top of our rankings. The software is compatible with most, if not all, audio formats, including wav, mp3 and wma."

– TopTenReviews

You can read the complete review of Zulu DJ Mixing Software on the TopTenReviews website. Or, simply download and try it out for yourself, take your DJ skills to the next level and try being the DJ at your next party.

Be The DJ At Your Next Party

Whether you're planning an end-of-summer bash or are gearing up for parties back on campus, you should checkout Zulu DJ Software and consider playing your personal favorites for the best possible playlist at your next party.

Last week, Doug Bardwell, a technology writer for examiner.com posted an article, Become the DJ you always wanted to be, recommending Zulu and some high quality headphones for students whose "playlists are more important than [their] class schedules."

Zulu allows for a wide range of control over a playlist, from an AutoPlay mode for hands-off mixing, to powerful tools for more advanced disc jockeys including real-time pitch and tempo control, cue points, and an effects rack. Plus the automatic beat detection and cross-fading between decks give you smooth transitions between songs. With all of this in an easy to use interface and your extensive music collection, why not download Zulu and give your own playlists a spin at your next event?

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival August 2, 2010

Welcome to the August 2, 2010 edition of Do More with Audio.


Jack Josey presents How to Sound Like a Pro When Podcasting posted at Audio Production Advice.

How To Record Better Bass posted at podcomplex.

Mike Ross presents The 12 Greatest Costumed Rock Bands Ever posted at Star Costumes Blog, saying, "Rock and Roll has had its share of larger than life characters. Some were born with an innate charisma that just demanded attention. Other artists fully embraced rock and roll’s shared sense of rebellion and theater to create new personas through costume."

Phil Lopez presents Top 10 Christian Hymns of All-Time posted at Christian Colleges and Universities.

Collecting Vinyl Records posted at Recording Video.

peterselby7 presents Jun 30, Used Audio Cables, a great way to save. The Best Speaker Wire and Audio Cable posted at Home Speaker Blog.

You might also be interested in:

• Make your own Glee Music Mash-up
  
• Digitize Your Vinyl Record Collection
  
• PitchPerfect Guitar Tuning Software for Musicians Now Available for the iPhone
  
• TempoPerfect Metronome Software is Now an iPhone App
  
• Zulu Virtual DJ Software New Mac Version
  

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Do More With Audio using our carnival submission form.

NCH Audio Suite Complete for Mac

With the release of Zulu DJ Software for Mac earlier this week, all five of the core audio software tools that make up the NCH Audio Suite are now all available for the Mac, completing the Audio Suite for Apple fans. Take a closer look at these 5 essential audio tools for Mac and Widows PC users alike:

• WavePad audio editor
  
• MixPad multitrack recorder and mixer
  
• RecordPad audio recorder
  
• Switch audio file converter
  
• Zulu DJ Software
  

Note: All 5 audio software products are available for download and purchase individually through the NCH Software website, and the retail box with all these audio tools bundled together is available at a selection of retail stores in the US including Fry's, MicroCenter, CompUSA, Amazon and more, so keep your eyes peeled for NCH Software in a store near you.

Zulu Virtual DJ Software New Mac Version

Zulu DJ Software is now available for Mac, providing all the same powerful features professional and amateur disc jockeys alike have relied on in the Windows version.

Zulu allows for a wide range of control over a playlist, from AutoPlay mode for hands-off mixing, to powerful tools for more advanced disc jockeys including real-time pitch and tempo control, cue points, and an effects rack. Users can drag and drop music files anywhere on the Zulu DJ Software interface and preview tracks before they play, and then mix music while adding special effects such as distortion, reverb, and delay on the fly. With all this and Zulu's advanced automatic beat detection, users can easily take their DJing skills to the next level.

So whether you have a PC or a Mac, are a professional disc jockey or just learning the ropes, Zulu Virtual DJ Software offers a complete solution that you should be sure to check out before your next party or event.

New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again, when everyone makes their new year's resolutions. And as we all look forward to the new year and start planning for how we would like to see things go there is a surprisingly consolidated list of resolutions that the majority of people make. While searching on-line here is one Top Ten List of New Year's Resolutions that many of you may find yourself on:

1. Spend More Time with Family and Friends
   
2. Fit in Fitness
   
3. Tame the Bulge
   
4. Quit Smoking
   
5. Enjoy Life More
   
6. Quit Drinking
   
7. Get Out of Debt
   
8. Learn Something New
   
9. Help Others
   
10. Get Organized
    

My personal resolution is getting to the gym more which fits right in there with number two on that list, and I'm sure that plenty of you are with me on that. Sadly none of our software will help me make that particular goal happen, but we do have software that can help with some of the items on the list. Take a look at some the software programs that you might enjoy whether or not they are related to your resolution: Get Organized Sort through all of your photos and home movies and turn them in to memorable presentations with either PhotoStage Slideshow Software or VideoPad Video Editor. Your memories do deserve a life outside of a dusty shoebox, so turn them into something worth watching. Then use Disketch Label Maker to create CD and DVD labels and covers for all of your mixed CDs and home movies. Help Others Are you bursting with enough information to start your own podcast or tutorial series? Record yourself with RecordPad or capture video of yourself or your computer screen with Debut Video Recorder, and then share your knowledge with the world using BroadWave Audio Streamer or BroadCam Video Streamer. Enjoy Life More and Spend Time with Family and Friends One great idea would be to have more parities, and with Zulu DJ Software you can be the disc jockey for a guaranteed playlist with all your favorites. NCH Software 2010 Resolutions As always we have lots of things in the works but I would say the most exciting are plans to develop a healthy library of apps for the iPhone and Droid. Currently the top five programs that we are working on for Android and iPhone platforms are Express Dictate, WavePad Audio Editor, RecordPad Sound Recorder, PitchPerfect Guitar Tuner, and TempoPerfect Metronome Software.