Beatmixing is a disk jockey technique of playing two songs at the same time so that the beats of one song occur at the same time as the other.

History

Beatmixing was invented in the late 1960s by Francis Grasso

Francis Grasso

Francis Grasso ) was an American disc jockey from New York City, best known for inventing the technique of slip-cueing and later beatmatching which is the foundation of the modern club DJ's technique.Grasso started his DJ career in 1967 at a New York nightclub called Salvation II...

, who tried to keep people from leaving the dance floor between the songs. Initially he was looking for records with the same tempo

Tempo

In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

, counting the tempo with a metronome

Metronome

A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...

. When the tempos didn't match, he was adjusting the pitch control

Pitch control

A variable speed pitch control is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, tape recorder, or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed . The latter term "vari-speed" is more commonly used for tape decks, particularly in the UK...

 on the turntable

Phonograph

The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...

 to bring the beats in sync. Rosie, a mixer built for him by Alex Rosner, let him listen to any channel in the headphones independently of what was playing on the speakers, allowing him to beatmatch

Beatmatching

Beatmatching is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching a track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously...

 the records by ear; this became the defining feature of DJ mixer

DJ mixer

A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys.The key features that differentiate a DJ mixer from other types of audio mixers are the ability to redirect a non-playing source to headphones and the presence of a crossfader, which allows for an easier transition between two sources...

s.

Due to its increase in popularity, beatmatching and beatmixing are now considered basic techniques among DJs in electronic dance music

Electronic dance music

Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...

 genres, becoming standard practice in clubs to create a seamless mix through the night, even if there are multiple acts.

Radio imaging

Beatmix or beatmixing however should not be confused with another term used in radio imaging. Radio imaging refers to any produced audio material sung or voice over used to identify a radio station. A radio imaging company in Seattle, Washington called ReelWorld used the term "beatmix" to refer to a type of imaging material in which a jingle, a voice over liner and audio clips are produced to blend on a song intro. The concept is still the same with DJ beatmixing.