Reply to mixing for struggling newb

Hey guys.

I guess this is a familiar tale, if you wanna direct me to some previous threads or give your input I am much obliged.

I like a lot of music and spend a lot of my time in maschine making tracks, chopping samples. I got traktor and an s4 earlier this year based on my interest in mix tapes that some of my fave djs do. I mainly get into the hip hop/wonky beats/bedroom producer type sound. Anyway, i've got plenty of itunes playlist ideas that i've listened to over and over. I know they work well in terms of theme and mood. i've jumped onto the tech/prepatation side of djing with ferocity. all my tunes have been scanned with bpm, camelot codes, and a lot i've put useful cue points in.

but, then when i've got a track in deck a and a track in deck b, i either feel overwhelmed about how to creatively mix from one to the next - and i start wishing i had more hands, or i feel deflated and out of options, like they just don't mix.

i can't see how nonharmonic mixing can work, because that automatically sounds crap... and i really struggle with diff tempos, each track in my playlist may range in bpms from 70 - 150. Most are either around 140 or 90.

very very rarely, i'll try 2 tracks together and they work, and it sounds magical. if i'm really lucky, they will be close enough in bpm that i can sync/beatmatch them and it doesn't sound far from the original track.

it usually means i finish my practice session early, out of frustration and confusion. in other words, djing is a lot harder than i was expecting.

did I jump in the deep end trying to mix all these varied tracks together? did you have to spend some time mixing only the same key, only the same bpm before you got control over tracks that aren't same bpm/key?

any advice you'd give me to help me understand mixing and flow? i don't expect to get it overevening , and i'm not looking for a 'make music' button, but i feel like something is wrong when i stop having fun on the decks.


thanks dewds