Track lengths in bars

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1

For Dj friendly tracks

could one of you guys post the guidelines for it?



Just want to have a reference point in numbers for the intro, build, break down etc



Thanks!


2

It depends on what genre it is, and even then there are no hard and fast rules.

I would say a 32bar into and 32bar outro are normal.

A six minute track at 128 BPM is

6 x 128 = 768 beats in the track

4 beats to the bar

768 / 4 = 192 bars

Obviously if you alter the speed or the length of the track it will change.

The best thing to do is load a track like you want to make into Ableton (or whatever you use) and take a look at it. In Ableton if you warp it correctly it will show you the bar numbers.

3

Besides that, I’ve noticed that tracks do tend to get shorter. You see quite a few tracks in more then one genre that have lengths like 4:30 - 5:30 minutes. Even in tech-house.



Think this might have to do something with Traktor and the like. DJ’s don’t need to have those long intro’s anymore.



In techno you do still see lots of tracks with long intro and outro’s. And lengths exceeding 10 minutes.



Some rules of thumb:

  • keep the first 16 bars a bit clean. Not too much different elements. This makes it easier to mix in. Same could apply to the 16 bars at the end.
  • insert breaks around every minute, but don’t make 'm all long. Break @ 3 minute mark should be the one. Make the drop after this break as big as you can :smiley:
  • Just imagine what you would like when mixing your track in or another one after your track.