What Is a Phrase?

On the previous page, we explained that

4 beats = 1 bar

as we explained.

Now let's look at the phrase, which is formed when those bars are grouped together.

When bars group together, the track develops

In music, the same sound doesn't continue unchanged from beginning to end.

After the same flow continues for a while,

• sounds are added
• sounds drop out
• a vocal comes in
• the kick drops out
• the track builds up

and other changes happen.

In DJing, we think of these groupings that let you feel the track's development as phrases.

In other words,

beats gather to form bars, and bars gather to form phrases.

That is the picture.

Beat → bar → phrase

The groupings get bigger step by step.

First, look at 8 bars as one group

In this textbook, we first look at 8 bars as one group.

Since 4 beats make 1 bar,

4 beats × 8 bars = 32 beats

That makes 32 beats.

In other words,

32 beats = 8 bars

That is the same thing.

If you count the same way as on the previous page, it goes

bar 1
bar 2
bar 3
bar 4
bar 5
bar 6
bar 7
bar 8

and a new group starts from the next bar.

Something often changes after 8 bars

In dance music, the track's development often changes in groups of 8 bars, 16 bars, 32 bars, and so on.

For example, after 8 bars,

the sounds that had been playing drop out,
new sounds are added,
a vocal begins,
or the track suddenly builds up.

Of course, not every track changes every 8 bars.

Length and structure differ from track to track.

Still, once you can hear 8 bars as one group, it becomes much easier to follow how dance music develops.

What is the start of a phrase?

The first position of a group is called the start of the phrase.

If you think of 8 bars as one group,

beat 1 of bar 1

is the start of the phrase.

This is an important point for a DJ.

That's because if you also bring in the next track at the start of a phrase, the development of the two tracks is more likely to move along at the same timing.

Why match phrases?

When mixing two tracks, matching only the beats doesn't always make them connect naturally.

For example, suppose track A is in this situation:

"a big change comes in 2 more bars."

That is where track A is.

If you bring in track B at a random point in the middle of its 8-bar group,

the timing of the change in track A and the timing of the change in track B won't line up.

Even if the rhythm itself matches,

the development of the tracks doesn't mesh

That is the state you end up in.

On the other hand, if you match the phrase starts of track A and track B,

the timing of A's change and the timing of B's change are also more likely to line up.

This is why DJs pay attention to phrases.

When you mixed two tracks the first time, you were also matching phrases

Remember the "Connecting Two Tracks for the First Time" page.

We overlapped the first 8 bars of track B with the last 8 bars of track A.

Then, after 8 bars,

track A thinned out and pulled back.
Track B added sounds and came forward.

That is what was happening.

This was not a coincidence.

By starting the groups of the two tracks from the same position, we matched the timing at which the two tracks' development changes.

A: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | change
B: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | change

When the timelines of the two tracks line up like this, the tracks connect more naturally.

Matching beats and matching phrases are different things

This is important.

The beats matching and the phrases matching are different things.

When the beats match, it means

the "1, 2, 3, 4" of A and B are sounding at the same timing.

When the phrases match, it means

the bigger divisions of the tracks line up at the same position too for A and B.

In DJing, you think about both.

First, match the beats.

Then match the larger divisions of the tracks too.

When you do, the two tracks move along together more naturally.