How to Make a Mashup: Layer Two Songs That Actually Fit

You hear a chorus and instantly think: this would go so hard over that other beat. That's when you want to make a mashup. The idea is simple, but the result often disappoints: the vocal drifts off the beat, the chords clash, or it just sounds like two songs that happen to be playing at the same time.

This guide walks you through how to make a mashup that actually works, step by step. From picking two songs and checking their BPM and key to pulling out the vocal, getting everything on tempo and in key, and locking it all together.

What you need

• Two songs: one you take the vocal from and one you take the instrumental from.
• A DAW or DJ software: FL Studio, Logic Pro, Ableton Live or something similar to build it ahead of time. Or your DJ software if you want to do the mashup live.
• The BPM and key of both. You can look those up for free, see step 2.
• A separate vocal and instrumental. Official ones if you have them, otherwise you pull them out yourself (step 3).

Step 1: pick two songs that can work together

Get the combination right and most of the work is already done. A few things that help:

• A strong, recognizable vocal. The chorus everybody can sing along to works better than a verse nobody knows.
• An instrumental with space. A beat with a busy lead melody or its own vocal chops will fight your vocal. Calmer instrumentals let the voice breathe.
• A tempo that's in the same range. The smaller the gap, the more natural the voice stays. Half time and double time count too: a vocal at 70 BPM fits a 140 BPM beat without any stretching.
• Contrast is fine. A pop singer over a drill beat or a rapper over a house track is exactly what makes mashups fun. As long as tempo and key line up.

Step 2: check the BPM and key of both songs

Before you start moving anything around, you want two numbers for each song: the tempo and the key.

1. Open the free Batch BPM & Key Finder and drop both songs in. You get the BPM, key and Camelot code of each one in a single list. Your files aren't uploaded.
2. Want to double check one song? Use Beat Lab. You can listen along with a click and tap the tempo yourself if you're not sure whether it's 70 or 140.
3. Measure the tempo on the full song with drums, not on an isolated acapella. A vocal without a beat gives a BPM finder very little to work with.

Then look at the Camelot codes. The same code, one number up or down with the same letter, or the same number with the other letter: those are the safe combinations. If your vocal is in 8A (A minor), an instrumental in 8A, 7A, 9A or 8B usually works without any hassle. How the wheel works is covered in harmonic mixing with the Camelot wheel.

Are the songs far apart? No problem, you'll fix that in step 5. But it's good to know now.

Step 3: split the vocal and the instrumental

The cleanest mashups are made with official files: an acapella from one song and an instrumental from the other. Labels and artists sometimes release those, for example for remix contests or as an extra version on a release.

Only have the full songs? Then you can split them with the free vocal remover. You get two WAV files back: the instrumental without vocals and the vocals on their own. Everything runs in your browser.

• Choose Best quality if your device can handle it. Fast finishes sooner, but leaves more vocal behind in the instrumental.
• Start with a good file. WAV, FLAC or a 320 kbps MP3 separates cleaner than a heavily compressed file.
• Don't expect miracles. Reverb, delays and backing vocals sometimes bleed through. In a mashup that's often less noticeable because there's a different beat underneath, but do give it a careful listen.

Working in FL Studio or Logic Pro? You can also use the built-in stem separation. How that works is explained in how to make a remix.

Step 4: get everything on the same tempo

Decide what tempo your mashup will be. Usually you keep the tempo of the instrumental, because drums and bass are the first things to sound off when you stretch them. The vocal then follows.

• Use time stretching, not plain speeding up. Speed audio up like a record and the pitch goes up with it. One semitone higher is already about 6 percent faster. Time stretching in your DAW changes the tempo and leaves the pitch alone.
• In FL Studio you put the acapella in a Sampler channel set to Stretch mode. In Logic Pro you turn on Smart Tempo for the region. The exact steps are in how to make a remix, step 5.
• Keep the gap small. A few BPM nobody notices. Twenty BPM faster, and you'll hear it in the voice.
• Doing it live in your DJ set? Turn on key lock (Pioneer DJ calls it Master Tempo) so the pitch doesn't move when you touch the tempo fader. How to get two tracks on tempo is covered in how to beatmatch.

Step 5: get everything in the same key

This is the step that makes or breaks most mashups. Two songs that run perfectly on tempo can still sound out of tune against each other.

1. Count the semitones between them. Going from A minor to B minor, for example, is two semitones up.
2. Shift the instrumental rather than the voice. Our ears are very sensitive to voices. A beat moved one or two semitones barely stands out, while a voice moved the same amount quickly sounds like a cartoon or way too heavy.
3. Do it in Beat Lab. Drop the instrumental into Beat Lab, move it up or down one semitone at a time and download a WAV. The tempo stays the same. Beat Lab works with files between 5 seconds and 5 minutes long.
4. Take the shortest route. Two down almost always sounds more natural than ten up. No key is ever more than six semitones away from another.

Good to know: shifting a song by one semitone moves it seven steps around the Camelot wheel. So 8A becomes 3A, which isn't one of the safe moves. Whenever you shift, check the new key instead of guessing.

Still not quite right after shifting? Try a different part of the vocal. Sometimes the chorus fits perfectly while the verse clashes, because the chords under that verse were different in the original.

Step 6: lock it together

Now it becomes a track. Put both files in your DAW at the right tempo and start puzzling.

• Line up the first beat. Find the start of a line or chorus in the vocal and place it on the first beat of a bar in the instrumental. Zoom in and listen to whether the stressed words land in the right spot.
• Think in blocks of 8 or 16 bars. Pop and dance music are built that way. Let the vocal's chorus line up with the strongest part of the instrumental, like the drop or the hook.
• Start with the chorus. That's the moment people judge your mashup on. Once that part works, build the rest around it.
• You don't have to use everything. A mashup often works better with just the chorus and a few lines than with the full lyrics.
• Make room for the voice. Put a low cut on the acapella to remove leftover bass and kick from the original. In the instrumental, dip a little of the midrange where the voice sits, especially if a melody is playing there.
• Set the vocal level right. The vocal should sit on top of the beat, not disappear into it. Compare it to the original: how loud is the vocal there compared to the drums?

Done? Export it and listen back in a few places: headphones, your phone and a speaker. If something clashes, you'll usually hear it on one of those three.

Make it ahead of time or play it live?

You can make a mashup as a file and just play it, or build it live in your set by mixing an acapella over a running instrumental. Making it ahead of time gives you more control over timing, key and EQ. Live is more exciting, but then everything has to be right beforehand: tempo, key and your cue points. So start by making a few mashups in your DAW. You'll learn quickly which combinations work.

Can you post a mashup online?

Making one for yourself and practicing is different from publishing it. A mashup uses recordings of at least two songs. SoundCloud says that for remixes you need permission from the original creator and every relevant rights holder, including the record label, before you upload. With a mashup, that applies to every song you use. Without that permission, your upload can be taken down. This isn't legal advice: if you're unsure, check with the rights holders.

Want help with your own remix or edit?

I've been making remixes and edits of Dutch and international hits for years. Want a remix or edit made for you? Take a look at ghost production. And for more free help with BPM, key and audio, check out all our free music tools.

FAQ

What software do you need to make a mashup?

Any DAW that can time stretch audio works, like FL Studio, Logic Pro or Ableton Live. For a live set, DJ software with two decks and key lock does the job.

Where do I get an acapella?

Ideally the official one, from the label or the artist. Otherwise you pull the vocal out of the song with a vocal remover. It's rarely completely clean, but for a mashup it's often good enough.

What if two songs are in completely different keys?

Shift the instrumental a few semitones and take the shortest route. If you need to move it more than three semitones, it's usually better to pick a different song or a different part of the vocal.

Why does my acapella drift off the beat after a while?

The tempo isn't quite right yet, or the original song had small tempo changes, for example with live drums. Check the tempo again and let the vocal follow the project tempo in your DAW instead of only lining it up at the start.

What's the difference between a mashup and a remix?

A mashup combines two or more existing songs. A remix builds a new production around one song. If you want to go that route, read how to make a remix.