djay brings a two-deck DJ table to your Mac—so you start scratching, cutting, and backspinning in minutes. But while many techniques are based on those fundamentals, you’ll really sound like a pro if you also master the art of looping, reversing, and matching tempo.

With djay, that’s not as hard as it sounds. Start a track playing, then try these tips:

The technique: Loop
The vinyl way: Making a section of a track play repeatedly used to require a steady hand. You had to carefully lift the needle off the record, move it back a bit, and lower it onto the vinyl. Then repeat after a few seconds.
The djay way: Press A (for the left-hand turntable) or L (for the right). Really—that’s it, though you can half or double the length of the loop by pressing Option-S or Option-D (for the left turntable), or Option-J or Option-K (for the right).

The technique: Reverse
The vinyl way: Making a track play in reverse meant using your finger to drag the record counterclockwise.
The djay way: Press Option-1 (for the left-hand deck) or Option-0 (for the right). Again, it’s really that easy. Press the shortcut again to switch back to forward playback.

The technique: Match tempo
The vinyl way: Making the tempo of one track match that of another for a smooth transition wasn’t easy. While listening to the queueing deck through headphones, you had to manually adjust its speed until it synced up with the other deck. This required precise control and countless hours of practice.
The djay way: Click the big SYNC button on the queueing deck. That’s it. Before you do, try clicking the small music note below the SYNC button on the queueing deck—like magic, djay will match the playing deck’s tempo without changing the pitch. You can then fade to the queueing deck for a seamless transition.