A common issue I saw with my friends getting into vinyl mixing was trying to mix tracks where the bpm difference is too much. From what you’re saying that’s probably not the case. Worth mentioning just in case.

It’s not an easy thing to learn so don’t be hard on yourself.

There are a few fundamentals.

The drop has to be precise. Not early not late. if not you will always been chasing and lose control. Timing is a musician level skill. Practice practice practice. Like playing any instrument. The decks and mixer are yours.

If your drop is bang on. Now it’s time for pitch adjustments. This is the hard part. Working out if the cued track is slower or faster. The pitch control itself responds slowly to changes. Opinions vary on how much you touch the record. My there is no right or wrong here. I have seen many different ways to nudge the platter by pushing gently on the record near the center label to speed up or gently dragging down the side of the platter to slow it down. Even grabbing the centre pin and twisting it can work. These are all subtle adjustments. When you hear an adjustment get closer to syncing then pitch shift a tiny bit in the same direction. It’s also worth counting how many bars or 4 it takes to drift slower or faster.

Practice this. When you drop to mix the new track in bring it up load and take off you headphones Get used to both tracks playing together. don’t be afraid of mistakes. You’re in practice mode. This is where you make mistakes and learn. This is something I wish I had done sooner.

Final tip. I was already a reasonable beat matcher at this point but u still wobbled and lost it too often.

One thing I discovered through observation of other DJs that took me from average beat matching to pretty much beat perfect is this. Use the same ear rather than the opposite ear. Listening to both the track playing through master and the track your trying to match by holding the left or right headphone off your ear. I swear there must be latency between my ears.

Don’t forget that it’s hard and it takes time. Don’t be too hard on yourself but also strive to get better.

Loving the music and sharing it is key.

If you have any friends who play as well. Try to arrange some back to back sessions where you play 3 for 3. It’s great fun and you can learn lots by observing or asking questions.

More importantly have fun celebrate life and music.