How to get started with DJing
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How to get started with DJing
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Re: How to get started with DJing
#2I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audience to me is the same thing as covering stairway to heaven or wonderwall. Keep practicing until you're actually good. All of my friends who could play instruments had a much easier time getting into producing than the people who never learned a single scale. And it's not just the composition aspect, it's all the sound design, sampling and just understand the programs that gets easier.
Re: How to get started with DJing
#3I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
Seems a little harsh to label it as absolutely useless. How is it any different from learning to play the piano to play your favorite piano pieces? Or am I misunderstanding what you mean by produce?
Re: How to get started with DJing
#4I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
quite far from basic mixing with 2 decks, turntablism requires similar skills to playing an instrument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr3ftsCVXhc
Re: How to get started with DJing
#5* Love good music. If you don't love or don't have good music, blending songs together will never sound good.
* Try out Xwax or Mixxx (based on xwax) for free. They are open-source. You don't really need all the other distractions of modern systems to play good music. All that comes later when you run out of things to do with good music. Any easy effects will sound canned to the slightest trained ear.
* Harmonic mixing is incredibly hard to get right. Forget about it until you know you need it. No formula can tell you the key of one song matched with another, as soon as they make a chord progression not in sync it can all go to hell. The people selling these keying programs gloss over that important fact so they can take your money.
* Corollary: it's way more important to trust your ears than a DJ program. Software is constantly wrong about BPM and key, but you have a natural talent for rhythm and harmony. Trust it.
Disclosure: I help maintain Xwax and have been djing for over a decade. I really hope you give djing a try and trust your instinct to rock the house.
Re: How to get started with DJing
#6* Love good music. If you don't love or don't have good music, blending songs together will never sound good. * Try out Xwax or Mixxx (based on xwax) for free. They are open-source. You don't really need all the other distractions of modern systems to play good music. All that comes later when you run out of things to do with good music. Any easy effects will sound canned to the slightest trained ear. * Harmonic mixi…
Addendum: If you perform using Spotify this is technically illegal, however most artists I know find it more important to share their music than to buy it every time. So if you're not buying the music please help people discover what it is so they can buy it if they love it.
Re: How to get started with DJing
#7I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
> I'm going to seem like an elitist prick
Great tip, if you feel the need to start a comment like this, don't post it.
Re: How to get started with DJing
#8I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
Yeah, that is really elitist. And it's just your opinion, so you're allowed to hold it :)
A good DJ can make the difference between a mediocre party and a really amazing party. I agree that the more tools in your arsenal, the better you'll be but don't brush off what can be achieved with 2 turntables and a really good knowledge of music.
Re: How to get started with DJing
#9I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
>I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring
Exhibit A for the defence: this utterly masterful set by garage legend DJ EZ. He deftly plays with the build and release of tension without relying on formulaic drops. There is still enormous creative mileage in traditional two-deck mixing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OraL6lKoyXE
Selectors don't even mix in the traditional sense, nor do they compose or produce, but there's a tremendous art to what they do. If you're unfamiliar with sound system culture and clashing, I'd suggest the Red Bull Culture Clash as an accessible introduction, particularly Rebel Sound's 2014 performance starring the inimitable David Rodigan. It's worth watching the "making of" documentary on their performance; it took months of painstaking preparation to play 40 minutes of music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKDSgMddOO0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ishaG9pyMA
The problem as I see it is that technology has made DJing too accessible. Every two-bit hipster with a Macbook thinks that they're a DJ. Back in the day you needed decks, you needed to learn to beatmatch, you needed to hunt down white labels, you needed to get dubplates cut. There was a barrier to entry, an apprenticeship you had to serve before you could call yourself a DJ. The term has now been diluted to the point of meaninglessness, but that doesn't diminish from the artistry of great DJs.
Re: How to get started with DJing
#10I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
I see where you are coming from, but masterful DJing takes much more than switching from desk A to desk B. Song selection is crucial, it's even more important than transitions, moreover you need to play the right music to the right audience. Those things you won't find in tutorials, and that's what makes a great DJ set great. On top of that you can combine producing with playing live by adding effects, creatively transitioning between songs and cue jumping, this takes a lot of skill too.