Forums/The Lounge/The Club / Mobile DJ
What are some things that are frowned upon by others?
Julio Rodriguez
posted this on Jan 03 11:12
I'm an aspiring dj and I've been practicing my butt off with beat matching and all (tips would be great) and althought I haven't had a show yet because I don't feel I'm ready yet what would be frowned upon by others? I'm currently a laptop dj (for now til i get a djm & cdjs!) and I know I shouldn't care what others think I'd just like to know what to expect for my first gig? Any answers would be great thanks
Comments
The biggest thing you should NOT do is to pretend you're better than you are. Don't walk into the DJ booth / gig and act like you're hot sh!t (even some top level DJs should take note of this). Be humble, be willing to learn, listen, ask questions.
The best thing you can do is to make a few mixes, post them somewhere like Soundcloud and get some friends / other DJs to give you feedback on what you're doing right / wrong. Be willing to take the criticism and adapt!
Welcome and good luck. :)
So many DJs do it - as long as you're not pressing any SYNC buttons, I'd say you're on the right path for learning. Remember, use your ears, not your eyes as beatgrids can be incorrect!
Julio, i started on Numark belt drive decks lol, they were the worst things that ever existed!. However,,,,, Because they were so bad i had to work harder at beat matching and constantly had to re adjust as i mixed. When i eventually upgraded to Technic 1210mk2s it was the easiest thing ever to mix. Because i worked so hard on the belt drives the direct drive technics worked a treat!. It took me years to figure out but im not joking, one day i couldnt do it and the next day it all clicked into place and i could beat match. Take your time with the basics mate, the rest will come in time, stick with it and dont give up, you will get there. Laptop djing is a really good way to get your ears listening to the beat and figuring out when a track is being played to slow/fast. When i first started djing my mate told me to start the track really fast, that way i knew it had to be slowed and then i did it the other way, that way i knew it needed to be made faster to beat match. Once you figure that out you wont need to do it that way, its just a good way to figure out how to tell the difference in the sound.
If you have any questions mate i will try and help you out, i only learnt because i knew some cool people that Dj'd and helped by showing me the way.
Good luck dude.
@Kenfold > I don't think laptop DJing is an ideal platform to start as you get used to seeing the waveforms on screen and visually beatmatching rather than aurally. But your other points are good ideas!