(The goal of this guide is too give you a basic understanding of DJing and how you can start, it would be impossible for me to include everything so ask questions and if anything major comes up I will include it in this guide)
Prelude: I have been a DJ for 4 years now, I currently perform two nights a week at a local youth group and have played three hour long sets at a local festival on the main stage. I am not a professional; I don’t do this for a living but purely as a hobby. Everything in this guide comes from my personal opinion and experience, if you do not agree with me on some things please comment in a productive manner for everyone to learn.
What is DJing?
Wikipedia defines DJing, or disk jockeying, as “a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience.” There is no argument, if you play music in front of people in any way you’re a DJ, congratulations! I have seen “DJ’s” using a laptop with iTunes rock a dance floor, this may not have been what you were expecting but by definition they are a DJ. Now as you could imagine when you go to see a famous DJ they don’t use iTunes as that would be incredibly boring. Whenever a song finishes there would be a pause in the music and then another song would come on with a different tempo, it would not be fun.
In 1943 a man named Jimmy Savile claims to be the first DJ to use 2 turntables for continuous play; this is the traditional view of a DJ and what this guide is really about.
Is DJing for me?
A lot of wannabe DJs (including me when I started) ask themselves this question I would also recommend asking yourself too “is DJing for me”. DJ equipment is expensive, you don’t want to buy the cheap gear (Trust me), and it will take a lot of time before you become even listenable as a live standard. When I started I almost stopped all my other hobbies (Paintball, Photography and gaming to some extent), if you seriously want to DJ expect to spend a lot of time working at it. That said the pay off will be great, you will see music in a whole new way and if you’re a producer you will only be exposed to more awesome music to take inspiration from. It certainly helps to be a producer before you DJ; you will have a better understanding of song structure and you can easily count a beat (one of the most important skills).
It generally works best for you if you have any sort of musical background and you see DJing as the next cool thing to try out. Wanting to be a DJ because of money or the idea “DJs get chicks” is not recommended as it will be much harder for you to even start without that special love music. If you have a friend with DJ equipment I highly suggest you ask them to show you what it is they do exactly, ask them “how do they DJ?” this is the quickest and cheapest way I know of to experience DJing.
Gear? What do I need? Digital vs. Physical
Another big question that gets asked a lot is “What do I need to DJ?” and the answer is not as simple as you think, it depends entirely on the person. Some people say it doesn’t matter what you use and that is somewhat true, but there are a few different ways of DJing and they are drastically different from each other and require different gear (Turntables to scratch)
The most popular methods are:
- Turntables and a mixer with or with a DVS (I will talk about this later)
- CDJ’s and a mixer with or without a DVS
- A controller or multiple controllers with a laptop and software
- Just a laptop and software
First you must think about what you want to do as a DJ, do you want to scratch? Do you want to play complex sets/ mash ups with four songs playing at the same time? Do a lot of research and look into each method above. On YouTube you can watch how famous DJs use their setups to their advantage, watch closely to see both what they do and what they don’t do.
You can say there are two types of DJs; those how use Digital form of music (Stored on a computer) and those who use a physical form (Vinyl, CDs, Flash drive). CDJs and turntables were initially made to use the physical forms of media but recently a special device that I won’t talk about too much about, called DVS or Digital Vinyl System. How it work is you connect your turntables or CDJs, mixer, and a laptop with special software into the device and music from your laptop is put into the CDJ/Turntable and you controller it from there. Not the best explanation I know but it will get you started.
Where do I start?
You can start right now! A DJ is useless without music so start getting a collection together today.
In my opinion there are two kinds of music you will play:
- Music you like and want/enjoy to play (This can include your own music you have created)
- Popular, the songs everyone knows and enjoys dancing too (including music you like and don’t)
Both types are essential to creating a fun environment, so work on getting a good volume of each. I don’t need to say it but I will... DONT PIRATE MUSIC. Its unprofessional, the quality almost always sucks (even when they say it’s at 320kps it usually isn’t), you give every other DJ a bad name and it is illegal. Where can you get music? I have always used beatport.com, they have a huge selection and prices range from .99 to 2.50 dollars usually depending on popularity and release date. There are many other sites out there but I can’t speak for them.
After you have a music collection you’re going to want to put those tracks to use, I will start with software:
I started out with the VirtualDJ software and still use it to this day, many wannabe DJs start with VirtualDJ because it’s very user friendly. Another easy to use out of the box software is called Traktor by Native Instruments; many professionals use Traktor and its highly recommended by DJs. Both give you control over 4 decks all on your computer, you can use a keyboard and mouse with them and there are many great tutorials on YouTube from starting out to expert level mixing.
The other way of playing your tracks is the physical way with CDJs and Turntables. It is much more expensive to start this way but it will force you to learn some great skills that will transition into any type of DJing. Some will argue that you look more ‘legit’ when using Turntables or CDJs if that is important to you, I say it doesn’t matter how you play you tracks as long as everyone is having a good time in the end. You can use a DVS with CDJs and Turntables which will give sort of the best of both worlds but it will be even more expensive.
First time with gear what to do?
Here is a rough guideline for your first mix once you have your gear/software. Whether you have just a laptop with a trail version of Traktor or a full Turntables and mixer setup once it’s all wired up to some speakers you’re good to go. We will use 2 decks and it will be very simple.
1. Press play on track one.
2. Cue up track two in your headphones.
3. Beatmatch track two in your headphones, your goal is to get the BPM as close as you can to the other track.
4. Cue up track two again and bring it into the mix at the right time (Phrase matching).
5. Raise the volume fader of track two while lowering the one of track one.
You have just done your first mix! Yes there’s much more to it but you’re only starting out so stick to the basics.
Why do I sound so bad? What am I doing wrong? Will I get better?
Remember this: every DJ sounds bad when they first start out, it will take a long time before you can consistently mix songs together. It will likely feel like rocket science to you when you start but know that it is much simpler then you think. The way I practiced is I watched a video of a DJ mixing two songs together (I list the video at the bottom), I then got the exact songs he used and I practiced mixing those songs together until it sounded like his mix. No one learns to play guitar in a single day so be realistic with yourself, you will sound bad for months, it is what is and every DJ has gone through this. Just keep practicing! In my opinion producing is much harder than DJing.
When can I play gigs?
This is a tough one, it varies depending on the DJ and where you’re located. I have heard and can agree with this “It’s best not to even think about playing gigs for the first 2 years”, this may sound extreme and I played my first gig after a year and a half but it is good advice. When you can play out a long set (~1hour) with only minor mistakes that is the first sign you’re on your way, invite friends over to hear you to get used to people being there. Record your mixes and listen to them and take notes on your mistakes. Eventually you will feel as if you’re ready and don’t let anyone stop you; it’s the only way to truly know if you can do it.
Beat matching vs. Sync
This is a big debate and one that will never end. The simple answer is it’s up to the DJ whether they should use a sync button or manually beatmatch every track, but hater gonna hate and someone will hate you for what you choose to do.
What’s the difference?
Beatmatching - This is the process of manually matching the bpm of two tracks with different tempos, you make use of a pitch slider which speeds up or slows down a track by a small amount. This is hard to learn but once you do you can easily play on any type of DJ gear if you had too.
Syncing – Is essentially doing the above with a push of a button. Some consider it cheating as beatmatching manually used to be one of the great skills of a DJ. CDJs and Turntables do not have Sync buttons so you are forced to use software.
Essentially they are the exact same thing, just one way takes longer and more brain power. I believe every DJ should learn how to beatmatch manually because it will only make you a better DJ. Not all songs will sync perfectly in your software which means you will have to use some beatmatching skills. My method is to use the sync to get close to the right bpm and manually do the rest, I have been doing like that for years and it has never failed me yet.
How to go from producer to DJing my own stuff?
(This is still something I am learning as I have only recently stepped into the production world)
If you look at famous DJ’s/ producers there are two main ways they play their music live; using Ableton Live or using a traditional DJ setup mixing one song into the next.
Looking at groups like Daft Punk, Deadmau5 and Justice they all use Ableton and play basic essentially pre-recorded sets and throw on fun live elements like loops or one shot samples. They have many effects at their fingertips and the ability to ‘take apart’ their music like muting the bassline or repeating the chorus. Getting a set like this takes a lot of time before hand to plan and test, it’s something you can get faster at but you can’t do this live on stage where as with a traditional set up you have a lot more room to experiment on the spot.
Ableton makes for very exciting live performance where you can throw in a lot of elements into a mix with ease; the only downfall is it’s near impossible to do on the spot mixing like a traditional DJ. The traditional way requires little planning ahead and gives you complete control to easily change things on the spot; however there is only so much you can do like this so your sets will look simple in comparison.
How and when to choose the next song?
Knowing when to play the right song is skill all in its own and a one you can only learn when playing in front of an audience. I will tell you some of things that I have learned since I started DJing live.
1. Go to the clubs/ concerts in your town and listen to and take notes on what the other DJs play, how the crowd reacts to them and how often they change songs throughout the night. This is a great place to start while you are still learning in your bedroom and collecting tracks.
2. When you are playing live watch the crowd outside the dance floor. Take notice to how many people are dancing, nodding their head or taping their foot. If you see people doing any of these then you are doing something right and you want to keep playing songs of a similar style, if not then change the genre or try a more popular song.
3. Ask the people at the venue what they want to hear when you’re not playing, not everyone will give you good tracks to play so use caution.
4. When you are playing a long set (at least an hour) you don’t want to play bangers the whole time as people will get tired, you need to practice raising and lowering the energy in your set.
As soon as you finish transitioning songs you should start to find the next song you’re going to play. Take your time, make sure it will fit well into the mix, and find the best place to start the track for the next transition. Finding the next track right away will give you enough time to listen to multiple tracks before making your final choice.
Effectively employing and exploiting effects (or using effects like a normal pony)
The saying less is more is very important to remember here, no one wants to hear a bunch of filter sweeps, random looping and a flanger(most overused effect imo) for a minute straight. Knowing when to use effects really depends on the song, its best to mess around with effects on your own time at home and remember the ones that work for when you play live. The only effects I use now are a quick 1 or half beat loop (where the audio loops but the song still plays without being heard), a highpass filter, and an echo. I use the KP3 (Kaoss Pad) effects unit from Korg for my effects. I find it best to use effects on the last beat of a phrase (every 4, 8, or 16 beats depending on the song) and use them scarcely; once or twice in a song is all you need if at all.
A more in-depth guide in transitions
First I will give the typical transition I use for a song with a 4/4 beat (House music)
1. While the first song is playing I find next song and cue it up in headphones either at the intro or first breakdown.
2. Start second during the breakdown or just before the outro of first, it all depends on song choices.
3. Cut bass EQ and slowly raise volume to about 80%.
4. Swap bass EQ (slowly cut bass of first song while quickly raise bass of second)
5. Completely raise volume of second track and lower volume of second.
The speed I do this at entirely depends on the two tracks and where in the track I am in that given moment.
For dubstep and similar genres I usually mix during breakdowns or outros. I follow the a similar order of steps as above but usually mix faster or do a double drop (where you play the build up and drop of 2 songs at the same time then quickly cutting one of the songs out).
There is no right or wrong way to mix music, only what sounds good. It’s best to record your practice sessions, especially when you experiment, and listen to them to take note of what works best for you at your skill level.
Is there any stress?
It really depends on your personality but generally, yes. When I started it felt similar to giving speeches in front of a class in high school, and I hated giving speeches. You all remember fluttershy in the first episode of FiM? that was me when I first started playing gigs, yes I was stressed and quite nervous. If it’s hard for you to give speeches or presentations infront of your class it will likely feel similar your first time out so here is some encouragement. Before my first gig I said to myself “I just have do it” and the worst part was right before I pushed play on the first track, after that all the stress left and I had a great time! I have heard similar stories from many other DJs like me at their first gig. Remember your doing something you love; playing (loud) music. If you can easily handle being in-front of people there will be little stress so don’t worry about it. Don’t forget to have fun while you’re playing as when you finish you will wonder why you were so worried in the first place.
Some things to remember during your first gig
- No one will notice the small mistakes, stuff like rough mixing or accidently leaving an entire EQ band muted for second.
- Time will move faster the first few times you play live, you will always feel like you’re running out of time to mix or even find the next song so don’t get distracted by anything or anyone.
- Something to practice at home: bring a friend over while your mixing and try to hold a normal conversation (don’t talk about personal stuff as they should have your full attention), learn to always follow the beat and be able to track where you are in the song at any given point. This will help when people come to you for requests or to ‘hang out’ and watch you.
- People are there to have fun so don’t be too worried about putting on a spectacular performance, all they want is some fun music to dance too and throwing in a few surprises (like effects and double drops) is the cherry on the cake.
Changing tempos/genres
When you DJ you will inevitably have to play two tracks at the same time with different tempos which means you will have to speed up or slow down one of the songs to get them properly beatmatched. There is no right or wrong way of doing this; it’s something you figure out by yourself depending on your mixing style. Here is what works for me.
Example 1 (small change)
Track one is playing at 128 bpm and the second track is 130 bpm, it would be easiest to bring the second track down to the same as the first. Once you have fully transitioned into the second track I would slowly raise the tempo to the original 130, its goes unnoticed when there is no drum track like a breakdown. If there are drums I would go at the rate of about 1bpm change per 10-15 seconds.
Example 2 (large change)
Track one is 110 and track two 130. If possible avoid this situation, if feels awkward going between two tracks like this. If I had to do it then I would do a quick mix in the breakdown of track one (if there is no breakdown then at the end) I would start track two either in its own breakdown or the intro. Make it as smooth as possible and avoid drums because they will give the tempo change away real fast.
Example 3 (Changing Genres) (I only mix house and dub genres so I can only give examples of those)
Track one is house, typical 128bpm, and track two is dubstep, 140bpm. When your finding music try to find songs that have elements of multiple genres in them, I have some dubstep that’s played at 128bpm and some house at 135. They really help for those transitions but if you don’t have that luxury then its easiest to mix in a breakdown of a house song and the intro of dubstep. I would speed the house song up to as high as 135 in the breakdown and drop the dubstep to the same and simply mix. I then raise the dubstep song back to 140 during an intense build up if not then try the slow method mentioned earlier.
What software/hardware should I use?
This is entirely personal and something you figure out for yourself. Start by asking yourself some questions... Do I want to scratch? How many decks do I want to mix with at a time? Do I trust my computer to not crash when I play live? Do I want endless effects, loops and samples at my fingertips? Do I want to carry around a midi controller vs. full set up with turntables and mixer to my gig?
Best way to do it is to try all the gear! If you have DJ friends you have access to some gear already, if not then try a local music store, the larger ones will likely have some DJ gear on display.
All DJ software is similar in features performance despite what people think (except Ableton), I use Virtual DJ it’s what I learned on and when I tried other software I just wanted to go back to it. Try out their demos and make the choice for yourself.
My setup today is a Hercules RMX, Korg Kaoss Pad 3, and an Akai APC40. I use Virtual DJ when I am playing live and I am currently setting up and Ableton show with the same gear. I was able to use a Kontrol S4 live once, I have a friend that I mix with who owns 2 CDJ-800s and a DJM 600 with serato DVS, another friend runs pure Ableton with an assortment of midi controllers; APC40 and BCRs ect. All these setups are great in their own way you just have to try them out for yourself to which is best for you, start by watching videos on YouTube showcasing different gear and their function.
My top five mistakes! (In no particular order)
1. Hitting the stop button on the track that is currently playing.
This one is a classic and most DJs have done it at some point. My only advice is to simply double check and come up with a system for yourself to not let this happen, for me when I have just one track playing I move the crossfader over to that side as a mental note to myself to remember which deck is playing.
2. Playing the wrong song at the wrong time and killing the dance floor.
I’m not sure what to say about this one, just be aware of what you’re playing and how the crowd is reacting.
3. Forgetting to charge my laptop.
Make sure your laptop is plugged in and charging, do a quick check every few songs because DJ software will eat up your battery.
4. Playing music at less the 320 kbps.
You may not hear a difference between 320 and everything less at first on your home speakers, but when you play on a big club system the difference his huge. This is one great reason to buy your tracks because you know you’re getting the best audio quality.
5. Dropping a dubstep track with the bass EQ turned down.
I often see DJ’s quickly felling each EQ while they mix two songs together at first I wondered why and now I find myself doing the exact same thing. I check every knob when I mix and make sure they are where I want them.
Final Words
Keep practicing and keep getting new songs as you will likely get tired of hearing you music over and over again. Post your mixes online and show your friends. When you are comfortable with mixing invite your friends over to hear you, they will likely say you were awesome no matter what but it’s good to have an audience. I hope this guide has helped you in any way it can, if not sorry for making you read all that I would bake you a muffin and send it to you if I could
Videos and articles to help you out
- On YouTube there is a guy who goes by the name elleskins, he has a plethora of videos to help you out on every aspect on DJing (he has literally done everything I can think of and is still making videos!). They are by far the best tutorials on YouTube I have seen, I highly suggest checking them out.
- The single tutorial video that got me started is by DjRavine “How to DJ perfectly with Virtual DJ - Beginners Tutorial” you can find it on YouTube.
- The website djforums.com is my favourite DJ forum out there they have lots of good information and a large member base.
Tips from GHO5T_Official
I've been an Officially licensed DJ for around three year's, so obliviously you can take this however you want too, but this is my own personal guide to how to become a licensed DJ based on my own personal experience's. Let's get right into it.
Step 1: Know what you're getting into.
- I don't sleep much anymore. give or take two hours a night, why? Because that's what I'm used to now. No DJ show happen's in mid-day and no school/college/job/whatever will stop just because you aren't there. Pretty Simple.
Step 2: "It's one or the other"
- I had a harsh hit on reality when I realized I couldn't create a GOOD song and a GOOD mixing while trying to figure out how to do both after I was BOO-ed of stage. You don't try to create music and create mixes at the same time unless your Phenomenal at both. trying to teach yourself two thing's at the same time only wear's on you.
- Figure what you want to be good at first, which is more beneficial to you at that moment.
Step 3: You Suck.
- When you start off DJ-ing, you're going to get BOO-ed, not necessarily for being bad at it, but because you're the new guy, people have less patience with you and small thing's like "hey I don't like that Song" will get the crowd worked up against you.
- Don't take it personally, every DJ was Boo-ed at least once, people rip on skrillex's music all the time, people are just like that, I've actually had the Justin Bieber(??) Experience, Having a bottle thrown at my head during a set, it sucked.
Step 4: Don't Be Shy.
-as much as the thought of fluttershy being a house moving DJ sound's appealing, she would never make it as a DJ, and if she did she would't be that popular.
-Alot of people don't realize that sitting in the basement and recording yourself won't get you noticed, at all. you have to meet people you need to socialize.
-YOU NEED TO BE FUN! jump around on stage, be the person who cracks joke's at people, be flirtatious, vulgar, people eat that shit up.
Step 5: "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie"
-Okay so liking the show is the only reason why I wrote that but, I've adapted something I call the 'Pinkie Pie Mentality', Which is based off the episode where she say's the word's "I know every pony, and I mean Every pony in PonyVille"
-to be a DJ you need to know people, have connection's be a pinkie pie like person. it help's alot, my first gig was highschool dance after one of my moms friend's said his son needed a DJ, doesn't seem like much, but after that, One of the kid's facebooked about me and one of his friends got in contact with me. it just keep's going. SO MEET EVERYPONY, HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF FRIENDS BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW HOW MANY OF THOSE SPECIAL FRIENDS WILL HAVE CONNECTIONS!
Step 6: It's none of your concern
- really small column/bit of advice there's cocaine in the club's, LSD, Meth, Weed, Alcohol, there's always going to be, this is messed up sounding but my manager once said to me "it's not your job and your not being paid to play mommy for these people, your on stage, you play, your off stage, that's your job. It's not good to have a heart in these places"
- So basically, you're you, and they're them.
Step 7: Don't throw away life
- Don't Drop outta school/quit your job/leave college because you think your hot shit and you know your gonna be big and famous so you don't need to do anything. that's stupid. I know alot of you would probably agree with that, just a kinda reminder
Step 8: know who your playing for
- exactly that. who's the crowd, what's the theme? This is an easy one but know that not everybody like's the same music
Articles and tips from Freewave
It's nice to have a digital library with bpm's, queue points, genres, and even the track keys for easy access and pre-set before a gig. A lot of software can do bpm's and song keys for you so take advantage of them. Certain hardware and software can save all your queue points to and many dj's travel with memory sticks with their whole show to plug into the dj equiptment rather than carry around records. BPM's also indicate what type of music you're likely listening to:
80-100 (low tempo)= hip hop, downtempo, chillout,
101-119 (midtempo)=not too many dance songs tbh
120-130 (dance music really begins at 120), synthpop, electro, almost all house, breakbeat/big beat
131-140 trance and some electro house
141-160 dubstep ~140 and is half step so often will go at 70 then. hardstyle starts here
161-190 breakcore & drum & bass dominate this range like drum & bass they can work off a half-step so 180 can feel like 90 when focusing on the second beat. Some genre anomalies (chiptune and stuff like Foozogz) also fit in here as well.
-Guide to Electronic Music
-RYM Ultimate Box Set
