
How to get started with DJing - antiroyalty
https://medium.com/@asantash/how-to-get-started-with-djing-495c275be5e4#.2ajfzv1c4
======
empath75
Okay, so I was a rave DJ in the early 2000s and opened for some of the most
popular DJ's in the world at sold out clubs and I'm about to give some real
advice.

Yes, all of this stuff about producing music is important, but people who can
mix records are a dime a dozen. You need to be able to do it, but it's not
enough to get gigs.

The way you get gigs is to be popular. You need to go clubbing every weekend.
You need to go to after parties. You need to promote on social media. You need
to throw your own parties and book other DJ's so they'll book you at theirs.

Nobody is going to book you on talent. You get booked because you get people
in the door and that really only has a little bit to do with talent and a lot
to do with personality and networking.

You'll never make a living that way, though, because nobody pays money for
local DJ's except at weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Alternatively, you can spend 10 years in your bedroom learning how to be a
really good music producer and hope some popular DJ signs your single and then
gradually build a following and then maybe in five more years you might make
what a junior sysadmin makes.

~~~
imaginology
> Alternatively, you can spend 10 years in your bedroom learning how to be a
> really good music producer and hope some popular DJ signs your single and
> then gradually build a following and then maybe in five more years you might
> make what a junior sysadmin makes.

Or you could become a junior sysadmin right from the start and treat music
production as a hobby with no intention of turning it into a career. Although,
I have a feeling many young people wouldn't listen to advice like that.

~~~
krylon
> Or you could become a junior sysadmin right from the start and treat music
> production as a hobby with no intention of turning it into a career.

I know a couple of people who did just that. ;-)

I was slightly shocked how much money they invested in synthesizers and other
equipment, but it was clear they did this for the fun without any intention to
make a living from it. And other people have expensive hobbies, too.

Incidentally, most of them were actually sysadmins or programmers. ;-)

~~~
shermanyo
Yep, did just that:
[http://i.imgur.com/FYT3mKy.png](http://i.imgur.com/FYT3mKy.png)

> I was slightly shocked how much money they invested in synthesizers and
> other equipment, but it was clear they did this for the fun without any
> intention to make a living from it. And other people have expensive hobbies,
> too.

I have a friend who fixes up old cars (old Chevys, etc... from '50s - '60s)

My rule of thumb is to spend less than he is each year :P

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doublerebel
* 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.

~~~
doublerebel
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.

~~~
Thrillington
I'm not an expert here, so I would invite contrary interpretations. I know you
can't setup speakers outside and play Spotify, but it should be legal in a
venue that pays ASCAP. When I worked for a radio station in the early zeds we
were told many times that their ASCAP license allowed us to play music
regardless of the source, so ASCAP should supercede the Spotify prohibition on
public performance.

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dpc59
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,
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.

~~~
jdietrich
>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](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=KKDSgMddOO0)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ishaG9pyMA](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.

~~~
dpc59
>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.

This is the point I was trying to make. I'm very familiar with soundsystem
culture, I've been making a living from it since I was 17. Obviously there's
some good sounding stuff you can do while mixing on two decks, you just gave
decent examples, but in my opinion it's never going to be as mind blowing as
Birdy Nam Nam or Araabmuzik absolutely killing it on some freestyle stuff.
It's never going to beat a great vinyl jungle set with an experienced
scratcher, and it's certainly not going to beat some of the crazy live sets
people in the downtempo psytrance scene play.

I went to a rave on halloween, and there was these two guys doing a live set.
One guy was just doing regular 2 decks stuff for the rythmic section, while
the other guy had an mpc, a controller and electronic drums plugged into his
computer for the melodies. It was great seeing the drums used as melody, I've
seen thousands of sets in my life and I was mind blown. There are no videos of
him playing live, but here's his soundcloud.

[https://soundcloud.com/swa-swally](https://soundcloud.com/swa-swally)

~~~
angersock
A little off-topic, but why is there just so much good music out of Montreal?
And any more good recs for somebody who likes swa-swally and mstrkrft?

~~~
bigmanwalter
Montreal has cheap rent and everyone who's career focused leaves for Toronto
or New York. In their wake is our amazing music scene :)

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chtfn
Shame the author promotes the use of Spotify so much, for two reasons: \- the
ridiculous amount of money going to artists (i.e. the ones who do want money
for their music), although you could argue that you would generate revenue for
every play the song gets, rather than a one-off amount when buying it
(although, pretty sure it still doesn't compare); \- having Spotify means
everyone will ask you to play your favourite song, and you'll have less of an
excuse not to, which is a massive PITA.

Contrary to what the article says, Mixxx is cross-platform (GNU/Linux, Mac,
Windows). I really recommend that amazing piece of Free Software. It is the
only DJing software I use.

~~~
danielvf
She's not using Spotify for performances - she's using it for discovering and
selecting music. Once she knows her tracks, then she buys them.

~~~
seanp2k2
Another option which is big in the industry and unmentioned here is Beatport.

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MaddAgent
As someone who is a Systems Engineer by day, and a DJ by night I can highly
recommend anyone that has even the slightest interest in Djing to just jump in
and give it a go!

Don't get caught up in the details (Hardware/software, CDs/mp3s/vinyl etc)
just yet - try and find your starting point and progress from there. The
barrier to entry has never ever been lower!

When I started, there was no choice but a pair of Technics SL1200 / SL1210
turntables and a big record collection (CDJs had not even been introduced!).
Now you don't even need to invest a fortune in building a vinyl collection!

over 20 years later, here I am - I do at least 2 gigs every week (try to just
stick to Fri and Sat nights, but could have more work if I chose to, although
Djing until 3 or 4am on a week night is not exactly compatible with the day
job!

I still have the original set of technics turntables that I bought in 1994,
they still work - although I have moved on to a serato setup using the CDJs
provided by almost all venues these days! I'm too old now to lug a massive box
of vinyl around hahaha.

One last point - I'd echo previous comments that in reality its not about how
technically brilliant you are. Like a lot of things in life, its really about
who you know! so get out there, meet the promoters, other DJs, venue owners /
managers etc. thats the key to getting a foor in the door.

~~~
mixmastamyk
> (CDJs had not even been introduced!)

I had the Denon dual CDJ decks approx 1993-ish. Cost me $1000 (wince).

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philfrasty
Couple of weeks ago I randomly came across a building here in Munich that
looked absolutely spectacular. It's shell looked like it was made out of very
small cubes and millions of them. Looked at the doorsign...turns out it is the
HQ of Algoriddm, the company that makes Djay Pro (recommended by the author)
:)

EDIT: would love to see a „How to get started with music production“. Just
started using Logic Pro and with all its plugins it seems very overwhelming at
first.

~~~
nnd
I've also recently started with Logic. My advice would be: don't worry about
all the details of the software, it'll take a long time to master all the
features. Learn the basics of it, and just start messing around with sounds to
produce a complete song. Don't worry about technicalities, just finish. It's
more important what you have to say with music, than how you say it.

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Daishiman
Step 1: have an actual passion for good music, weird music, music outside of
the mainstream. Dance with it, vibrate to it, understand how it makes you and
others feel.

Step 2: whatever. If you understand the music, the sound, the acoustics and
the sensations it makes little difference what medium you choose.

Mixing and beatmatching are secondary to this. You should want to show people
great music above all. The mix should just prime people to make them receptive
to it.

~~~
TTPrograms
DJing is interesting because, while people who listen to DJs would not notice
any difference in this approach, people who are familiar with mixing or are
DJs would say strictly that this is not DJing.

This is in contrast with, say, playing the violin. There's no debate over if
somebody is actually playing the violin - one does or does not.

I think the point of this, beyond any snobbery, is that there is a craft to
DJing that is of great value to the DJs and those who are familiar, but its
impact on the typical listener happens to be negligible.

So if you're interested in DJing because you primarily care about others'
responses to your DJing, this is a satisfactory route. If you're interested in
learning the nuances of a craft involving highly technical and intricate
mixing then that's an altogether different path.

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red_anorak
I was into techno, house and electro DJing for a long time. I'd say the best
advice for enjoying djing is not to dwell on the technical aspects any more
than they interest you. I'm rather out of touch with the current state of
things, but I used to find progressive house DJs who obsessed over perfect
mixes rather dull. When you're picking records think about how they'll sound
in a club. People only care about your blends when they're really bad.

I dunno, just do whatever entertains you.

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kris_lander
This is a great book to get started - and whilst it is a little dated
technology wise the fundamentals are great along with a very entertaining
tongue-in-cheek presentation/writing style.

[https://www.amazon.com/How-DJ-Properly-Science-
Playing/dp/05...](https://www.amazon.com/How-DJ-Properly-Science-
Playing/dp/0593058119)

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imaginology
Next stage: How to master a DJ mix using multiband compression.

~~~
Ace17
also called "Soundgoodizer" in some DAW :-)

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voycey
This article should start off with "First buy Turntables and then buy Vinyl"

Step 2 - once you have mastered beat-matching on this then you can fuck around
with the new fancy electronic systems.

Step 3 - learn to get good at it.

#1 its all about fun and the tactile pleasure of controlling your music,
something that the digital age has robbed many of us from, CD's are a happy
medium between Vinyl and Digital but are even now outdated.

You will never get anything as satisfying as rooting through record bins at a
vinyl store, taking it home and mixing it in a full manual process - I am glad
it is making a return :)

~~~
kruhft
Vinyl is so heavy that it's a burden, but there's nothing like playing on real
decks to teach you the ropes.

~~~
voycey
Absolutely! Until you have tried to keep a 2+ minute mix going on belt drive
decks you wont understand how much joy MP3 with its zero wow and flutter
brings haha

