How To Be a Good DJ| Complete Beginner’s Guide

How To Be a Good DJ| Complete Beginner’s Guide

Welcome to the fantastic world of blending music! this blog contains a straightforward 5-step method to help in your journey of learning and turning into a decent DJ.
So a way to be a DJ? well this can be a resource that has helped thousands of beginner DJs to urge their begin. however it’s up to you to begin taking real action!

Let’s quickly perceive what a DJ Do and doesn’t do.

A DJ plays songs or records in sequence, by cueing them up successively and compounding them in and out. astonishingly common idea is that DJ’s produce the music they play while on the go however really that happens at nice length in an exceedingly studio somewhere with a raft of various instruments, synthesisers, samples and different technical instrumentation.

The Club DJ:

Nightclub DJs ar sometimes native heroes that open for international acts or play in Clubs. Established club DJs have many nightspot residencies wherever they perform on regular baisc. If they’re having an oversized social community they will conjointly book out of state gigs.This DJ should have a knowledge of how to ramp the energy up and down, and maintain a balance between a full of life floor, and a busy bar.

Mobile DJ:
Mobile DJsare the unsung  heroes of the Djing industry. They travel far and wide to produce the soundtrack for weddings,  college dances, company parties,  and other private events.

This kind of DJs has to be comfortable with taking requests of songs and sometimes even entire playlists, speaking into a microphone, and investing in sound equipment also.

Music Producer:
People usually confuse DJing with music production. DJing is playing pre-recorded music to an Audience; producing is the original creation or recording of music.It’s to easy to select the next track on a collection list, but it takes a producer to compose the original music that DJs play.

Radio DJ:

The concept of the DJ owes it’s origins to radio, essentially The radio DJ works at a radio stations as a host. Some radio DJs are simply announcers who talk in between songs and Others play live sets for the entire town and sometimes more than one city at once.

 

The Turntablist (Performer):

Turntablists are also Called scratch DJs or controllerists. They perform live remixes using turntables, a mixer and headphone, along with another samples and special effects.
People go to see this DJ because of who they are, their reputation, and what people think they can do behind the decks. Their mixes are displays of raw talent, impressive tricks, and clever & Clear transitions.

Step 2: Determining Your Goals

You just want to start a business? want to start your own podcast? or you just want to do this for fun?

There are lots of reasons that you may wish to learn how to become a DJ but the most important thing is to be honest about what those reasons are.

There are many people who become DJ, but very few of them become superstars, and for that you have to hustle, you have to love it, and you have to work on it even when it sucks.

Step 3: Knowing Your Djing Software

Now it’s time to find the best software for you and get an idea of  what DJing is like!

Mainly there are 3 industry DJ platforms;

Rekordbox:
Rekordbox is Pioneer’s free music management software which allows you to prep your library and export to USB, or play directly from laptop using Rekordbox DJ.

Serato DJ Pro:
Serato dj is one of the most popular DJ software ever and Serato’s new Practice Mode allows you to DJ for free with no hardware connected.

Traktor Pro:

This one is Product of Native Instruments . This software supports loads of great performance features for EDM and hiphop DJs. It costs around $99 and free demo is also available.

There is one more great software Virtual DJ claims to be the most downloaded DJ software on Earth. And we know it why: it supports the latest DJ technologies it’s backed by a huge community and the great thing is it’s completely free for home use.Few more great options include djay Pro, Mixvibes CrossDJ and Mixxx.

Step 4: Learning Basic skills of djing

There are a number of basic skills to consider when learning how to be a Good DJ: mixing, EQing, phrasing, beatmatching, and prep. let’s cover this topic briefly.

Beatmatching:

The purpose of beatmatching is to get two tracks playing at the same tempo/Speed.Think about it like two bikes are driving next to each other on the Same highway.

Beatmatching can be done using a pitch fader to adjust tempo. You have to use a jog wheel, pitch-bend button, or have to do the physical manipulation of a record to adjust phase.but technology has made this skill obsolete. All the major DJ software and hardware packages are having built-in sync functionality You don’t know what sync is? Basically it is a button which gives you the ability to beat match the song by hitting it.

Equing:

Equing is also known as Equalizing and it is the act of boosting or cutting frequencies of songs so that multiple audio tracks blend nicely with each other, it helps you to create smooth transition.

A DJ mixer includes a total three-band EQ 1st is low 2nd is mid and high also known as bass, midrange, and treble. Some mixers have four bands: low, low-mid, mid-high, and high.

Gain Control:

Gaining is  the electronic process of amplifying a signal of songs and making it louder or lower in volume.

Basically any DJ rig contains a few different levels of “volume” adjustment.

As a general rule you have to stay out of the red. If you need more volume, boost it on the amp or speaker side.

 

Step 5: Learning about DJing Setup

1. DJ Controller Setup (Recommended):

Without any doubt, this is the most cost effective way to mix with hardware. all you need is a good laptop, a djing software and a controller.

A modern all-in-one DJ controller has everything which you need to do mixing and record music, and options are available from $100 to $3000, so you can buy it according to your budget.

2. CDJ Setup:

CDJ Setup are industry standard, it can be found in festivals, Nightclubs and in arenas all across the world.

CDJs are more expensive than Dj controller, but they offer a level of separation from the laptop, which some people appreciate. A basic CDJ-Mixer DJ Set-Up consists of two tabletop CD players, a DJ mixer, a headphone and powered speakers or an amplifier and speakers.

3. Vinyl Setup:

Most of DJs love that tactile feel of moving the physical record, and many people love watching a real DJ playing “real” records. It’s   still the best route for the pure scratch DJ.

Records are harder to mix than any of the other listed options. Vinyl is also the most expensive format to buy music on. So why would anyone want to go this route?

There are three reasons for it, it’s rewarding, it’s sexy, and people love it.

Now it is the time to put you in front of some actual people. That’s what it’s all about!

get you first gig and obviously you have to hustle and you have to keep learning new things and new techniques. Remember that Learning how to become a DJ is easy but making a living DJing is hard. I’m not saying it can’t be done, obviously it can! But it’s important to realize that you need to put in the work, and it doesn’t happen overnight.