Don't know what to do next
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  1. #1
    Tech Convert
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    Default Don't know what to do next

    Hey guys i have been djing for about 6 months and i just dont know what to do next.

    I have a numark mixtrack pro and it has been perfect for me everytime i've used it. I use it with traktor Pro 2. I have only had one gig where I only played for half the night due to a fight :P I didn't really get a good reponse because I practised for a Top 40, House party and they all wanted RnB and "Twerk Music". I have got a medium sized music library with Trap, hardstyle, Uk Hardcore, gabba, Top 40, electro House, dubstep and a few RnB rap songs. I have put an add on gumtree (an Australia buy and sell website like craigs list) I also have a facebook page and soundcloud but they only got a couple of followers :P

    I just need some direction as to how to move forward such as getting gigs and how can i improve my mixes. I have been considering getting a midi controller like a midi fighter spectra, kontrol F1 or X1 but i just don't what to look for. I'm alright at beat matching but it gets boring just beat matching throughout.

  2. #2
    Tech Guru dripstep's Avatar
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    You've been DJing for 6 months. DJ for another 6.
    2 x gemini PT 1000 . Gemini PS-525 . X1
    NI Audio 6 . Traktor Scratch pro 2
    2007 Macbook Pro
    Quote Originally Posted by The Mighty FV View Post
    manners don't cost a thing dude - never forget that, it'll help you in all walks of life.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by UpdateDJ View Post
    Hey guys i have been djing for about 6 months and i just dont know what to do next.

    I have a numark mixtrack pro and it has been perfect for me everytime i've used it. I use it with traktor Pro 2. I have only had one gig where I only played for half the night due to a fight :P I didn't really get a good reponse because I practised for a Top 40, House party and they all wanted RnB and "Twerk Music". I have got a medium sized music library with Trap, hardstyle, Uk Hardcore, gabba, Top 40, electro House, dubstep and a few RnB rap songs. I have put an add on gumtree (an Australia buy and sell website like craigs list) I also have a facebook page and soundcloud but they only got a couple of followers :P

    I just need some direction as to how to move forward such as getting gigs and how can i improve my mixes. I have been considering getting a midi controller like a midi fighter spectra, kontrol F1 or X1 but i just don't what to look for. I'm alright at beat matching but it gets boring just beat matching throughout.

    Practice and Practice a bit more, be more creative, search for new music. New kit doesn't always 'improve' your mixes

  4. #4
    Tech Guru DjLiquitATL's Avatar
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    Default

    one of the things I have always DONE is get to know someone in HIGHSCHOOL, weather it is through your church or whatever... they will let you know what is hot and what is not...

    as we get older it gets harder to play younger gigs b/c you can't bank on top40 alone and since we are busy working, we are not as on top of the hits like we used to be when we had nothing else better to do...at least that is my experience with it

    always good to have an aux line for iphones/ipods too so you can play GOOD request at parties...they just want to hear their song...you can do you best to mix it in BUT if the crowd sucks anyway there is nothing to lose when playing a request off an ipod/iphone unless you personally know its a horrible song
    --> (2) Technics 1200 mk2, (1) Technics 1200 m3d, (1) Technics 1200 mk5, Pioneer DJM-S9, Rokit 5 Monitors, BX8 Monitor, TSP2, SDJ, DJP4M (DjProForMac), 2015 Macbook Pro (Quad Core i7 2.5ghz, 16GB RAM, 2GB AMD-R9, 1GB SSD) <--

  5. #5
    Tech Wizard
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    Quote Originally Posted by dripstep View Post
    You've been DJing for 6 months. DJ for another 6.

  6. #6
    Tech Mentor The Mighty FV's Avatar
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    Make some free mixes with special edits, bootlegs or even your own productions on them. Give them out to people on CD or on forums and then ask for feedback.

    Learn to produce.

    Practice more - 6 months makes you look a little crazy as most of the people on this forum have been doing this for over 10 years, and we did it for years before the professional shows even started.
    13" Macbook Pro i7/8gb/750gb :: Traktor S4 + F1 + Pro 2 :: Allen & Heath DB4 :: Allen & Heath K2 :: Midi Fighter Classic :: Midi Fighter Pro (BM) :: Midi Fighter 3D :: Pioneer RMX1000 :: DJM800 :: 2 xCDJ1000mk3 :: Beats Pro + Beats Studio

  7. #7
    Tech Convert
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    If you get bored with the beatmatching either your practice sessions are too long or your playing the wrong music. Play something you will enjoy and cant get sick of. I know the want for new shiny pieces of kit but get amazing at what you got. If you add something new you have to learn that new piece of kit and are not improving on your older stuff. Dont be a 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None'...

    Isnt DJ'ing about playing music, not making it a personal performance piece?

  8. #8
    DJTT Scribe Mod smiTTTen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sgtscarfy View Post
    If you get bored with the beatmatching either your practice sessions are too long or your playing the wrong music. Play something you will enjoy and cant get sick of. I know the want for new shiny pieces of kit but get amazing at what you got. If you add something new you have to learn that new piece of kit and are not improving on your older stuff. Dont be a 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None'...

    Isnt DJ'ing about playing music, not making it a personal performance piece?
    ^^^^^THIS^^^^^

    If you are already bored with mixing then walk away for a while and invest your time listening to music. BOAT LOADS OF BLOODY MUSIC! Go on Beatport, Juno, wherever you like, pick a genre and just go through track after track after track. This is not about doing work or finding great tunes as much as its about figuring out what your ear really likes. You can't expect your brain to get excited at the prospect of mixing tracks that your ears wouldn't proposition on a Saturday night if their lives depended on it. Some nights I'll construct a few social beverages and listen to 1000+ tracks. I might only listen to a few seconds of a lot of them but there will be other tracks I listen to all the way through and a few I'll actually buy.

    Got a smart phone? If so, go out into the world and capture sound. I left the house at 7am for work this morning and heard the birds chirping like it was their job while the train was coming down the tracks a few miles away. I got my phone out and recorded it. Who knows what I will do with it but it will get used. You wont be able to beat grid it because it's bloody nature but you might be able to play around with some affects and create some really cools layers of sound. For the record, I have recordings of people arguing in supermarkets, Pro gun radio DJs talking about shooting people, footsteps of my son running through the park, myself ranting at the country music on the radio and a bunch of other random silliness.

    Got some mates? Start playing with them! If they have kit - get them to bring it round and start making some noise. If they don't - get them around all the same, teach the basics and do some back to back stuff. Another person will spawn much more creativity than another controller.

    Got a family birthday coming up? Go find out all the horrible tunes they like, get a hold of them and find a way to create something cool from it. They get a unique gift and you get 9000 awesome points.

    There's all kinds of stuff you can do - you just need to do it.

    Good luck
    Beats By Dre is like audio flu for your balls.

  9. #9
    Tech Guru dripstep's Avatar
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    Smittten, to use your words: "you're a bloody genius!"

    I think I might just start recording samples as well now
    2 x gemini PT 1000 . Gemini PS-525 . X1
    NI Audio 6 . Traktor Scratch pro 2
    2007 Macbook Pro
    Quote Originally Posted by The Mighty FV View Post
    manners don't cost a thing dude - never forget that, it'll help you in all walks of life.

  10. #10
    Tech Guru
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    Quote Originally Posted by smittten View Post
    ^^^^^THIS^^^^^

    If you are already bored with mixing then walk away for a while and invest your time listening to music. BOAT LOADS OF BLOODY MUSIC! Go on Beatport, Juno, wherever you like, pick a genre and just go through track after track after track. This is not about doing work or finding great tunes as much as its about figuring out what your ear really likes. You can't expect your brain to get excited at the prospect of mixing tracks that your ears wouldn't proposition on a Saturday night if their lives depended on it. Some nights I'll construct a few social beverages and listen to 1000+ tracks. I might only listen to a few seconds of a lot of them but there will be other tracks I listen to all the way through and a few I'll actually buy.

    Got a smart phone? If so, go out into the world and capture sound. I left the house at 7am for work this morning and heard the birds chirping like it was their job while the train was coming down the tracks a few miles away. I got my phone out and recorded it. Who knows what I will do with it but it will get used. You wont be able to beat grid it because it's bloody nature but you might be able to play around with some affects and create some really cools layers of sound. For the record, I have recordings of people arguing in supermarkets, Pro gun radio DJs talking about shooting people, footsteps of my son running through the park, myself ranting at the country music on the radio and a bunch of other random silliness.

    Got some mates? Start playing with them! If they have kit - get them to bring it round and start making some noise. If they don't - get them around all the same, teach the basics and do some back to back stuff. Another person will spawn much more creativity than another controller.

    Got a family birthday coming up? Go find out all the horrible tunes they like, get a hold of them and find a way to create something cool from it. They get a unique gift and you get 9000 awesome points.

    There's all kinds of stuff you can do - you just need to do it.

    Good luck

    Bravo!!! Best post on here for a long time.

    TBH, I've not really understood some of the 'next level', 'what should I do next', 'what should I buy to upgrade', 'bored' questions from those new to DJing. Call me old fashioned, as just as Smitten rightly points out, it's all about playing music, of which there is lots and lots being released all the time. I think if you're bored then you aren't necessarily suited to DJing. First and foremost it's about loving music, the long term DJ's I know are in it for the music first and everything else falls in to place afterwards. I'm still just as excited about searching for and playing new music as I was when I started DJing in 1993.
    20+ years man & boy, working the platters that matter. D3EP DJ.

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