Genres ??? ( n00b question)

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04-10-2016, 09:30 AM
AndrewIsMusic

Genres ??? ( n00b question)

Hi guys and girls,
I recently started to learn DJing and came across HUGE problem.
It is music. Music I like is from very various genres - from musical soundtracks, to DnB, to HipHop, to Trance&Progressive, EXTREMELY Cheesy Pop, Happy Hardcore, Rock, Metal and more.
When i started learning, I tried to narrow it down to one-two genres and went on looking for new music, but whilst listening through releases I realized that I would decide to keep 1 maybe 2 tracks out of 100 listened. So I got some house tracks, but realised that my mixes (LoL, by mixes I mean my miserable attempts) sound boring, there is no colour, no spice to it and they don`t make me feel proud of myself nor represent my musical taste or who I am.
My question is - am I doomed? Will I be able to mix between extremely variable genres and make it sound good?
Or should I start building collection of one-two genres (which realy doesnt speak to me)?
Thank you in advance,
AndrewIsMusic

P.S. To make it clear I`m learning to DJ for myself with plan to do some gigs on the side later as an extra income with no plan of making it on to career.
04-10-2016, 02:30 PM
SirReal

Are you doomed? Absolutely not. It's great to have varying tastes. Back in the day, DJ's would play between genres all the time and some still do. There's tasteful ways of doing it, ie. House > Tech House > Techno but there's no hard and fast rule. Play what you like and learn to mix it in different and creative ways. I would recommend in the beginning to mix genres that are similar just so you can get a basic understanding of mixing and eq work. After the basics are pretty solid then "the world's your oyster" and try what ever makes you groove. I love hearing various genres over the course of an evening.
04-10-2016, 02:41 PM
Stazbumpa

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewIsMusic

My question is - am I doomed?

No.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewIsMusic

Will I be able to mix between extremely variable genres and make it sound good?

Yes. In most cases they will need to be similar-ish BPM's, although I have a habit of dropping RnB vocals over Drum & Bass or even going straight from D&B into RnB if the dancefloor requires it (RnB being half the BPM or thereabouts). But it's a lot easier if you're blending, say, house into techno because the BPM's will already be within shouting distance of each other. Therefore the key to making it sound good is choosing records which flow into one another, if the vibe is there then the genre is largely irrelevant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewIsMusic

Or should I start building collection of one-two genres (which realy doesnt speak to me)?

No. Build a collection of music you enjoy. I'm a pro multi genre DJ but I started off in the early 90's rave scene thinking it was the only music I would ever play.
I was wrong. You will soon find lots of music you like within a certain genre and can mix happily, but you by not limiting yourself to that genre you will soon start getting good ideas for mixing across the wonderful smorgasboard we call music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewIsMusic

Thank you in advance,
AndrewIsMusic

My pleasure, I hope I was of use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewIsMusic

P.S. To make it clear I`m learning to DJ for myself with plan to do some gigs on the side later as an extra income with no plan of making it on to career.

That's precisely how I started, 21 years later I'm still earning money at it.