You should read a DJ-book

[Jester]

There's one i read back at school that had a pic of Goldie on the cover ... "So you want to be a DJ?" i think was the name. Musta been from 89-90 i think. Yes i'm old, shuddafukup

[Bassline Brine]

You know I saw Goldie live less than a month ago, and he's still killin it. So nothing wrong with that man

[Jester]

Legend!

[BradCee]

DJ-ing for dummies is still one of my favorite reads.

as read by dj pauly d

[Psychofrakulator]

If you speak German, I can also recommend "Gut aufgelegt! Das Lehrbuch für den DJ". It starts with a long essay about the history of DJing and electronic music, then shows the equipment and different technologies (Turntable, CD, Digital) with listing all pros and cons, then talks about all the different techniques from beatmatching to scratching, finally tells you how you get your first gig, then gives a little insight about how to produce your own hit record and lists all the classic anthems of every genre, that every DJ should have in its case.
Outside of beatmatching/scratching techniques, the book doesn't go too much into detail. Like it tells you that you can use Serato, but not HOW to use it. And if you are already in the scene for a while, I doubt you will learn that much more from it, but it is an interesting and competent read.

[pilmat]

I literally finished this half an hour ago! The copy I have is the centenary edition, not sure what was changed from the original, but it is quite thick.

The book gives are great insight into the whole world of dance music DJ culture. It takes us from the concept of playing music for people by any means to one which we are familiar with. This concept is broken open and examined to show the reader that how music is played/selected/mixed has grown over the years. The phases of rejection to acceptance to adoration to rejection repeat as dance music changes.

In all, the book is a great read in that it is told by music lovers to music lovers. The authors easily get across the points of DJ relationship to the dancers, global perception of DJs and the pros and cons of a lot of DJing history.

The book is primarily pivoted around the creation of the music (once it became a DJ thing) and the booms in club culture that raised the DJ up in social status. With the two main focusses on the US and UK, other important areas are touched upon. But it is easy to relate the US and UK scenes back to our home towns and sense where we fit in (or don't).

I recommend this book to all, especially those (like me) who failed to understand what disco really is and how it is still influencing another generation of DJs.

Phil.

[JWit]

Thanks for the recommendation! Now i just have to bring myself to read more books after i finish finals! hah

[BentoSan]

Props for not using amazon referral links !

That makes reviews totally soulless as it is basically showing your just making the post to try to get some $$$

We also decided a while back that referral links are not allowed because they eat into the spirit of the forums, so now we remove all posts/threads including referral links.

[Ves]

'Last Night a DJ Saved My Live' - is a must. It tells you about the routs of DJing and how it all started. I learned so much about the DJ culture from this book.

'How to DJ Right' - Definitely good for people who start off for the first time with DJ equipment.

[Fyoog]

I must say I read it as a friend had it and I thought I would see if there was anything in there I didn't know on the off chance(having been a DJ for 10 years).
I thought it was a really good "ground level up" type book with some solid points about beginning DJing.
You have to excuse the fact that it really does seem slightly outdated in regards to the technology (seems like CDJ 1000's were just taking off at this point) and record buying (talking alot about buy vinyl and purchasing online for the brave (lol)), but the core aspects of DJing (beat matching, phrasing, FX explainations, looping etc) are really good with some simple but effective visual representations of what they are talking about that would really help beginners.
They also go into some details about DJ etiquette and promotion work and the stuff that needs to happen behind the DJ.
One thing that was great is the little stories and tips from all of the DJ's they must have spoken to while writing it as they are great and well worth a flip through even for experienced DJs. Some funny, some informative but all worth a read as there are some BIG names there.
I would have to say that it is more angled towards EDM but it does seem that they are trying to cover all bases on some of their points.

Overall if you are a beginner and want to learn the basics of beat matching and learn how to build a set with some handy tips on FX and the like then definitely give it a read, not so much here for the Digi-DJ in regards to tech but if you are willing to skim over the slightly outdated content then still have a look as you may learn something or at least re-enforce what you already know!!!

Peace out