Unprepared DJ's

[DJWilliams]

I agree with this too, I was looking for gigs early on this year, where I had hardly practiced and would have needed to basically plan the whole set. I think I'm at the level now where I could freestyle a good set so I'm ready to play out.

[sarasin]

Freestyling is good for clubs and certain events.

However, I think when you are playing a huge gig as a headliner or opener, I think its good to be prepared.

Its professional...and you are getting paid the $$$ to put in the effort.

[willinfluence]

lol.... yeah quite a few kids on here "oh yeah been djing for a couple months so i know pretty much all there is to know so now im looking for gigs. help me choose my dj name and help me with whatever i'm too lazy to figure out myself."

don't dare say anything about it or you'll be labeled as unfriendly and unhelpful.

+1

Yeah I agree, also guys asking for tunes to make up a set....c'mon
The whole point of being a dj is to find music yourself!

You get much more satisfaction when you see the crowd react to the music you have selected.

it's a big part of being a dj

[djchriswoods.co.uk]

ive been at it for 12 years now im still learning new shit! took me 4 years until i felt i was ready to play out

[DigitalDevil]

aye, there seem to be a few posts i've seen on here along the lines of 'i want to be a dj, what gear should i get, and what music should i play'

the first question you can kinda forgive, but the second marks you down as a total idiot. if you don't know anything about music, why do you want to dj?

qft...

[willinfluence]

ive been at it for 12 years now im still learning new shit! took me 4 years until i felt i was ready to play out

Yeah I was the same time frame when it came to playing out.
Then it's another learning curve when playing out.

[photojojo]

It's all about the digging and knowing your music!! I was asked to DJ at my first gig because I was the go to guy at the record store for the kind of music the club played.

[Chilly]

When you're first starting out, you should take whatever you can get that you're comfortable with at whatever price you can get, just for the experience.

I've been at this game a loooong time. I do everything from clubs and lounges to private events. At this point of my career I would never take a club night where I needed to play dubstep (for example), because I don't know it or like it. But if someone wanted to hear dubstep at a private event, I'd have them give me a list of songs and I'd make sure I had them, along with similar ones from those artists.

[willinfluence]

It's all about the digging and knowing your music!! I was asked to DJ at my first gig because I was the go to guy at the record store for the kind of music the club played.

Yeah that's the way it should be.

When I started to play out, it was in bars then I was asked to play the backrooms/room 2 of clubs, now i run my own Saturday night.

[tokenasianguy]

Never before have I seen so many people take gigs knowing they aren't ready to play them. It seems like so many people on this forum just say yes to gigs that they either are way to inexperienced for, or don't have the knowledge of what music to play. Would you accept a job you know you aren't ready for?
I know it's not the worst thing in the world, but it's rampant among forum members in here and just rubs me the wrong way.
[/rant]

If you don't have training or at least someone mentoring you, how else are you supposed to learn?

Sometimes people think that they're ready, only to realize they missed something. If you don't have a mentor or training, then I can't see any other way to learn except by doing. You can be the #1 bedroom DJ in the world, but you can't teach yourself how to DJ outside if you've never been outside.