Starting to doubt my potential as a dj

[rcs1113]

Practice. Know your gear inside and out.
Set a long term goal. How good will you be in one year? Be realistic.
And remember, it's all about music. Learning how to mix takes no time compared to how long it takes to build your knowledge of music. It's a never ending journey of discovery, and you must listen to a lot of crap to find the good stuff.
Never give up and you will get there.

love your sounds by the way, once I get more experienced with mixing i'd love to start mashing with a launchpad or something

[DJBambii]

get a cheap controller like a hercules Mk4 or RMX and practice on that for a year , and learn to really mix. DOn't both with Fx at all yet, trust me , It will get in your way of mastering the skills you need to actually use them properly. or if you wanna be different, go with "Djing" With ableton , but I only suggest this if you, like me and many others" , plan on making all your tunes . other wise do what i said in the first half, I was where you were a year and a half ago with a pirated coppy of VDJ7 and a mouse, trust me it gets better, just invest an a controller and then invest in getting good at Mixing

[dual citizen]

Some advice from Ira Glass that's good for anyone who works in a creative field.

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

[BentoSan]

dont even begin to think about fx and cue points yet, master actually mixing two tracks well.

+1

Your friends won't know the difference anyway

Once you have mastered that you can start using loops to bring in new tracks.

Then loops and subtle effects to bring in the next track and so on and so forth until you cranking toons together like madman.

Take things slowly n steady and you will win the race

[DarioJ]

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

QFT!!!! This thread has helped me get my head back in the game.

and BRAVO to the members in this thread... I thought this was going to derail on page 1

BRAVO

[ThinkAboutIt]

I'm in the same page as you. I've bought S4 about a month ago and i'm trying to mix but all my products sounds like shit to me. I'm trying to mix deep house maybe that's why because it's pretty hard to mix (for a beginner atleast) but i don't stop trying. I hope i'll have a set till the end of the week.

[Bassline Brine]

I've spent the past 2 years really, if not a little longer than that, working toward getting the setup that I really wanted. Taste in music is where I feel my strong-point is, and then everything from there is just learning the technical aspects.

People get frustrated because things aren't godly right away. But I treat DJing just as I did as a kid when I was learning an instrument. You just have to put in the time. A lot of times it will sound pretty decent, but then there are parts that really just need improvement. But honestly, I used to practice every day to get different difficult parts down, and it's really just relaying that experience into DJing.

Be it a sport you played/play, an instrument, a hobby. Everyone has something that they've practiced until they are good. This is no different.

The thing for me, is recording my sets. I record most of what I do, burn it to a CD, and listen to it the next day in the car. I listen to what I liked about my mix, and then listen to the bad parts, hopefully so I won't repeat the issue. A few mixes I post online for others to listen to and give me criticism, but most of the time I'm the one who has to critique myself.

It's something that I think all of us run into. Especially with DJing. There is no "teacher" really. It's people working on their own skills with an instrument until it becomes enjoyable to others. It's something that now that I've really been getting into mixing, I've realized that I miss having that music teacher to instantly critique and correct what I may be doing wrong.

It's a journey in learning.

Don't be put off from hitting a plateau. You will hit many in MANY different aspects of life. Compare it to weight-lifting/working out, and it's the same parallel. You just need to keep working at it, and don't make it too complicated too fast.

That's my 2 cents at least. But props on you for sticking with mixing with just a computer and mouse, I got sick of that really quickly and spent 2 years NOT mixing because mixing that way just bothered me way too much lol.

[grazz16]

A whole month and a half and you aren't a pro yet? Yeah, you should quit.

lol, sarcasm noted but totally justified imo. You can't possibly expect to be amazing after a month. I agree with what some others have said as well about just doing it because its fun, and also keep getting more music, that's like 90% of the battle right there unless you want to do some hardcore controllerist routines.

[rcs1113]

Thanks guys, I and that's certainly true about hitting plateaus. I kinda of have a mixed lifestyle in that I really like sports but also music and photography and hitting plateaus in sports has happened to me many times but I just train through it.

This is an electro house mix I made and I had an amazing time making, literally so much fun. Again, just keyboard and mouse but would you guys care to give it a listen?



EDIT: yea i know the lil wayne in the intro is kinda weird but I wanted to practice a hip hop style transition and my goal for this mix was to get all kinds of music out there, rap, pop remixes, electro, etc.

[Frank112916]

btw: I just want to make this clear: you don't need to use two turntables and a mixer to be a good DJ. I was just describing how using them affected my DJing. Starting out on a midi-controller is fine, as long as you don't get lost in the FX and cue-point jumps and focus on what is important. Midi control is great (I still use it through my mixer) but if you're like me, and have a lot of ADHD/ADD, then it will just hinder your ability to become a better DJ.

I am actually at the event I'm DJing right now (I go on in 2 hours). My "set list" was compiled by me and a non-DJ friend of mine. Having second ears is truly invaluable. Especially someone who loves music as much as you do, but just doesn't have the funds or time to DJ. He gave me great tips and made some really good song selection in places I was having trouble. Having someone listening to your mixes is so important. I think the answer I'll give when people ask "am I ready to DJ at a club" will always be "yes." Club goers have countless nights to listen to music. One bad night won't ruin their life. But one night in front of a crowd of people will change a DJ's life. It will give you insight you will never gain in the bedroom.

Also, go out and listen to other DJ's. There is no magic formula for great DJing, but listening to how other DJ's mix, if they are in your genre, will help you a lot. I've gone out to bars and clubs - just to hear the DJ and his flow. I don't talk to him, I just listen. I listen to what sounds good, what doesn't, look at how dancers react, etc... It has changed up my style and allowed me to make more fluid mixes. Don't be afraid to "copy" other DJ's. Amalgamation of ideas is just as important as inventing your own, and if you figure out how to get past the surface, and dig deep into the mechanics of another DJ, especially ones more experienced than you, you can gain some wonderful insights and do things they never even though of.

Get yourself a cheap controller. As you grow, upgrade. In the long run, it might be more money spent, but if you're truly serious, every dollar will pay dividends. I wish you the best. Good luck.