So now more than with 12" I think it is easier to "learn" your tracks with easily created and labeled cue points but nothing is the same as jut KNOWING your tracks.
That being said I've always wondered how big name traveling DJs to bedroom DJs learned their tracks. If you're buying 10+ tracks a week and you are a bedroom DJ with a day job and at least a 30min commute like me, then it's easy to burn them and listen to them in the car. I also listen to them while in the gym 3+ days a week for at least an hour.
However...there are only so many hours in a day and DJs are constantly buying new material to stay fresh so after like one week its time for the next batch of new tracks to try to learn. I luckily have a mp3 car stereo that displays the track metadata so I can see the name and artist but listening in the gym Im not so lucky. If I wrote code I'd make an app. that used text to speech technology to read the name and artist before each track to help me learn.
Its funny how the digital realm changes the subtle things too. Flipping through crates and associating tracks with images (covers) isn’t the same anymore (if at all). I know you've got the tiny little cover-art icons you can "flip" though in Traktor but its like, only 30% of the tracks consistently come with cover art (at beatport anyway). I know you can go and track them down and apply art to your files but hell...what a waste of time.
Im sure there are MANY DJs out there (big name ones too) that dont really bother learning their tracks these days since it is SO easy to sync, mix, move on. Any interesting techniques you all use for learning your tracks?
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