Im looking at becoming a DJ.

[ZacGriffiths1]

Hi there my name is Zac and I'm looking at becoming a DJ. I have no experience in the subject and was hoping to gather some advise and tips. Help would be much appreicated.

[jaybyrrd]

1. Listen to a lot of music and I mean listen. Analyze it, pay attention to details, etc.
2. Learn to count music. When you listen to music Count count count count. Always count until it becomes second nature.
3. If you get a controller and you are using traktor or serato DON'T USE EFFECTS. This may seem counter intuitive but right now the effects you use are likely to do stuff that doesn't sound good. INSTEAD use your HI MId and Low Knobs. Learn to use them effectively and the world of DJing is way more open to you.
4. Don't think you need better equipment. I learned on a Mixtrack (not even the pro) and it gave me all the I needed to know in order to be able to do more today. Today if I used a mixtrack I could still throw down a house after creating a custom mapping that fits my style. It isn't the controller. It is practice and developing a style. Be patient with this especially.

[Kwal]

Not sure if you could be any more vague lol.

I assume you would like some help with finding out what would be your best options for equipment?

edit/ You can start here:

http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthread.php?t=71847

[Dystinct]

After you read that you should check out this movie. You will need to learn how to sync the BPM with the heartbeat of the listener.

[jaybyrrd]

After you read that you should check out this movie. You will need to learn how to sync the BPM with the heartbeat of the listener.

Stethoscopes out boys!

[overcast]

Hi Zac!

Here's my two tips for you to start:
1. Listen to everything. Find out what you love, find out what you like, and find out what you dislike. Learn the history of genres. Understand where they came from and why. Talk about why you love or don't love certain music, even if it's just talking about yourself. If you can easily define why you like certain music, you'll develop the critical thinking skills in order to make good song selection.

2. Study your music. Learn the rhythmic structure of your favorite songs. Study the movement of the song and the phrasing within it. Some suggest learning some basic music theory (it wouldn't hurt). I'm really strong on understanding rhythm. You can use a simple drum machine tool (like this: http://html5drummachine.com/) to try to recreate the rhythmic patterns you love.

Have fun!

Bonus tips:
-Attack Magazine breaks down elements of really good songs to show why they're cool. More useful for producers, but still very neat! http://www.attackmagazine.com/technique/deconstructed/

-Read Last Night a DJ Saved My Life by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton. Phenomenal book that details the history of the DJ. Ends in the mid 90s, but still very cool!

[ZxZDeViLZxZ]

+1

[DJDoubleYou]

Hi there my name is Zac and I'm looking at becoming a DJ. I have no experience in the subject and was hoping to gather some advise and tips. Help would be much appreicated.

Hey welcome to the forum!

To make this a little les vague, a couple of questions:

1. Why?
2. What kind of genres do you like? (or producers)
3. Do you have any musical background?
4. What are a couple of DJ's you like if any (preferably not producers)

Only advice i can give you so far: Do it for the music.

[Chael]

learn to beatmatch manually if you can it will help develop your ears and listening skills even if further down the line you are going to hit the sync button.

Lock yourself in a room with 10-20 tracks you have bought and mix them together in every way imaginable - repeat repeat repeat

Get you head around EQ works and mixing techniques - swapping out the bass on a track, long blends etc

Lock yourself in a room with 10-20 tracks you have bought and mix them together in every way imaginable - repeat repeat repeat

Be critical of what tracks you buy if it doesnt totally do it for you leave it out of the collection

Lock yourself in a room with 10-20 tracks you have bought and mix them together in every way imaginable - repeat repeat repeat

[Timbo21]

Play some tunes you like, even experiment with mixing between them, and perhaps learn to scratch. And if someone pays you to do that, even better..

But don't be a DJ