How Did You Learn DJing?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

How Did You Learn DJing?

I’m sure this has been discussed a few times, BUT I’ve just done an article on DJing for beginners and I wanted to see how accurate I’ve been because I honestly think that no one takes expensive one one one DJ classes or tutorials, or schools or whatever…

I haven’t met anyone who’s learnt at some DJ school yet.

Did most of you learn with a book at home and youtube?

Or any of you learn with your DJ friends?

Online courses?

Or did anyone really take those lessons that cost a fortune?

2

I just started in this whole DJing business, but for me, it started with my friend, who is a DJ, letting me watch him mix life while he explained everything that was going on. I asked him about equipment and he sent me on the right track and now we just talk about mixing whenever we’re around one another.

I have been watching some videos / reading various threads here on the forums, though.

3

I’m still a n00b and probably will be for a long time. I’m still trying to learn and practice as much as possible. I had a DJ friend who let me come over and watch him mix and eventually he let me play on his gear. From there I took off. I bought easily 6 or 7 books and started reading. Probably the best one I bought and learned the most from was Djing for Dummies. I know, probably very n00bish but it really answered some simple questions I had. After that I bought an S4 and started watching youtube videos and bought the Traktor bible (second edition).

Basically, online videos, forums/blogs, and books. That’s how I’ve learned everything I do so far. I have not been shown things by someone a lot better then me. Yet… =).

4

A friends sister was dating a famous club DJ, Cameron Paul, in S.F. We use to go hangout at the DJ booth. I would always bug him with questions and stuff about DJ’ing. Guess he finally got fed up and asked me if I wanted to learn. I went to house after school, I was in H.S. at the time, 3X a week for a couple of months and he taught me the basics. Beat matching, counting bars, drops and breaks of songs where to blend in the other song etc. This was in the late 80’s so it was straight turntables (1200’s) and a Urei mixer. Then I learned to flanger, double beats, simple scratches etc. After getting my on TT’s and Numark DM1800 mixer, I practiced for a few more months. Got a record collection and started mobile DJ’ing with a few friends that contributed lights and speakers.

After a year of mobile DJ’ing, I was in college then, I got a residency at a club called Wolflgangs doing Thurs. and Fri. night. The club burned downed 6 months later. A few months after that I went in the Navy and quit DJ’ing.

Went back into DJ’ing again after the military until I moved to Dallas. Quit again. Got back into it 2 yrs ago and DJ’ing at clubs once more. I think I am the oldest club DJ in these parts. I’m 43.

5

That’s the best way to learn.

Free and from experienced DJs. Ain’t no thaang better, unless you start to take his gigs away :wink:

6

Sounds like a fun ride you had back then fella.

Of course, your friend helped you a lot. Youtube was a place in Greenland back then :sunglasses:

7

there was no youtube when i started.. i lived in a small town with no other djs around..i went to a local music store that sold guitars etc and ordered a pair of tech 1200s.. went to a pawn shop and got some crappy radio shack mixer , and thru trial and error i learned to match beats , and started to try to scratch. with no one to guide me it took over a year to learn to match beats. yah major stick-to-it-iveness and determination were my only aides.

now ive been doing some teaching(kids)and am looking at possibly giving a course at a local arts center.

8

i got my first tt’s in 98 - didn’t own a computer or really know how to use the internet much back then - i just decided i was going to go out and buy 2 tables and a mixer and have fun. bunch of records and a skratch picklz movie (VHS!:open_mouth:) and just started from there. i suck at scratching but i’ve always had a lot of fun djing so i didn’t quit. now i dj house, electro, nu-disco and never really scratch anyway.

9

I had a couple older friends who are club DJs. Started hanging around them mixing at after parties at their houses. Secretly bought CDJs and a mixer, and practiced all the time. After a few months I asked them to let me try mixing their stuff…surprise for them when for the most part I knew what I was doing. It’s been 3 years now, learned a lot from them; phrase matching, mixing in key, etc.

10

I lucked into a set of 1200’s and a crappy gemini two channel mixer. Only had a few house records, but finally after what seemed like months, got Josh Wink’s “Are You There” to sync up some Sunday Club tune, I drooled. For the most part I was buying downtempo and ambient, and just enjoying putting things together, low key baby scratches. Then had to sell the gear to pay the bills during a tough time and never really wanted to the bulk of it in my life again. Digital has given djing as a hobby back, and I like it more than ever.

11

I met a tall gentleman who wore funny clothes and had a slight irish accent. He promised to teach me the fine art of the dj if i scoured the earth for this particularly rare blue flower and brought it to him.

12

@ATX: love that story, and I’m insanely jealous. I romanticize those Ureis like woah. I’d plug my tractor setup into one if I found a used one at a decent price in half a heartbeat.

Short version: djforums.com

Long version:

I got into EDM half-seriously in high school. It was all Prodigy and Chemical Brothers and some movie soundtracks (Hackers, FTW) back then. In about 2004, I started dating this girl named Katie (no, we’re not still together, and that’s fine). Dating her was one of the most important parts of my life for a number of reasons, not the least of which was she convinced me to give DJing a real go. I’d been playing with some random software (the OSS project that eventually became Mixxx) for a bit but didn’t really have a clue what I was doing and din’t buy the right music or anything. Late in that year, I found djforums.com on a random google search and spent like 2 days straight reading, signed up for a user, and started asking questions.

I’d never been to a club at that point.

I decided, “fuck it, I’ve got the money,” and bought a pair of 1210s from a guy that a friend knew and–after a false start with behringer–a vestax mixer that I used until 2008…and like 5 or 6 trance records. I got so fucking sick of matching those records together learning to beat match…and started building a collection.

I watched a lot of videos that Jason Cerna and Marc Stokes posted to DJF, as well as a few other people who’s names I never knew. I got to the point where I could hear mixing technique in ful mixes. And I read a lot. As much as I post on forums…I probably read ten times as much. Even more back then. It was their advice and videos and trial & error…and mostly positive feedback from Katie and other friends…even when I’m sure I sucked.

Since then, my style has changed, and I’ve used every major form of DJing there is…vinyl, Pioneer CDJs, Ableton, Traktor, Serato, Controllers, time code, produced mixes. It’s been fun.

Never took a class. Never really talked to another DJ in person about mixing until I was basically competent…nem0nic might be the only exception to that. But, we mostly talked about gear.

I guess that’s about it…not as long as I expected.

13

My mate who had been trained to mix by some club DJ taught me.

Sat me down…explained how the gear works…and got me to match beats between 2 TT’s…for about 3 hours…till I could keep them matched for the whole track.

SHITTY SHITTY decks…:slight_smile:

Then started messing around with Virtual Turntables and my PC…then PCDJ…then bought CDJ100’s and a mixer.

I was one of the first cats to have em here in Cape Town. Due to me playing with PCDJ and software…I found I could work the CDJ’s instantly. (took the guy who taught me REALLY LONG to get into them)

Pretty soon I was able to pull tight sets in my bedroom. If you can pull TIGHT sets on you bedroom system…you can rock a large club rig…I did just that.

:slight_smile:

14

HAHAHA… I actually hated mixing with those stupid rotary knobs. Ever try scratching with them. You have to put index and middle finger on the side of the knob and move it that way. Crabbing was definitely not possible. :smiley: Guess with time you grow to have appreciation for it.

15

I bought a Gemini CDM 3600 (worst piece of kit in the world btw) and watched the Dj Tutor videos. Learned a lot from that.

16

I’ve never really wanted to scratch. I’ve got the bug to spin hip hop for the hell of it, but if I were going to do it for a gig or in any way seriously, I’d buy/rent a TTM-56s or 08proIV without thinking.

For House, Techno, and, well, everything I spin remotely seriously, I’ve preferred the rotaries I’ve hacked together. To each his own.

17

learning by doing and youtube. i was facinated from of what a DJ could do with a huge crowd. so i bought my gear and just started from there. learned everything from there: phrasing, beatmatching etc.

18

i always wanted to dj but did not know where to start or how to start. my business partner and i started doing events and he luvs house, but does not like hip hop. i like both but i like hip hop mire, and we wanted an even level of house and hip hop in our events. so he figured he teach me how to dj and then i can dj the hip hop side and he dj the house side.

and the rest is history…

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Power of youtube eh!

I heard Jon Jones learnt a lot of his fighting technique via Youtube!

20

When I spun atmospheric dnb(starting out), I actually learned how to mix it by listening to LTJ Bukem’s Mixmag CD.

in an old man voice Back in my day we didn’t have this youtube stuff and auto sync business you kids are using! /end old man voice

I used to work for a dj school in DC years ago. I taught many kids how to spin. I still teach people how to spin w/ vinyl, CDs and controllers. I sometimes enjoy doing that more than playing out. Thats just me though.