Back in the early 2000s when I got my first "broadband" ADSL connection (256kbps download), I joined Tranceaddict and also started to learn the basics of DJing by reading the website of a certain DJ Recess. Much to my surprise, the website is still active, although it has probably gone through many updates in the past 25ish years.

So here you go: This is where I learnt the theory of djing:
http://www.recess.co.uk/

The theory was put into practice by a rather clumsy, but very fun, software called Virtual Turntables by "Carrot Innovations":
http://www.oldschooldaw.com/forums/...php?topic=231.0

The first somewhat adequate software mixing environment was Traktor 1
https://djtechtools.com/2011/02/11/...ory-of-traktor/

So there you have it. Everything you need to become a DJ.

Also never forget that the technical side of DJ'ing is vastly overrated and the ability to choose the right tune at the right moment and play it from the right place, even if it means silent gaps between tunes, is vastly more underrated. So my advice would be to learn and practice the latter. Aligning kickdrums and whatnot is what anybody can do.

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check out:
dtb.planet.ee <-- A couple of my mix cd-s (Deep House & Progressive with a trancy touch

months and months of solid practice

ride the pitch aggressively and nudge tracks back and forth until it stays without drifting for around 30ish seconds or more

i would do marathon sessions after school and at weekends solidly for hours on end

havent done a mix in years so probably lost the feel for it now

its one of those things u get really good at if you sink enough hours into it consistently

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Found Atlantis - Mixography [mix archive/mokumentary/my soul]?
i writed a song.

Never did because it wasn't something that interested me that much. Had plenty of friends who were though, and they'd spend hours at my place practicing (pad was sort of a hub for that). Skill range was quite varied, some picking it up after a few weeks, others struggling for what seemed ages.

I'll never forget, though, when one of the girls asked to try on a whim, and nailed her first transition without a hitch. Some thought it was beginner's luck, but nope, she flawlessly mixed every record handed to her after. Not that she had DJing aspirations, just wanted to join in the fun.


/I did manage to fake the funk one time, doing a transition those around me thought sounded incredibly smooth, when all I'd done was play the b-side of the same Paul van Dyk track after

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Everyone has an opinion. Mine just happens to be a little more informed than most.
Electronic Music Critic: Near-Daily Ruminations Of Music I Own, In Alphabetical Order!

Oh boy, it took me years. For the first 10 years, even after I had gotten my first paid gig at the Caveman club every Saturday, I used to just use the flanger for the last 10 seconds of the currently playing track, then abruptly slam the fader to the other side, leading into these jarring (tempo-wise) but mind-altering transitions between tracks. Many of the guys from that time actually still talk about those times, hahah.

Edit: Oh yeah this was already CD times. I never did vinyl.

I struggled quite a bit in highschool, not really with beatmatching as thats a simple time concept but mixing trance was not easy, just random slamming in tracks is not ideal, still isnt today. You have to do the whole harmonics bullshit. It wasnt until I loaded up one of the earlier traktors cant remember the version, where I was fasttracking the process to see what worked, then went back to cdjs. traktor accelerated the learning process quite a bit. I'd like to pick up some cdjs in the future, no space though. CDJS with 0.1 pitch incrementation was not ideal for me.

fuck man I had some bad experiences trying to play out, I dont even wanna talk about it.

Last edited by szm on May-03-2026 at 01:24

Being an aspiring strip club dj was so hard trying to beat match the song to the shaking of body

Beat matching came easy. If you know how to dance, you'll know how to beat match pretty quickly. It's not hard unless you have no funky bone in your body. Mastering phrasing is what has taken work for me, especially on vinyl. Finding which parts of two tracks sound the best together and executing that quickly and flawlessly. Less about mixing and more about knowing your music. It's brain work.

I wish I stuck with vinyl, it kind of makes things easier in a sense. There are like 2-4 tracks on the vinyl you can categorize it visually much easier, stick on a key label, maybe bpm.

I have an assload of cds, how am I going to remember keys and shit, stick on a label on every cd? I'd love to do it in a way where im not using the computer to auto sort everything. Digitaly physical is a wierd flex.

quote:

Originally posted by szm CDJS with 0.1 pitch incrementation was not ideal for me.

Ah yes, my first cheap-as-fuck decks I bought when I was 18, with an even worse mixer. Needless to say, I did not make great progress on those. Most of the mixes I made up until 2016 were by manually lining up waveforms in a really simple audio editor which didn't even have EQ features. It was miserably painstaking with hindsight, but by the time I finally invested in digital DJing, my ear was pretty sharp just from that malarkey.

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Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

Lol. I can't believe you're all replying to this obvious alt with such authenticity. Guess they got your egos pegged.

Who gives a shit if it's an alt? At least they've got some discussion going that isn't middle aged NPC dialogue about children and vacations.

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Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/