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Which is better to start out with Djing or producing?

I had a read of the posts which were very helpful and took fo eva to read through, but one question that i have wasnt answerd. I was wondering for a beginer like me who wants to do both producing and mixing which is best to start off with? I thought that maybe Getting the hang of DJing would help ur producing skills n such becuase in the end you'll be most likely mixing it with other songs, but im a n00b and i want ur opinions. Im sorry if i posted this in the wrong spot, just was wondering if anyone knew? Thanks.

Well mixing is a lot easier than producing, that's for sure. You should be able to pick up mixing in a month or so, while producing can about a year to get the jist of things.

Whether you want to make tracks or play other people's songs is up to you. Just don't fall into the trap thinking you'll be famous from doing either.

yeah, if ur going to do either, do it for the love of the music.

na man soley hobby and for the love of the music. Listening to trance is like falling in love every time you hear a new good song. And i dont want to ever break up with trance and i've always got ideas in my head that i want to put out. I think i'll start off with mixing and then if i like it i'll go into producing. Should b interesting. I dont think i could ever make money but who knows THanks

quote:

Originally posted by hey cheggy Well mixing is a lot easier than producing, that's for sure. You should be able to pick up mixing in a month or so, while producing can about a year to get the jist of things.

And the irony is that DJ'ing actually pays more.

I wouldn't agree that mixing can be picked up in a month or so. Fair enough the concept is simpler but to be a good dj who is consistent takes a lot longer. In fact in both fields you never stop learning in my opinion. Tom

You can become decent in a month at DJ'ing, but you probably won't be good until after at least 3-6 months of practice (depending on your ears and how much time you devote to it). That said, you won't really be good until after a few years of playing at clubs and whatnot. Anyone can mix like sasha in their basement with perfect monitoring, but it's a lot different at a noisy club with imperfect monitoring, gear you're not used to, a packed crowd, and 10 drinks in your system =P

For producing, I'd weigh it out more in years, depending how much time you have and how much musical experience you have; not to mention the intangible of how creative you are and how easily composition comes to you.

I certainly wouldn't suggest getting into either for the money, lol. I've been spinning for a few years and had a Friday night residency at a busy club for a year and a half, and I've maybe come 75% close to breaking even on the records I've purchased. At best you can hope that after a couple of years your habit will start to fund itself.

Ive been producing for going on 3 years now, and Ive studied piano for 5, and im just now getting recognition as a producer, so it does take a long time. Mixing i'd say could be picked up in half a year if you practiced at it.

As far as which to learn first, i'd say become a dj first because it forces you to analyze tracks to find out what works and what doesn't on the floor, and it will help make your tracks more mixable as well.

quote:

As far as which to learn first, i'd say become a dj first because it forces you to analyze tracks to find out what works and what doesn't on the floor, and it will help make your tracks more mixable as well.

thanks state of matter i thought that dj'ing was sort of like the introduction to trance is you wanted to get into producing n stuff.

And thanks all for giving me approximate times it would take and effort needed to acheive certain levels. I dont intend to make money, i really intend just to make my own mixes of songs that i've liked and so on and make high energy mixes which is what im into. Using songs like ATB-9pm(Signum remix) or altitude-altitude (S.H.O.K.K. remix) and other songs sorta like that that have build ups and huge releases when they hit there peaks with some tunes mixed in the middle to keep happy attitudes like zombie nation( not exactly a dancing song but does wonders to the crowd when played in the middle of a set) but yer stuff like that.

And some times, well most of the time, when i hear awsome songs i always get ideas of my own that sort of borrow different sounds but change the song. Actually this brings me to another question about producing.

When you produce songs, well for what i think, you usually tend to think of awsome songs when your not trying to. Like when u hear an awsome song like i said you get ideas, but if you sit down and just try to think of one it dont work. N e ways how do you sorta...jot down the basics of that song so that you can improve it later on? Like just the melody or the basics of the song? Does it help to learn writting music? like notes n stuff? THanks all, you guys are all champs

quote:

Originally posted by hey cheggy while producing can about a year to get the jist of things.

try 2 years

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Jay try 2 years

Or 3 years (See my whine: "When all else fails... quit?"

Just kidding... some people - it takes less time. The way technology is nowdays it is hard to make quality tunes 'coz (IMHO) technology gets in the way. And I consider myself a quite a technophile - I had been messing around with PC's since I was a kid, and we're talking DOS and Windows 2, not your XP. ON top of that I also taught IT program for 5 years but that doesn't mean that knowing computers will make the job easier.

Consider the costs of start-up investment too! Of course, soft synths are not too expensive (if you're going to actually buy the software) - but the cost of hardware such as sound card, monitors, and midi stuff can easily cost more than a decent DJ rig. You can start out with Dennon TTs, which are as close to Technics as you can get for around $100-$150 (second-hand/ebay) and mixer with speakers another $500-$600 (being conservative). The records are downside though... they are costly. At around $8 a pop (or more) per song it could easily cost you about $100 for 1.5 hour set, unless you plan to invest into CD turn tables which will cost anywhere between $500 - $1200. OF course, you can get a cheapie set of regular DJ-friendly cd players with cueing but that's soooo 90's

anywho, do some research and don't waste too much cash initially. But whatever you do, don't get belt-driven turntables.

It's also important to have an ear for being either one. If you ever listen to a song and can think "Wow, this song would nicely transition into this other song" or "I can take this song, mix it with another and have something wikkid" then you're already on your way. You can also start small by investing in some soft-based dj proggy, such as NI Traktor and practice with MP3's but don't expect miracles, hands-on always beats mouse and keyboard.

either way, good luck - don't worry about choosing the right path right away, it will come to you. the important part is to keep moving.

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