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becoming a dj

Do people go to school to learn the techniques and skills of being a DJ? Or do people just go out, buy some equipment, plug it up, and go at it? Seems like one hell of an interesting and fun career. Whats the average salary a low key dj might expect to make? I know we have some real djs here at tranceaddict.

I think it's safe to say that all of the successful DJ's at the moment went out and bought decks and just went at it.

DJ'ing is a fun career, but it can also be really stressful at times.

Can't say how much a low-key DJ makes, but its not a lot. Still though, I'd love to get paid to play. Hell...some clubs I'd play for free.

I don't think many DJ's have actually taken a course on how to spin. There were a couple local DJ's around here that offered a class and Berkeley College has a class on turntablism too, these are the only classes I know of.

DJ'ing is all about practice and experience. It takes years to perfect your skills and develop a unique style.

besides beat matching and cross fading....what else is there to physically being a dj? Track selection too of course.

quote:

Originally posted by xstalkrx besides beat matching and cross fading....what else is there to physically being a dj? Track selection too of course.

actually.. alot of djs..well mostly trance djs...and very linear mixers use the cross fader, but it usually not used in the initial mixing of tracks. its used for different effects, and effects and tricks are also pretty key if you wanna wow the crowd. i usually see mixing being done with volume and the EQ and/or really smooth direct transitions..like where you would just imediatly start a record ontop of the one thats playing or just stop the one thats playing and play one that works in that space.


i hope im making sense



ok..just keep this in mind, Originality, Creativity and
Diversity make a good DJ. Play shit that no one else plays, but fucking kicks the crowds ass...


good advice..no?

theres just so many people who wish to DJ/Produce nowadays, and they dont even have much prior experience and knowledge with music. let me tell you know, it aint no fucking walk in the park like its made up to be. Serious hardwork and effort gets put into being a "musician". buying decks and spending a couple months beatmatching and getting the newest tracks doesnt make you a DJ...or does it? (insert trance/bedroom DJ here)

I have been looking at http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/ and sampling their vinyls. They also have an equipment link there as well. I know absolutely nothing about the equipment that is needed to even begin to experiment at home. Like someone just posted, I should start with the most basic setup I can possibly find. but does that mean the cheapest? Can someone check out that link, look at their decks, etc. and tell me which setup would be ideal for such a hardcore nub as myself? Like...someone just said the standard is 1200's. What exactly does that mean? What do you mean when you say 12's?

Is there much of a market for a trance/progressive DJ in the states? Just doesnt seem like it. I live in the dallas, tx area and there is maybe one techno club that I know of.

quote:

Originally posted by xstalkrx besides beat matching and cross fading....what else is there to physically being a dj? Track selection too of course.

mixing beatmatching is the easy part even though it still takes ages to learn if u can put together a good selection of tracks u dont need to be the best dj in the world at mixing.

Yeah... it's also alot about which tracks go well together, not just placing beat on beat and calling it a day.

Like it was said above, most DJs just nuy their stuff and go at it. Still, I think if you're just getting started, it's smart to go to one of these schools or academies to learn how to beatmatch.

Once you have that down, you can really start to develop your own style and start worrying about stuff other than if this song is coming in alright.

I guess if you're just starting, you will get ahead as a DJ compared to the person that doesn't go to a school.

you dont even need to be good at beatmatching. you only need a big record collection and a big big smile. just look at Gielen and Tiesto.

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 you dont even need to be good at beatmatching. you only need a big record collection and a big big smile. just look at Gielen and Tiesto.

lmao. ya. i watched recent videos from both of these guys and the mixing was rediculous. Tiesto live in concert...was he even really mixing? It was like he was playing one track after another with no flow at all. however, tiesto used to be different though. his older sets/videos are much different.

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 you dont even need to be good at beatmatching. you only need a big record collection and a big big smile. just look at Gielen and Tiesto.

thats not true of course u need to be good at beatmatching how do u think these guys made it?
the trouble is when djs make it big they just grow lazy its not that they cant do it its just that they cant be arsed anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by sleepydragon thats not true of course u need to be good at beatmatching how do u think these guys made it? the trouble is when djs make it big they just grow lazy its not that they cant do it its just that they cant be arsed anymore.

I seriously don't think that you need to be good at beatmixing to become big. some people use their charm and some even use their looks. a good example of that is the swedish female dj Anneli. She is hot but her mixing and track selection is horrible. Still she gets to play lots.

To go the one step further to the superstar DJ, you need to also know your music inside out and must be able to read what people want. You need to know what tracks to drop and when and for how long for. You dont wanna make the crowd lose all their energy 30 mins into a set, but you dont wanna bore them either.

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 I seriously don't think that you need to be good at beatmixing to become big. some people use their charm and some even use their looks. a good example of that is the swedish female dj Anneli. She is hot but her mixing and track selection is horrible. Still she gets to play lots.

mixing and beatmatching r 2 different things
u need to able to beatmatch but good track selection is the most important thing to learn.

quote:

Originally posted by sleepydragon mixing and beatmatching r 2 different things u need to able to beatmatch but good track selection is the most important thing to learn.

yes. but still I am amazed that some djs play so horrible tunes right through their entire sets and still manages to get more gigs.
i believe decentness is all that counts

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 yes. but still I am amazed that some djs play so horrible tunes right through their entire sets and still manages to get more gigs. i believe decentness is all that counts

lol i know what u mean
there is also the other type of dj that has only made it cose of good tunes they made and living of the back of those

can someone refer to my last post about equipment here in this thread?

YOu shouldn't set out to be a DJ for life as a job. It takes so much luck and so many connections to make it.

Just do it for fun at first and see where it goes. I've been DJing out for only a year and I'm playing all the big parties/club inghts in the city. I've been lucky, most people have not been.

TO do it for a living you HAVE to produce beacuse you can't make a lot of money playing in your own city. People will get tired of what you play and how you play after seeing you play for like 3 years.

Also, with all of the changes in technology (ableton live) the job of a dj might just change a little. Don't bank on doing it as a craear. YOu might be terrible...:P

yeah another thing that amaze me is if a bedroom producer gets his song on ASOT and it turns out to be tune of the week suddenly he gets dj gigs. And in one month you can see the flyers "DJ ENVIO (ASOT)". Just because some people are producers doesnt make them good djs.

what is ASOT?

a state of torment

LMAO!!!!! a state of torment, thats great

hahaha all very funny. seriously. help a nub out plz.

considering you dont know what ASOT is, you shouldnt even think about DJing for about 10 years

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