So I have been bedroom DJing for almost a year and have gotten relatively tired of just beatmatching and fading in tracks. Granted it takes some skill and creativity to fade a track in well (and Im not saying I am god at it), but I am getting tired of only fading in tracks. I suppose I want to get to the point of being a very active DJ. Aside from the tunes, I get very bored watching a DJ like Tiesto or Christopher Lawrence who just sort of stand up there, put their headphones on, take them off, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk08vk8Pt0o

That link is to a video of Eddie Halliwell, who I think is one of the more fun DJs to see live. My question is, how in the hell do I learn to be that active? Are those even real tunes he is messing with? And how in gods name do you scratch like that with a CD deck and not even TOUCH the cross fader? What can I do to be more active during a set?

he's using the loop function on the cdj and the transform effect on the djm

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Theres a couple of tutorials in the "DJ Booth Info thread" straight above, one is an advanced mixing techniques thread and one is part one of Stu Cox's aborted monthly mixing school. Those'd be good places to start.

You could also learn harmonic mixing (theres a massive thread floating around, possibly accessible through that thread), but thats more of a theory and putting theory into practice exercise rather than something that will make you more active.

You could grab yourself some scratch records (or CD's) and play around with scratching (what Halliwell does). If you've got CDJ's start messing around with looping and creating live loops (also what Halliwell does in conjuntion with his scratch samples), or get even more advanced and kind of remixing on the fly or start dropping accapellas or samples over other tracks.

You are using your eq's to mix rather than just fading right? You can create some interesting sounds in your mixes by using eq's rather than just faders.


Experimentation and imagination are the keys.

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It sounds like you're ready to evolve as a dj. This is a good thing. Too many dj's find themselves stuck in "safety zone" that works for them and never decide to take it any further. This is my arguement with dj's who choose not to acknowledge digital as great media (this is a separate debate altogether). Sometimes we get comfortable in what we're doing that we lose sight of what we as dj's are potentially able to do.

My suggestion is to start dabbling with live pa shows and production. There are plenty of tools that allow you to perform as a dj and a live performer. When you're at home, start plugging away at some remixes and tracks. Then, play them out live. There's truly nothing more satisfying than watching a packed dancefloor rock out to your tunes (even if you're just mixing them).

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luckily, in the age of today, you don't have to be a frickin deck wizard like James Zabiela to be amazingly active and add your flavor to a set. if you can, all you need to do is buy a laptop, a copy of Ableton live, and a MIDI controller, et al.

there are some GREAT controllers for cheap prices (Evolution's X-Session and their U-Control as well, for instance) that combined with some experimentation can give you great results.

by all means, i tell you this, if you decide to be an Ableton-only DJ, FOR GOD SAKES DO NOOOOOT USE IT AS A DECK. Ableton is not meant to be used for fading tracks in and out. that is just being lazy. it is made to be used for live production, so if you're not going to do a full-on live show, at least be sensible enough to build a collage of sound based on the tracks you want to play, effectively remixing it all into one huge piece on the fly.

however, given the nature of your post, i trust you will not become a lazy mofo who just presses play in Ableton, lets a track play, and fades in the next without even having to beatmatch, since that's exactly the opposite of what you want

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quote:

Originally posted by Inertia luckily, in the age of today, you don't have to be a frickin deck wizard like James Zabiela to be amazingly active and add your flavor to a set. if you can, all you need to do is buy a laptop, a copy of Ableton live, and a MIDI controller, et al. there are some GREAT controllers for cheap prices (Evolution's X-Session and their U-Control as well, for instance) that combined with some experimentation can give you great results. by all means, i tell you this, if you decide to be an Ableton-only DJ, FOR GOD SAKES DO NOOOOOT USE IT AS A DECK. Ableton is not meant to be used for fading tracks in and out. that is just being lazy. it is made to be used for live production, so if you're not going to do a full-on live show, at least be sensible enough to build a collage of sound based on the tracks you want to play, effectively remixing it all into one huge piece on the fly. however, given the nature of your post, i trust you will not become a lazy mofo who just presses play in Ableton, lets a track play, and fades in the next without even having to beatmatch, since that's exactly the opposite of what you want

but lets suppose I WANT to be a deck wizard, where would I go from here?

quote:

Originally posted by bluelimitd but lets suppose I WANT to be a deck wizard, where would I go from here?

reaching the status of "deck wizard" like zabs takes dedication, patience, and good work ethic...but most importantly love and passion for your art form.

no one can help you get there but yourself, it comes natuarlly; it comes out of practicing way too much.

dont you see? the way you learn new things is when you've mastered a certain concept to the point where it becomes second nature. once you're at that level, you automatically (yet, un-consciously of course) start to try new things and eventually you go "HEY THAT'S HOW THEY DO THAT LOL!!!!1".

quote:

Originally posted by bluelimitd but lets suppose I WANT to be a deck wizard, where would I go from here?

as ASFSE says... no one can teach you how to get there. just keep practicing. how does Zabiela do what he does? he practiced beatmatching so much that it became incredibly easy and boring for him. so, he started challenging himself, his skills, and his listeners with whatever his mind could come up with.

take this guy, for instance, Jeff Milligan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxeCs578Kg

how do you learn to do that? well, practice. all he is really doing is beatmatching, and layering his tracks over eachother, and playing with the faders.

just like all Zabiela does is scratch from time to time, and strategically abuse his FX unit over great tracks blended together.

so, the question is, what do YOU want to do? specifically, what ideas come to your mind of how to add something new to your set? the path will become clearer once you have a destination.

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check out my guest mix for OndaSonora Podcast (aug.2009)