Ive "DJed" before on my friends cd's. He briefly explained to me what beat matching is..etc.

I always enjoyed dj even if it was just horrible mixing.

Anyway, ive recently purchased 2xNumark axis 2 from a local ny ta. I already got a mixer for free from my friend. Its a stanton RM-22( It would be nice to have Pioneer 600,700, 800 though since im fairly familiar with them and the effects...). Got Seinheser HD 215 headphones. I dont want to spend too much $ on gear since im just starting out so i wanna learn on something basic.

I looked in the stickies and read a lot of info, but i still have Q's.

1. Keys, i know its music terms, but how and why does it affect DJing. How do i know whats what key?

2. How do i get better in beatmatching and transitions. Is it just practice, practice practice?

3. How many songs should i burn on a CD? Should i keep the same artists on the same CD's?

4. Mixing in the same genre is mandatory? I would like to skip between Trance, Tech trance, some electro and maybe minimal, or is it just better to stay within 1-2 genres (Trance, Tech Trance)

5. I noticed that people start mixing within the first 50 secs of the song and finish about 30-50 before that track ends. Is this something thats common?



Thank you in advance and sorry if the questions are too noobish. I really want to get decent at DJ cause it makes me happy and i enjoy myself doing it.

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djing for dummies <<<--- read that

quote:

Originally posted by SebG 1. Keys, i know its music terms, but how and why does it affect DJing. How do i know whats what key?

the best way is to grab a keyboard and work the keys out for yourself. there's a long thread on harmonic mixing and how to do it here somewhere, just search.

quote:

2. Is it just practice, practice practice?

yes!

quote:

3. How many songs should i burn on a CD? Should i keep the same artists on the same CD's?

that's completely up to you. i mix vinyl, but if i did mix CDs id keep the tracks to a minimum, otherwise you won't be able to mix those say, 10 tracks together coz theyre on the same CD.

quote:

4. Mixing in the same genre is mandatory? I would like to skip between Trance, Tech trance, some electro and maybe minimal, or is it just better to stay within 1-2 genres (Trance, Tech Trance)

again, that's entirely up to you.

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quote:

Originally posted by nerdgrl416 djing for dummies <<<--- read that

and this

How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records

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quote:

Originally posted by SebG Ive "DJed" before on my friends cd's. He briefly explained to me what beat matching is..etc. I always enjoyed dj even if it was just horrible mixing. Anyway, ive recently purchased 2xNumark axis 2 from a local ny ta. I already got a mixer for free from my friend. Its a stanton RM-22( It would be nice to have Pioneer 600,700, 800 though since im fairly familiar with them and the effects...). Got Seinheser HD 215 headphones. I dont want to spend too much $ on gear since im just starting out so i wanna learn on something basic. I looked in the stickies and read a lot of info, but i still have Q's. 1. Keys, i know its music terms, but how and why does it affect DJing. How do i know whats what key? 2. How do i get better in beatmatching and transitions. Is it just practice, practice practice? 3. How many songs should i burn on a CD? Should i keep the same artists on the same CD's? 4. Mixing in the same genre is mandatory? I would like to skip between Trance, Tech trance, some electro and maybe minimal, or is it just better to stay within 1-2 genres (Trance, Tech Trance) 5. I noticed that people start mixing within the first 50 secs of the song and finish about 30-50 before that track ends. Is this something thats common? Thank you in advance and sorry if the questions are too noobish. I really want to get decent at DJ cause it makes me happy and i enjoy myself doing it.

1. i think for the start, worry about learning beatmatching first, track flow comes later, then if harmonic mixing is for you (i personally don't, but after almost a decade of djing, i have an ear for what works and what doesn't), get yourself a keyboard and read up on harmonic mixing

2. yes, it really is just practice, practice, practice. what you're doing is training your ears and brain to recognize and interpret 2 different sound sources at once, it doesn't happen overnight and takes a lot of time, for those with a musical background it might happen a little quicker than someone who hasn't had previous music experience (knowing how bars and phrases work for example), lookup music theory for those that haven't. just keep at it and one day it will just "click", i know it sounds silly now but you'll know it when it happens, you'll be able to get 2 beats together and hold them with little effort

3. this comes down to personal preference, figure out what works for you, as goes with a lot of stuff related to learning how to dj (preferred mixer, headphones, etc.). try different things and figure out what works for you, but ultimately, know how to adapt to any situation. as for music, myself, i like to fill a cd with tunes and burn 2 copies

4. mixing in the same genre is not manditory, i find it boring myself, i like djs that can start at one point and take you through a journey of music and you wind up at a different place from where you started (taking a set from progressive house through trance and maybe ending with hard dance for example, i've done it myself in a 5 hour set before)

5. it all depends on the song and the mix

above all, know that this takes a lot of time, settle down and keep plugging at it, even after almost a decade, i still learn new things every time i play and honestly, i don't think anyone is really good until 3-5 years in, you might think you're hot shit, record a set and store it away then listen to it 5 years later, trust me, you're not that good that early i cringe at some of my first mix cds

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Last edited by Tony Morello on Dec-06-2007 at 01:17

Thank you


This really helped.

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And if you don't want to read, search for "DJ Tutor" on youtube. Look at some of his early vids (he's got over 1000). They should explain stuff pretty well to get started.

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quote:

Originally posted by miamitranceman And if you don't want to read, search for "DJ Tutor" on youtube. Look at some of his early vids (he's got over 1000). They should explain stuff pretty well to get started.

Yeah, i already watched few of them. He emphasizes more on vinyls than cd's. I have to watch more of it.

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1. Keys, i know its music terms, but how and why does it affect DJing. How do i know whats what key?
Look up the camelot wheel first.
Basicly you can go up or down by 1 or 3... (12 to 1 is +1 btw) and theres other combos that work and don't work but I can't remember them.

Download rapid evolution (free) it can key your tracks... and is pretty good at it too. When it looks like it's a bit confused or stuck between 2 keys you can click the piano button and play the apropriate chord as well (look up your camelot wheel while doing it). If you use either or both it's a nice option.

2. How do i get better in beatmatching and transitions. Is it just practice, practice practice?

Don't know

3. How many songs should i burn on a CD? Should i keep the same artists on the same CD's?

Don't know

4. Mixing in the same genre is mandatory? I would like to skip between Trance, Tech trance, some electro and maybe minimal, or is it just better to stay within 1-2 genres (Trance, Tech Trance)

Well assuming you play 6-9 minute tracks... a standard 90 minute set I wouldn't recomend more then 1 genre. 2 hours and 20 minutes I'd say max 2 genres. Never really tried more then two... but I guess with track selection you'd have to make sure they flowd (maybe you move from trance to tech trance to techno?). I guess it depends on how different the music is from each other and what tracks you have as well as a myraid of other factors.

The only cross genre set I did basicly it went like this:

Goa(trance) structure with deep bass and quite minimal
then to stuff that has more techno beats
then to stuff with a techno structure and beats with a little bit of goa influence. Not sure if thats the right way to do it... you'd have to listen to some sets.

BTW as mentioned above... listen to other peoples sets! Maybe you want to do something... (like crossing genres)... then listen to like 5 sets that do this then work out which way worked best and improve on it.

5. I noticed that people start mixing within the first 50 secs of the song and finish about 30-50 before that track ends. Is this something thats common?

This really depends on the length of the songs and the genre. I prefer a 10-20 second mix if the songs aren't compatible or maybe the mix doesn't sound great and maybe a 50 second mix if the mix sounds good/average. If it sounds great then maybe a little bit longer.

In particular I like to make the +/- 3 mixes longer.



Oh yes and watch out for some of the DJ tutors earlier videos. He only recently correctly identified a bar and a phrase... earlier he had them confused.

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1. A key is the constructed relationship of all a track's chord progressions. Basically all tracks in one key can have the same tonic triad which is like the center of the tonality for the track. Tracks in the same key thus share the same possible tones and chords, sometimes even the same chord progressions, which make them ideal for mixing. There are twelve major keys and twelve minor keys, and each differs from the next only slightly, which means that you can blend tracks in that are in these similar keys pretty cleanly. If this is something you're interested in you should go to a bookstore or library, sit down for an hour, and read a few chapters of music theory. Suffice to say that you need to train your ear and buy some kind of musical instrument if you want to determine keys by yourself, or use a computer program to do it for you.

In the end though, it's always about what sounds good and what works on a dancefloor, and don't limit yourself by key.

2. Yes, it is just practice, practice, practice. It's OK though, not even professionals can do it. Focus more on buying and searching deeply for music.

3. I personally started with burning two tracks per CD, one in one key, the other in the opposite key, ie one in Fm and one in F#m, since I figured I would rarely try to mix those tunes. I could of course mix them with a large pitch shift, but I generally don't like to distort the tracks I play like that.

After I acquired a lot of digital music I started burning them 10 at a time on CDs which I label 1A,2A,3A, etc. I have a sheet with all of the track titles in the front of my binder sorted by CD and another sorted by key. This allows me to make a quick decision in the event I don't have time to consider the next track as well as I'd like. I essentially have memorized which CDs contain which tracks, aided by the fact that I burn CDs with similar style tracks. I obviously burn two copies of all of these.

4. Stop thinking this way right now. You will have to learn to start listening to tracks for things like the way they make people feel, moods, grooves - certain percussive figures, sonic concepts, structure,etc. Genre is irrelevant. You will start listening to music differently and understand it in a more basic sense. What matters is what this track sounds like, how it makes you feel, and what does it mean when I play it in this set or next to these tracks.

Pretend you are building something, telling a story, creating something.

5. I'm not exactly sure what you mean here, but basically this is all about feeling your music.

You've got to stay away from formulas if you want to be anything other than a formulaic deejay. Where you mix is more a function of a the track in question, and it's a matter of being familiar both with the track itself, but also having a solid understanding your tracks are generally constructed so that you can anticipate change without counting and stuff like that. I don't think anyone who has Deejayed for some time counts measures and what not. You just kind of know where the phrases are and how loops work



my general advice for you:

1 - you can always dig deeper
2 - experiment
3 - practice a lot

How many times do you guys usually listen to the track after buying it? I personally listen to tracks about 4-5 times and i discover more and more sounds as i listen more to it.

Another question.

Before you guys spin a set, do you pre-plan on what you're going to spin or just go with the flow and pick in the booth or wherever ur spinning. Do you pre plan on an opening song?

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I think pre-planning a few possible tracks and their follow-up to start with is ok...

It kind of releases the tension when the first mix went alright . After that just go with the flow imo.

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