alright, so here's the deal... last October i purchased 2 CDJ-800s and a DJM-500 mixer as a birthday present to myself. at first i was really excited and i burned a bunch of CDs, but i only played around on them maybe once or twice a week on average. then probably sometime in November/December i just got ultra-lazy and haven't really touched them since then, except for a few nights here and there.

my full-time job has been insane lately so i usually work 45-50 hours a week and usually by the time i get home (around 7 or 8pm) i just don't want to do anything, and my weekends are always reserved for chill time with my boyfriend since i don't see him all week. i mean i think i've been reasonably busy these last few months but i wonder if i'm just making excuses for myself.

i keep buying new tracks off all the digital download sites so i've got plenty of new music, but i still feel like i can never keep up. i understand the concept of beatmatching but i'm still not great at it. i understand how to use my equipment but i'm still not totally comfortable with it.

Rob (DJ RJT - my boyfriend, for any of you who haven't picked up on that yet, heh) has really been pushing me lately, telling me i can't let my talents go to waste... and i REALLY want to get better at DJing, i just never seem to find the time or the inspiration to get on my decks to practice! i don't have dreams of being some hot-shot superstar DJ, i just want to be able to spin for myself and my friends, and play sets with Rob.

have any of you gone through the same thing?

i know that only time and practice will help me to improve my skills and learn more, but what can i do to get past this block that i have as a beginner?

thanks in advance for any input.

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we all have periods like that lucid. what works for me is when i go out to watch a good DJ and see him destroy the place. i keep telling myself this is what i want to do and the next day i'll go and record a set. what helps me to sustain the passion is when i pass out mixes and always get positive feedback on them. helps my confidence alot.

from listening to rob's sets its clear he can teach you a lot and he's right - if you have talent dont waste it. it can be frustrating if u are fukin up your mixes but for each one u do mess up, its experience earned. you'll be better the next time. i still listen to some of my old mixes from 6 years ago to remind myself how far ive come. i used to be terrible, then i was better than tiesto, and now im pretty good.

keep at it babe, god knows there aint enuff female DJs in the scene


edit: who the fuck edited my sig?

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I know exactly how you feel Lucid. I've forked so much cash for my DJ stuff, and I've only scratched the surface of it. I have never DJed anywhere, even though in high school I tried to get to DJ at a few school dances since they were allowing some students to bring in their DJ equipment and DJ at the dances instead of hiring a DJ from some DJ company. Thing is, most of the students were into hip hop, pop and r&b, not trance, or house, or any other form of EDM (mostly do trance). I bought some TTXs in 2003, but I sold them last year and saved up for some new TTs. Bought some Technics, only to discover I wasn't really happy with them because I couldn't afford vinyl, I was spinning the same tracks just on some fancier and better made TTs. So I took those back and got some money out of a credit union account I never used and bought some CDJ 1000s last summer.

I don' use them that much, and many times I think "wow that was a waste of money..i'm not getting anywhere with this hobby!" but I think now I'm a little more confident in my mixing ability, considering I try to memorize songs in my head so I know the various points in the songs where I can begin the next track, and so I can think what other tracks go with each other. I almost gave up completely a few times. One time was when I was at Elevation's house (your probably know him), he lives like 5 minutes from me. I was mixing at his place, and he told me I wasn't mixing right. I felt like crap, because I was so confident in myself and my mixing abilities. So after that I plugged away at them, mixing over and over and over, until I came to the point where I could control the records and better understand them and how to mix. My other point of frusturation was last year when I got tired of playing the same tracks and bought those Techs, and kept feeling mad because I spent all this money on vinyl, only to discover I didn't have much $$ for the songs I wanted, had to wait forever to get the songs I wanted, and was sick of cleaning the records etc. So now I think i'm pretty content with my purchase, maybe not content with my skills, but the biggest thing is encouragement, and if Rob encourages you, thats the best thing for ya. Motivation is important, motivation doesn't just come from the inside, rather other people can help you to become motivated as wel.

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Originally posted by Basstard we all have periods like that lucid. what works for me is when i go out to watch a good DJ and see him destroy the place. i keep telling myself this is what i want to do and the next day i'll go and record a set.

see, this happens to me ALL the time. every time i am out to see a DJ, whether it's a big-name down in Chicago or Rob spinning a house party, i always get that urge to spin... it's pretty much guaranteed that anytime Rob is spinning, i'll be standing there thinking "god DAMN do i want to be able to do that" or "god DAMN i wish i was up there throwin' down the tunes with him" - but by the time i get home, i just get lazy and i forget how bad that urge was at first.

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Originally posted by Spirit5 but the biggest thing is encouragement, and if Rob encourages you, thats the best thing for ya. Motivation is important, motivation doesn't just come from the inside, rather other people can help you to become motivated as wel.

you have no idea how right you are. when i met Rob i had been wanting decks for 2 years before that... i just never knew where to start. he has been a huge inspiration.

damn, maybe i just need to hang out in the DJ Booth forum more.

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quote:

Originally posted by l?id see, this happens to me ALL the time. every time i am out to see a DJ, whether it's a big-name down in Chicago or Rob spinning a house party, i always get that urge to spin... it's pretty much guaranteed that anytime Rob is spinning, i'll be standing there thinking "god DAMN do i want to be able to do that" or "god DAMN i wish i was up there throwin' down the tunes with him" - but by the time i get home, i just get lazy and i forget how bad that urge was at first.

think that's a hint right there...if your bf is your initiative to dj so much, on your weekends, put aside an afternoon or evening and spin with him. take turns at first, get your feet wet, then practice more on your own. if it is something you truly enjoy, once you get started, it'll continue.

i used to practice spinning almost everyday, it was what i did to relax, get ready to go out, if i was pissed, if i had bought some new tracks, or if i was just plain bored. i had to stop for nearly a year and a half cuz i moved countries, so that initial itch died. but i've started getting back into it, and while i no longer have time to spin every night after work, whenever i step in front of my decks, i will spin and not stop for a good 2 hours or so.

obviously at first (i have no idea how much experience you have), things will suck and you will hate beatmatching and trying to get smooth transitions....but keep in mind, at the end of the day you are playing songs you like. so enjoy the music while your at it...after all, is it not amazing that here is a hobby that you can practice, improve on, while listening to some great music, and if you get good enough, get paid for it!?

another thought: i actually don't have speakers where my laptop is...so if i want to listen to tracks, i have to plug my laptop into my speakers where my decks are....and while i listen to something new, i of course think about what to mix into it....besides, outros of songs can get quite long and boring sometimes.

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One thing that keeps me motivated is constantly recording myself. I record almost EVERY time I spin and then both burn it to disc and put it on my mp3 player.

I spend alot of time in the car and at the gym, so almost every time I'm listening to music, it's my mixes. It does two things for me:

1. It gives me constant feedback on where I need to improve and what I am doing right. Listening to your own mistakes OVER AND OVER AND OVER again can get old but, it's also a fantastic motivator to get better.


2. It forces me to continue mixing, lol. I seriously listen to my mixes so much that I get sick of them pretty fast and have to constantly record new ones.

One other thing that I do quite a bit is go back through my records; I've got a little over 400 now and I'm starting to get to the point where I can flip thru them and find at least 13 tracks that make me go "Oh shit, I forgot about this track!! PWN!!" and then I mix them all together.

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I think mixing at home by yourself sucks but you just have to force yourself until you learn. I used to go weeks without touching my gear. Actually I can't remember the last time I touched my left deck. I just use the other one and the mixer to practice scratches at home and I leave the mixing for gigs. It's tough to find inspiration to practice, but you do have to force yourself in the beginning.

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The practice/learning phase is probably the least inspiring, but once you got it down it will feel like thearapy. When I get off work I crack a beer, turn on the "mood lighting", smoke a bowl and run about 2 hours just messing around with my tracks. You gotta set the mood IMO. I used to spin clubs but stopped for a while....I dont care if I ever spin at a club again. Id rather be with a small group of friends in a chill setting.

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You guys are all crazy! Getting on the decks is the best part of my day! I love coming home tired and throwing em down for a good hour or two!


As was mentioned, record all ur mixes.. gives you something to check yourself with and allows you to set goals...

I want to see a lucid promo mix in the promotion forum soon!

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quote:

Originally posted by Basstard we might just have EDM's answer to sonny and cher

the idea of Turner & Romano came up before we even started dating!

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quote:

Originally posted by Allied Nations I want to see a lucid promo mix in the promotion forum soon!

i've put together a couple mixes with Mixmeister, but i only shared them with the MWTAs... i didn't want to put them in DJ Promotion because i didn't want to be labeled as a "PC DJ"... of course this was before i got my decks, and now that i have my decks, Mixmeister seems like such a joke.

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