quote:

Originally posted by Spin Doctor I think everyone’s track selection was poor when we all first started my friend. Everyone’s got skeletons in their record collection that they’d rather not let anyone else know about! It’s all part and parcel of DJ’ing. The way I see it, people need to experiment with several different genres before they actually find the one, or ones, that they like.

very tru..when i started i had a limited track selection..now..i've got trakz out the wazzoo

give it some time i say...it wont take long your you to have crates upon crates of records

yes! I sure do think i'm improving. I try to record myself atleast a few times a week, even if just a few transitions... and I keep the ones that i feel are not that bad... and every once in a while i review them - and I see a distinct pattern of improvement.

i'm hard on myself.. i'll probably never be good enough for my own satisfaction, but as i practice i do start so supprise myself...

i think my biggest problem right now on transitions is knowing exactly when to totally fade out of the previous track - i tend to leave it in the mix too long and miss the proper exit point. i guess i should concentrate on this.

-mer

quote:

Originally posted by Spin Doctor At DJ’ing, I haven’t yet and never will stop learning. Every time I spin a tune be it at home or out in a club I learn something. And this is true for everyone, even if your name is Paul Okenfold, Ferry Corsten, Paul Van Dyk or whomever you care to mention. I’ve said this before in the forum, DJ’ing is an art, not a science. Which is why we all continue to learn new things. The day that I feel I’ve stopped learning things is the day that I’ll pack it in and hang up my headphones. If ever I get like that I’ll know that I haven’t got the right attitude to continue spinning the tunes I love in a decent manner. I totally agree with you there. Beatmatching is the easy part. What I don’t agree with is that the hardest part is the effects etc. In my view the real skill the DJ has to master is the really difficult thing of interacting with the crowd and developing that innate sense of knowing exactly what tune to play next without spending three quarters of the last tune trying to decide. It may seem simple, but developing that all important link between the crowd and yourself and your tune selection is more important than nearly anything else a DJ could do. Well that’s my opinion anyway. Feel free to disagree. Personally I’d rather go and see a DJ who’s face up, spends a lot of time interacting with the crowd, really looking like their having a good time than a poe-faced, miserable, heads down DJ, despite their high technical ability.

I know what your talking about with crowd interaction. The first party I ever did I was so nervous for like the first hour about which songs to play that I couldnt make up my mind untill like 30 sec left in the song that was playing. By the end of the night I was completely comfortable in playing infront of a small crowd (it was about 60-75 people).

Other than that I think the area Ive improved most in is my nasty scratching skillz

___________________

Keepin' It Gangsta

Yes!! DJin is an art form. Everyone does it differently. I can remember thinking my trainwrecks were decent!! Now, with music constantly evolving, so is the style of mixing. Listen to many of the big names (especially Armin and Tiesto), they are just throwing track after track. There doesn't seem to be much game in their mix. I think I try to hard to do so much at once. Effeccting, mixing, EQ fluctuation. Instead, I began to concentrate on the feel of my mix, the tracks I play and the atmosphere I am creating. We are our own worst critic, we will always have a bad mix here and there (to us), many people on the other end do not notice many of the mixing errors. They become part of your mix. Practice Practice Practice. Make your own style...that is why we can call those big names, big names. They are unique! Those who imitate get left in the dust! Cheers!

___________________
I just do it exactly the way I enjoy listening to it. This is most of the time it is with banging beats. It is even with a soft thing, a soft melodic idea, or whatever. I still like to have it rocking. Keep in mind what this music is made for, first of all. Its not made to be easy listening on the radio. Its not made to be easy listening in television. Its actually kick ass in the club. This is what music is. This is the purpose of this art form...to listen to it and let the frequencies actually blow you away. --Paul Van Dyk

davidscott, are you saying that armin and tiesto are just throwing down records one after another and are not creating a flow to their sets?? i mean, you couldn't be further from the truth... on the contrary, armin and tiesto are the only dj's out there right now that go for the whole journey thing in their sets... unlike, pvd, jules, corsten and so on who just play what they feel like and have no concept of flow...

but back to the main topic... honestly, i think personally i've improved a lot! when i was starting out, i had a very difficult time beatmatching (like everyone else), and i had no concept of 4/4 mixing... now, i'd say most of my mixes are smooth, but yea, i've got a looong way to go still, i'll bet in a about a year, i'll be listening to my mixes from today and wonder, what the hell was i thinking... lol

I purposly didn't include PVD in this discussion due to the fact that he indeed DOES create a flow to his sets. He takes you through the world of electronic music. He doesn't stick to only trance bangers and whatnot. Tiesto and Armin both have my respect, this is not about not liking anyones style or music, because believe me, most top name producers and jock have my respect becasue of the shear fact that they play the music in their heart. PVD will take you through house, prgressive, new, old, trance, hard house and everything in between. When he is in New York, he has stated in interviews that he stretches the boundaries because the crowd goes with him. I just recently listened to Armin's set at Glow in Washington. All he did was mix tracks, there was nothing to it. There is nothing really wrong with that because the tracks he plays are bangning. My best example of this is in a Ministry of Sound set last year form PVD, he ripped Razorfish (a&b mix) and underneath was the breakdown to Cristallo (PVD mix). He had both tracks on at once, when before I knew it, Epic Monolith came flying in. Both styles are impressive and different. That is the whole point here, everyone is different. Some people tend to test the boundaries of their music and the equipment they have to play it with. To say that PVD has no concept of flow is rediculous. I never saud that Tiesto and Armin don't have a concept of flow. There is a big difference between a trance DJ and a DJ who plays all electronic music. The best thing about PVD sets is that he gives you a taste of everything, he brings you up and down, as do both Tiesto and Armin, in their own way.

Whew..long winded. The point of my comments was that I said I try to do too many things at once, when it is not that necessary. Therefore taking hte emphasis off what the task at hand is: Creating an atmosphere full of emotion, energy...that is why we are here isn't it??

___________________
I just do it exactly the way I enjoy listening to it. This is most of the time it is with banging beats. It is even with a soft thing, a soft melodic idea, or whatever. I still like to have it rocking. Keep in mind what this music is made for, first of all. Its not made to be easy listening on the radio. Its not made to be easy listening in television. Its actually kick ass in the club. This is what music is. This is the purpose of this art form...to listen to it and let the frequencies actually blow you away. --Paul Van Dyk

noone creates better journey type sets than tiesto, i dunno what you're on dude... armin's live sets are completely different from his cd's... but remember, for a live set you have to attend to judge... i've seen armin 3 times, and trust me, he creates a hell of a flow... now tiesto i've seen umm 5 times so far, and he simply is a level above everyone! pvd on the other hand is the guy that would come in, play some banging tracks, have no flow in his sets and just leave... and what is with all of the breakdowns in his sets, they just kill ANY flow that he creates... whenever a track goes into a buildup, it breaksdown, he does it on purpose, he picks tracks like that... that kills all the mood! so please, unless you heard them all live numerous times, do not judge them just by listening their live sets, mmmk?
thanks

All I gotta say:

Tiesto - fuc#king baller
Armin - fuc#king baller
PvD - fuc#king baller

___________________
Trance...a state of mind.

quote:

Originally posted by Devbert All I gotta say: Tiesto - fuc#king baller Armin - fuc#king baller PvD - fuc#king baller

I have to say that I don't like any of the big DJ's, either. It seems that as soon as they get to the top, they change their style and repudiate the very music that made them famous.

___________________

Download all my EuroHardTrance traxx & learn more about me ("Kompulsor"):
www.kompulsor.com

I have been learning to mix for about a year now and it is the best thing i have ever done in my life. It is a great feeling to know how much I have improved in that year and to know that there is so much more for me to learn. I have a friend who has been djing for 7 year and he said that he still discovers new things while mixing. So there is plenty more for me to learn and I am looking forward to it.

What makes a big name dj a big name DJ?

How are they different to the brother spinning in the ghetto? (haha)

$, backing and time?
Good luck to them I say! but it's not for everyone.

If you stop learning it's time to re-assess or give it away.

I continue to learn even when I'm not putting in the 110 percenters.

You always picku up something you didn't pick up before. THat's the magic of it all don't ya think?