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| quote: | Originally posted by brucelee6783
And while we're at it, why not just remove steering wheels from Formula 1 cars, and install an "auto steering" functionality to the cars. That way we can let the driver focus on his braking and acceleration. Damn, that sure sounds like fun.
Manual beatmatching is an integral part of the entire DJ performance. It makes DJ'ing more "fun" in my opinion. |
Or maybe a better comparison would be installing a semi-automatic gearbox so the driver doesn't have to worry about using a clutch... oh, wait, they have done 
[I'm just playing devil's advocate here, not trying to pick a fight]
It's just the age-old argument which gets brought up on here just about every week. And there are so many parallels:
Take the furniture maker who's angry that people can carve wood using computer-controller machines... he's not out of the job because there's a market for the 'authentic' style of a hand-carved chair, but it's certainly going to make business harder and the average customer (comparable with clubbers in our case) doesn't care as long as it's functional.
Or the Royal Mail employees over here in the UK who are striking because their jobs are being threatened by mechanical sorting machines...
Or on a more musical tip, when electronic keyboards emerged in the 70s and meant people didn't have to spend thousands on a piano or guitar to create a similar sound, or digital recording studio now meaning pop records can be recorded without any instruments at all or even anyone who can sing...
Even in the DJing world, when CDJs appeared they were met with disgust by the vinyl devotees because they were seen as easier to mix with, but now I expect only about 1% of DJs use vinyl. But that's not a bad thing: with a bit more time, mixing with vinyl will be seen as a specialised art which will draw its own following.
In fact exactly the same has already happened with looping: before CDJs, beatjuggling was the only way to loop a section of a track (unless you're DJ Shadow, in which case you use a rubber band around the tone arm, or so the legend goes). I know several turntablists who were outraged when they found out people were 'cheating' and had buttons to do it on CDJs. Now, the orange buttons are seen as the 'normal' way to loop a track... so if you do see a turntablist beatjuggling, it makes it even more special.
It happens in every industry and the answer is always the same when technology takes a job which workers want to protect: the technology will gradually become more reliable and will eventually dominate, some tears will be shed and you'll be left with those with the manual skills being in the minority, but highly revered and more valuable*
It's then up to the individual DJ to decide whether they want to take advantage of the technology and focus on developing new skills with it, or whether they want to become recognised as talented in the traditional manual arts of mixing.
* Let's face it, with every man and his dog being able to beatmatch nowadays, it does feel like the hours we spent practising in our bedrooms have done nothing to set us apart from the crowd... but give it a decade and your beatmatching skills will be sought after once again.
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Stu Cox |   
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