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Need tips for DJing. It's my first time DJing (pg. 3)
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| nectario |
Wow, you guys are great!! Awesome! Thanks Benoitfan for the great post! (made me laugh with that party you mentioned) Soo informative... :-)
What makes me feel good about it, is that those teenagers won't notice if I up. Ok in terms of equipment, this is what I'll be using:
Mixer: Pioneer DJM600
CD: Denon dual CD/Mp3 player
Turntables: Technics 1200s
What got me this gig is from my two songs I produced, so if you are interested, these are the two songs I created which they want me to play at the party:
Judgment Night (Dark)
http://www.nektarios.com/judgment_night.mp3
Wounded Soul (Cheesy Melodic)
http://www.nektarios.com/nektarios_wounded_soul.mp3
Anyway, they want me to start with Wounded Soul then Judgment Night. But I am concerned since it may be better to start with Hip hop, house, then trance and then psy trance... I gotta figure how I am gonna do this...
Also, I think I am a fast learner. For 28 years I never had any experience in music (never took any classses) much less music production and I was able to learn trance music production and music theory in less than a year and produce the above songs... Wounded Sould got bashed, but what the heck, people NOT into trance like it alot! :-)
Next week I am buying my equipment and start the long and tedious practicing! :-)
You guys are great!
-Nektarios |
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| Trance Nutter |
If you want a break about half way through, once you're into you trance section, just fade the music down to silence. After a couple of seconds (not too long) of silence, hit go on your CD deck (which by coincidience:p has one of your tracks selected), just let it play, go get a drink or whatever. (I would suggest stepping out of the booth for at least a moment) When that track finishes, a short silence, then have your other track play, continue until you have played all your tracks (like a concert). Let it finish, a second of silence, then start playing tracks and mixing again. Just don't let the silences go too long.
It will give you the chance to have a break and collect yourself, and will really showcase your tracks as being something separate from your mix - it will make them noticable. Not only that but it will give you a short time where you don't have to worry about mixing. |
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| jago |
| what i'd suggest is get to know your tunes really well, suss out whats goes well with what. Listen to the energy of the songs, and put songs together with simalar energies. When your playing one song line up the other one just before the b of the bang!!!!!!!! Start your second one at the appropiate moment, as one phase ends. Even though u have started the second track, u dont need to touch the x fader or sliders yet, as u need to beatmatch them, get them in sync. Finally at the appropiate moment drop your second tune in. If i were u i'd keep it really simple, dont try to be oakenfold, be yourself and have fun, you'll make mistakes, we all do!!!!!!! Lets us know how u get on!!!!!!! |
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| beats and beeps |
| I normally wouldnt reccomend this...but in your case i think it would be a good idea to use the bpm on the mixer, and cd player (if it has them) |
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| starlabs |
Agreed on the using BPM counter advice.
I would also strongly advise you on using some DJ software to practice/learn on, such as Tracktor DJ. This way you can see the waveform, get a grasp (visually) of the structure of the track (intro, main, breakdown, outro, etc). With the software you can not just only beatmatch but learn how to phrase and stage match as well.
This is an *excellent* tutorial site for you:
http://music.hyperreal.org/dj/AVH/
With several hours of practice/training each day you should be able to put together a workable set :D |
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| nectario |
You guys got me pumped now! :-) Well I'll definitely try using the BPM counter of the pioneer DJM600 mixer. Is that thing reliable, though??
I have to say, the kids are pumped to hear me play! |
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| benoitfan |
Well if you're a producer, I assume you already know basic track structures. As for the BPM counter on the DJM600, it is reliable for effects etc most of the time, but I wouldn't depend on that. DJs don't need beatcounters and Traktor isn't perfect either (I learned on that software 4 years ago, before I moved on to my equipment). However I do think that Traktor is good for learning the basics: EQing, phrasematching, and learning how do 2 tracks' beats together sound like. I have a small tutorial I made around 2 years ago on how to use this software, you can see it here if you like http://members.tripod.com/wrestling_fans0/ . It is sooo outdated :rolleyes: lol
I don't advise you to rely on BPM counters; you may get dependent on them and that's not a good thing for sure IMO, and if you start growing a passion for DJing, you'll have to learn how to do it the "real" way anyways... As I said before, I think doing short mixes, 64 beats or so is better, find the right pitch, put it on beat and then don't try correcting it too much, do a quick bass change and that's it. BTW the DJM-600 has a real deep bass cut, can cut ALOT of the track, so try to get used to it before the gig (if you aren't practising with that mixer).
Cheers! |
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| nectario |
Hey thanks! By the way, I have the luxury of telling them what equipment I need.
Do you guys have any better suggestions maybe in terms of equipment? Should I go with a dual cd/mp3 player or two separate cd players? |
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| benoitfan |
| They are both okay, it depends on what you'll be practising with. Ask for the same that you'll be using @ home ;) |
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| Inertia |
if you have your pick, i'd say Pioneer CDJ-800s or 1000s. most anyone who learns to spin on a CD deck can spin with these without any trouble. had a friend, who had only spun with his crappy American Audio CDS-1 decks for about 6 months, go up into the DJ booth of the club and give agreat set, flawlessly mixed, and he had never been within 10 feet of a CDJ-1000.
another tip, the faster the music is playing, the easier it is to keep on beat. why? slower tempo means more time between beats, meaning a 64 beat mix at 120BPM will go out of synch faster than a 64 beat mix at 135BPM, because, if you think about it, logically, the one with a faster tempo will be over sooner. this doesn't mean i'm advising you to play as if you were a hardstyle DJ, just something to consider. |
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| progressivepey |
| quote: | Originally posted by Inertia
if he puts in 2 hours of practice every single day, that is 120 hours of spinning he can get. sure, he won't me nailing mixes like Sasha, but he can actually learn to mix decently in 2 months of intense practice. just takes learning to get the "vibe" from it. then, and you know this, it comes out second nature. |
you're not accounting for some major factors here:
1- equipment never works as well as it does at home
2- nervousness kicks in and you can't think straight
3- few people have time to practice two hours a day
but seeing that this is just a fun thing for your church, i understand why you're doing it. if you were spinning in a club that would be one thing, but doing something for your brother's youth group is a little different. the difference is trained ears vs. people who just want to have fun and dance.
you know alcohol makes music sound better! but i doubt that's allowed at a church youth group :D
good luck man,
pEy |
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| nectario |
Thanks man!
Even though it's for the church youth group, I will aim to deliver a near perfect performance... If I succeed, it will build my confidence... I also think kids will get more excited with trance.. :-) I also think some psy trance will energize them at the end even more..
I did experiment with traktor, and I sadly realized I have pleanty of work ahead of... (trainwrecks and again trainwrecks..) It sounded so bad that I panicked..
This is what I observed though:
1. Psy Trance has smoother transitions for me
2. Vocal trance has the worse transitions...
3. Different songs have more energy than other and going to one with lower energy is sooo noticeable..
One thing I cant seem to understand is eqing. Basically, as I transition to the next track, should I reduce the lows or mids of the next track and then increase them back? I mean the percussion of two trance songs is different and I just don't understand how to make them match...
One more thing: I have no equipment as of now... oh well... |
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