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Starting up
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| Romchik22 |
I've gotten myself some new dj equipment and I was hoping you guys could give me some advice on how to practice. Got myself a Xone 32 mixer and a xone 1D controller. I'm going to be using Traktor. I've had in the past cdj800's and a mixer and I did practice a lot with it but my practice was mostly dedicated to beat matching. Later on I sold it because I lacked the time. Now I got myself the mixer and the controller to replace basically the cdjs.
What I want to learn is basically how to basically spice up a set. Add in effects/fades/nice looping..ect.
Was wondering how did you guys started practicing, or what techniques should I use?
Thx for the tips |
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| princesultan |
the best advice i can give is to really focus on the basics. too many djs now want to go crazy with 4 decks + effects before really mastering the basics such as proper eqing, programming, etc.
spicing up a set will come on its own when you start learning more about your own personal mixing techniques. this is one of the most asked question on many dj forums and unfortunately there usually aren't many good answers.
so my number 1 advice is just stick to the basics, don't rush things and let things progress naturally. |
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| Ravemontreal |
| When I want to spice things up I usually slip some GHB in a girl's drink. |
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| Marcus007 |
make sets and listen to them
and dont stop if u make a mistakes lol |
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| Romchik22 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ravemontreal
When I want to spice things up I usually slip some GHB in a girl's drink. |
That's going to an extreme.. |
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| zyklon-jay |
when I want to spice things up I put Tabasco in my urethra.
2nd answer wins. |
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| danidrops |
In your preferences -> decks, uncheck Show Phase Meter, and in your top, middle and bottom row, consider not showing the bpm, so that you don't abandon beatmatching now that you've moved to traktor.
Traktor (like most technology) is an excellent tool for convenience as well as for taking your game up a few notches, but mind it doesn't make you dumb (like most technology) by A-overwhelming you with lots of new options at once that cloud the core purpose/art and B- making you dependent and lazy.
Which is why I think it's probably a good idea to strip it from the features, and then add them one at a time as you feel the urge for each feature. For example... "I love how this snare and hihat from the first track are working with the new track I'm bringing in... ooo, I can loop it and keep it around as long as I want!" then get into that possibility. Rather than being like "I want to use loops because I can". But those moments will come. First focus on DJing itself rather than traktor: that is programming and mixing. Jam Jam Jam.
Trying playing for hours without stopping, making do with bad programming decisions and ignoring bad mixes - just get warm and move on.
Try redoing the same mix over and over and over until the transition is exactly how you want it to be - low noise and clutter and clamour, and things dropping and dying right when they should. Try the same tracks together in different ways: smooth, long, abrupt, lows first, highs first, start at cutoff, start at drop...
Try playing with playlists before actually mixing anything, in order to plan a musical journey, then actually mix the tracks and see where you were wrong and where you were right.
Take one track and try mixing in several different tracks into it comparing from an ease of mixing perspective as well as a programming/mood perspective to see which sounds better or different and why.
Try grouping similar tracks together and see if you can indeed sort of use them interchangeably.
Play sets with intention. So pretend you're playing an opening set, pretend you're playing a peak set, pretend it's 7am, pretend it's stereo, pretend it's a basement, pretend it's outdoors, pretend ppl are drunk, pretend they're high, pretend they're tired, pretend they're sober, pretend it's a small room, pretend it's big, pretend there are 400 ppl, pretend there are 4, 40, 400. Pretend it's a set for a work out, a set for a drive, a set for people talking over it, a set for studying. Make a set for your friend who likes this and a set for your friend who likes that, make a set for your mom. Pretend it's a demo to impress one person, then pretend it's a demo to impress someone who hates the first person's sound. Then forgot all those and mix your own favourite tracks in your own favourite way, for yourself right then in that moment. Mix in front of different people whenever you can, whether they're paying attention to you or not, and feel the influence fo their presence on your choices. Those scenarios will impose guidelines, goals and restraints on your sets that will help you direct your creative energy into a meaningful product and train you in channeling it with intention.
Once you feel about DJing, if you've been jamming that much, you'll have developed certain wishes for the technology to help you with this or that... then you'll be glad to know traktor can probably do it :) Or you'll notice another DJ doing something you never do, then you can ask them about it and add it to your repertoire. |
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| Marcus007 |
god damnit dani
another great post by you |
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| Adam420 |
| Yea great post indeed but like many things today - I feel it's something that people should ideally realize on their own. |
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| Romchik22 |
| Amazing post danidrops, thanks for your input! |
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| Ravemontreal |
| Good post, but where is the spice button? |
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