DJing is the new rock ‘n’ roll and superstar DJs and electronic music producers are the new rock stars. However, if you think that being a DJ is as straightforward as sticking a cd in and pressing play then you have a lot to learn. Ok things have changed significantly since the days when DJs were using reel to reel tape players and early turntables to mix with. Modern technology takes a lot of the hard work of beatmatching out of mixing.
What was previously perceived to be a tedious routine has now been turned into a quick and fun process. Get to the top of the game and you could be earning $10000 per hour, for doing something you love!. The job is definitely well paying and the icing on the cake is the fact that you get to have loads of fun as you play.
A key skill that you should work on when learning to DJ is becoming very familiar with your music. This is quite crucial as it is the foundation of your entire career as a DJ. The differentiating factor between those who make it and those who don’t as successful DJs is how they approach it to begin with. Ultimately, knowing your music inside out will make the rest of the process a whole lot easier.
Becoming a good DJ isn’t just about being able to programme some loops or swap back and forth between two different songs. You’ll need to not only understand how to do that but also much more if you are going to get people into the music you are playing and keep them moving the whole time you are behind the decks. Remember you aren’t there for your benefit but the benefit of your crowd.
There is an important balance to be struck between playing music that you enjoy and playing music that your crowd enjoys. You need to be able gauge the reaction of the crowd to the music you are playing and adjust accordingly. You should have a rough of what kind of music to play at a gig before you turn up to play your set.
In much the same way as for professional musicians, just being good at what you do alone is probably not going to get you to the top as a professional DJ, unless you get lucky and are in the right place at the right time. This advice can be well explained in the sense that you should try and avoid being a specialist of one particular genre of music. If you’re going to specialise on one genre of music, ensure that you become the best DJ in the industry. Since you cannot guarantee that, you’re better off mixing up your genres and polish up on your all round set of skills.
If DJing is your only source of income (when you are starting out it probably won’t be) then getting as many paying gigs as you can is important and being able to play numerous genres of music will help you do that. You can make good money as a DJ by playing corporate gigs but you will need to be able to play a wide range of music to do these. These are some basic tips and things to consider to get you started. When you’ve made the jump from practising in your bedroom to playing regular paid gigs make sure you spend some money on decent quality kit.