To get you on the right road to start DJing, read the following steps which will definitely help you on your way to becoming a club DJ, if that's what you want.
And even if you're happy to play in parties and bars without hitting the clubs, I'd advise reading it too.
1. Choose DJ equipment
If you're sure that you want to DJ, you'll be ready to splash a few hundred dollars, pounds or Euros on your gear.
You did know that right?
Now, what gear do you get? You've heard about CD decks, vinyl turntables and digital gear.
The choice is an easy one to make once you answer this question: what format is your music in?
If it's in vinyl then you'll need DJ turntables. If it's on CDs, then have a look at some DJ CD decks.
But I'm guessing here that you want to start DJing because you already have a large collection.
And in most cases, your collection is likely to be in digital format (MP3,.wav,.flac).
For around 80% of new DJs, this is the case.
If so, you should look into digital DJ equipment.
Even if you're on a low budget to start with, no problem, you can find out where to start with a budget DJ gear guide.
2. Learning to mix
You have a choice here, you can either learn to mix all by yourself, trying to read a combination of books, webpages and YouTube vids (many of which give different advice) or you can simply get a full video course to learn how to DJ in less time.
Learning on your own is possible but takes time, effort and dedication. This is what you need to be ready for if you want to start DJing.
You can also take DJ lessons (expensive) or look into courses which help you learn with video assistance.
3. Promoting yourself
Like it or not, DJ promotion is an essential part of becoming a DJ.
A Facebook page is just not enough on its own. DJs who think they can get by with just a Facebook page and adding friends don't get anywhere.
You'll need to create a cool DJ website, build contacts and make a banging promo CD.
4. Create your image and unique style
Instead of being just like all the other DJs and copying the same tunes and style as your hero, how about being original?
Original DJs get noticed and if you have a style and image that people identify with, if you stand out amongst other DJs with a cool music selection and look, you'll get more gigs.
Believe me, this really works and you need to have it in mind when you start DJing.
So what do you do to stand out from the crowd of clone DJs? This is made of 2 parts: creating a unique DJ sound and also a cool DJ image.
5. Get DJ Gigs
Now it comes to the hardest part when you start DJing. Why is it so hard to get DJ gigs in clubs?
It's so hard because you have to get into that circle of people.
You know, those guys who all know each other, who don't seem to let others in and who give each other all the best gigs? We've all seen this before.
It's frustrating when someone gets a gig because they're a friend of someone else. In fact, it's really annoying! Because you know that you're better than that other guy but HE's the one on the decks.
There are some great techniques which help you to get to network, make friends and get into the doors of clubs a lot easier. Once you manage that, only one thing can happen: you WILL get DJ gigs.
This article and many more other DJ tips, reviews, advice and a free guide to getting DJ gigs can be found at The Total DJ Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment