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Electronic (non-vinyl) DJing isn't difficult at all. With a week of practice, almost anyone with a good ear can learn the foundations to become a decent to good

Electronic (non-vinyl) DJing isn't difficult at all. With a week of practice, almost anyone with a good ear can learn the foundations to become a decent to good DJ. Being a great DJ takes time and attention to the crowd, as well as creative selections and confidence as you start to involve yourself in the industry and scene. But the basics could be learned by anyone. It's also blindingly fun to DJ to a group of people, so I suggest more people try it.

dennybritz 11y ago
Are there any good resources to learn it? I've always wanted to do this.
- ddmf 11y ago
  Get a cheap controller and have a play. I recommend the Numark Mixtrack III [1] because it has an audio interface built in. I think it comes with Serato software, but you could download a trial of Virtual DJ [2] too. The software processes your mp3's to detect bpm. You then select songs with similar energy and sound (this is what I feel makes a great dj), match the bpm's together and then using the headphones to cue play them together in sync and then using the fader you bring the other track in, then at some point fade the other track out. Advanced things to do are: 1) Loop the outgoing record - most dj software allows for a single button to select and loop one bar. This allows you to mix without worrying about the old song running out of time, and/or lyrics mashing over one another. 2) Harmonic mixing. Obligatory Plug [3] [1] http://www.numark.com/product/mixtrack-pro-3 http://www.numark.com/product/mixtrack-pro-3 [2] http://www.virtualdj.com http://www.virtualdj.com [3] https://www.mixcloud.com/ddmfhsuk/june-cd-swap-bonkers-mixtape-special/ https://www.mixcloud.com/ddmfhsuk/june-cd-swap-bonkers-mixta...
- shermanyo 11y ago
  As a high level overview (what really helped me grok it): 1. Two songs play simultaneously (mp3s, cds, turntables), and a mixer controls what is fed to the main output. The mixer has a separate channel to headphones so you can adjust without affecting what comes out of the speakers. 2. The songs need to be adjusted so they play at the same speed(tempo), or they will drift apart over time. You generally adjust the speed of the muted input so it matches the current bpm. 3. Songs have a definite phrasing, often broken into recursive layers. Think 4 beats in a bar, 4-8 bars in a phrase, etc... You'll need to listen to the new track and position it on the first beat of a phrase, and start it playing when the current track hits its first beat. If the tempos match, you may still need to nudge it forward / back to line up the kicks / snares exactly. 4. _only now_ should you really start mixing the new track into the main output. if everything is in sync, its just a matter of balancing the Hi/Mid/Low to avoid them summing too loud. (mixers will show an output meter, we try to sit below 0dB or the sound starts to distort) Software like Traktor, Virtual DJ generally have two controllable players and a virtual mixer, often controlled by MIDI controllers that mirror the layout with faders, knobs and jogwheels. quality is often judged on road-worthiness so don't be afraid to try cheaper gear. The main difference will be resolution of controls and extensive mapping to effects and other features, which you shouldn't focus on at first... If you have any other questions, fire away. There's so so many options these days, and everything's so accessible. Think of the above as 'driving a stick', there are automatic syncing options if you just want to mix, STEM files (multi channel audio files) if you want to control vocals / drums / bass / lead directly rather than filtering frequencies, check the features pages of some of the DJ software if you haven't looked into it much. Its a lot of fun, best of luck mate.
justinlardinois 11y ago
Do you mean DJing in the sense of playing curated playlists for events? Or DJing in the sense of mixing synthesizers, samples, and original recordings to create music? I imagine you're talking about the former.
- 7Z7 11y ago
  The latter sounds like Production, rather than DJing.
  - justinlardinois 11y ago
    It is production, but DJing has come to be used to describe both things, at least in California. The line is especially blurred because a lot of popular electronic producers perform live, which ranges from anything to mixing music in real time to playing pre-produced tracks, both of which resemble traditional DJing.
bordercases 11y ago
Ditto dennybritz

dennybritz 11y ago

Are there any good resources to learn it? I've always wanted to do this.

ddmf 11y ago
Get a cheap controller and have a play. I recommend the Numark Mixtrack III [1] because it has an audio interface built in. I think it comes with Serato software, but you could download a trial of Virtual DJ [2] too. The software processes your mp3's to detect bpm. You then select songs with similar energy and sound (this is what I feel makes a great dj), match the bpm's together and then using the headphones to cue play them together in sync and then using the fader you bring the other track in, then at some point fade the other track out. Advanced things to do are: 1) Loop the outgoing record - most dj software allows for a single button to select and loop one bar. This allows you to mix without worrying about the old song running out of time, and/or lyrics mashing over one another. 2) Harmonic mixing. Obligatory Plug [3] [1] http://www.numark.com/product/mixtrack-pro-3 http://www.numark.com/product/mixtrack-pro-3 [2] http://www.virtualdj.com http://www.virtualdj.com [3] https://www.mixcloud.com/ddmfhsuk/june-cd-swap-bonkers-mixtape-special/ https://www.mixcloud.com/ddmfhsuk/june-cd-swap-bonkers-mixta...
shermanyo 11y ago
As a high level overview (what really helped me grok it): 1. Two songs play simultaneously (mp3s, cds, turntables), and a mixer controls what is fed to the main output. The mixer has a separate channel to headphones so you can adjust without affecting what comes out of the speakers. 2. The songs need to be adjusted so they play at the same speed(tempo), or they will drift apart over time. You generally adjust the speed of the muted input so it matches the current bpm. 3. Songs have a definite phrasing, often broken into recursive layers. Think 4 beats in a bar, 4-8 bars in a phrase, etc... You'll need to listen to the new track and position it on the first beat of a phrase, and start it playing when the current track hits its first beat. If the tempos match, you may still need to nudge it forward / back to line up the kicks / snares exactly. 4. _only now_ should you really start mixing the new track into the main output. if everything is in sync, its just a matter of balancing the Hi/Mid/Low to avoid them summing too loud. (mixers will show an output meter, we try to sit below 0dB or the sound starts to distort) Software like Traktor, Virtual DJ generally have two controllable players and a virtual mixer, often controlled by MIDI controllers that mirror the layout with faders, knobs and jogwheels. quality is often judged on road-worthiness so don't be afraid to try cheaper gear. The main difference will be resolution of controls and extensive mapping to effects and other features, which you shouldn't focus on at first... If you have any other questions, fire away. There's so so many options these days, and everything's so accessible. Think of the above as 'driving a stick', there are automatic syncing options if you just want to mix, STEM files (multi channel audio files) if you want to control vocals / drums / bass / lead directly rather than filtering frequencies, check the features pages of some of the DJ software if you haven't looked into it much. Its a lot of fun, best of luck mate.

justinlardinois 11y ago

Do you mean DJing in the sense of playing curated playlists for events? Or DJing in the sense of mixing synthesizers, samples, and original recordings to create music? I imagine you're talking about the former.

7Z7 11y ago
The latter sounds like Production, rather than DJing.
- justinlardinois 11y ago
  It is production, but DJing has come to be used to describe both things, at least in California. The line is especially blurred because a lot of popular electronic producers perform live, which ranges from anything to mixing music in real time to playing pre-produced tracks, both of which resemble traditional DJing.

bordercases 11y ago

Ditto dennybritz