Starting Out.
Here you are, you just fell in love with what you’ve just seen, and heard for that matter, formally known as a Disc jockey and you want to become one. This is could be one of the most crucial ways to get booked, travel, or even for just the fun of it. I want to welcome you because you just taken the step to paradise and I’m going to tell you a few ways that could possibly start your new hobby or career.
#1 Money:
Whether you believe it or not you’re not going to find everything on the internet for free, you will have to put money in; to get money out is what I believe. This is where a job comes in and maybe it might not be the most appealing job to you, but it is a job that will put you where you want your future to be with DJing. Take it from me, I’ve worked at Liberty Tax which is income tax marketing and my job was to dress up as a statue of liberty for hours waving an American flag to passing cars. As well as a garbage dump picking up smelly rotten trash and sometimes even finding dead animals, trust me it’s not fun. However it’s what helped me pay for new gear and even new tunes.
#2 Time:
If you’re not Porter Robinson, then things probably won’t happen tomorrow (But maybe!). So things could take a little while, especially how you just got a job!
This also means practice. If you’re not on a daily routine or even a routine that fits your practice needs, odds are you might not be ready. If you ever go to perform in front of hundreds of people in a club or to the main stage in front of thousands at Ultra, you could become scared and ultimately not want to mess up. Having practice will gain you confidence when you play and of course as much fun as possible, all while still being a bit nervous! #3 Have Fun:
If it’s not fun, why the hell are you doing it?! I like to emphasize this a lot because its core to why you even would be playing at all.
#4 Learning:
Learning new things on DJing is very easy these days, Youtube! Youtube is a great source of finding new things to learn and to add your own flavor to how you DJ. I myself watch countless videos of How-To’s/Tutorials or even interviews to see what any other DJ might say in regard to how to start or general knowledge in the DJ world. Most tutorial videos are short and simple and can be easy to follow as long as you pay attention! Paying attention is huge when playing out in about because you don’t want to press the wrong button and next thing you know the crowd is frowning upon you. But grow at your own curve; learning at your own pace, may win you the race. What a cheesy phrase…but real.
#5 Gear:
When starting out it could be best to go really simple. Skrillex even goes with just an M-Audio Trigger Finger and his MAC, as far as I’ve seen. All you maybe need for now could just be a computer and DJ software (Native Instruments Traktor software has a 30 minute demo with some things disabled like Recording, as well as something similar with Serato Scratch Live, I would imagine). If you don’t know a clue on any gear, take a drive to a local GuitarCenter as they are a prime place for DJ goodies and knowledge. Gear is all about personal preference so it could be best to take that drive and test out something before you buy.
Did I miss anything?
Feedback is appreciated!
Cheers,
Zöo Pop
